by Zach Robinson
A Greenville teachin was organized by the Down East H.O.P.E. Committee for Collective Bargaining Rights, a chapter of the statewide Hear Our Public Employees coalition working for the repeal of North Carolina's Jim Crowera ban on public employee collective bargaining. Combined, the lunchtime and evening sessions of the teachin brought together over 60 people.
Led by their pastor, Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, members of Greenville's Unitarian Universalist congregation marched from the Pitt County Courthouse to the noontime teachin. Their signs read, “I Am A Human, I Deserve Basic Rights,” and “Collective Bargaining for the Workers, Not Tax Breaks for the Wealthy.”
Shafeah M'Balia, Greenville letter carrier and member of Black Workers for Justice, led off the discussion. “April 4 is not only the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis,” she reminded participants, “but it is also the 44th anniversary of the speech he delivered at Riverside Church, Beyond Vietnam–A Time to Break Silence, in which he urged us to conquer the interrelated triple evils of racism, economic exploitation and war.”
One of the goals of the teachin was to raise community awareness of the concept of collective bargaining, its fundamental role in democracy and as a basic human right. Organizers presented a video of Michael Moore's America Is Not Broke speech to the March 5 rally at the Madison Statehouse, and the awardwinning film At The River I Stand, which documented Dr. King's 1968 stand with Memphis Sanitation Workers. Organizers also conducted an educational presentation on the basics of collective bargaining.
Another goal of the teachin was to make space for strategizing on how to counter the present attack on working people. Greenville's Alysa Stanton, the first AfricanAmerican woman to be an ordained rabbi, said that the fear of standing alone and of losing one's job often keeps people from seeking union representation or becoming involved in controversial causes. A powerful sense of commitment to furthering the local coalition of labor, faith and civil rights groups that were represented at the event emerged from the discussion.
Participants proposed convening a Greenville People's Assembly in August, as part of the statewide Historic Thousands on Jones Street movement.
AAUP member Zach Robinson chairs the Down East HOPE Committee.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
TROY DAVIS CASE SUMMARY
(April 5, 2011)
Troy Davis may soon face execution despite serious doubts that continue to persist in his case.
The Board of Pardons and Paroles is the final failsafe in Georgia that can prevent an execution. They have the power to commute Davis’ sentence to life, preventing the irrevocable step of killing the prisoner. The Board said in this case in 2007 that it would not allow an execution to go ahead “unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused”. Doubts persist in this case.
Davis was sent to death row in 1991 for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia.
No physical evidence directly links Davis to the murder – no murder weapon was ever found.
The case against Davis primarily rested on the testimony of nine witnesses. Since his trial, 7 of the 9 key witnesses have recanted or changed their testimony, some alleging police coercion.
Davis has faced execution three times, once coming within two hours of execution.
In 2009, the US Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing to review Davis’ actual innocence claim, which took place in Savannah’s federal district court in 2010. The presiding judge ruled that Davis did not prove his innocence under what the judge described as the required “extraordinarily high” standard. However, rather than resolve the doubts about Davis’ guilt, the hearing demonstrated that doubts persist in the case. Without the aid of physical evidence, he had to rely on witnesses whose statements were readily relied upon by the state at trial, but whose post-trial revisions and recantations have been dismissed throughout the appeals process.
At the hearing, a witness offered new testimony that he claimed he was too fearful to offer in the past. He testified to seeing the alternative suspect in the case, a relative of his, shoot Officer MacPhail. Additionally, new witnesses emerged to testify that the alternative suspect confessed to them that he had committed the murder. Their testimony was dismissed by the court as not credible.
The federal judge acknowledged that the state’s case against Troy Davis was not “ironclad”.
Davis is now at risk of receiving an execution date because the US Supreme Court on 28 March 2011 refused to consider his final appeal.
Georgia does not currently have the drugs needed to carry out executions; however, this may or may not cause much delay as authorities may be able to acquire new drugs soon.
Troy Davis’ case underscores reasons why the death penalty should be abolished. 138 people have been exonerated from US death rows since 1973; others may have been executed despite serious doubt about their guilt. There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty has a special deterrent effect and capital prosecutions come with huge financial costs, far higher than ordinary criminal justice cases. The cost of the death penalty diverts resources from more constructive solutions, such as support for law enforcement and crime prevention and services for murder victims’ families. We can have justice without the death penalty.
TAKE ACTION
Please help us spread the word about Troy Davis. Let’s tell Georgia: there should be no executions, not least when there are doubts about guilt. Please sign the petition and help us get signatures on our two sign-on letters – for clergy and legal professionals. Information and of these tools are available at www.justicefortroy.org. [Within the USA:] You can get text alerts by sending the word “troy” to 90999 [“nine zero, triple nine”].
Troy Davis may soon face execution despite serious doubts that continue to persist in his case.
The Board of Pardons and Paroles is the final failsafe in Georgia that can prevent an execution. They have the power to commute Davis’ sentence to life, preventing the irrevocable step of killing the prisoner. The Board said in this case in 2007 that it would not allow an execution to go ahead “unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused”. Doubts persist in this case.
Davis was sent to death row in 1991 for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia.
No physical evidence directly links Davis to the murder – no murder weapon was ever found.
The case against Davis primarily rested on the testimony of nine witnesses. Since his trial, 7 of the 9 key witnesses have recanted or changed their testimony, some alleging police coercion.
Davis has faced execution three times, once coming within two hours of execution.
In 2009, the US Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing to review Davis’ actual innocence claim, which took place in Savannah’s federal district court in 2010. The presiding judge ruled that Davis did not prove his innocence under what the judge described as the required “extraordinarily high” standard. However, rather than resolve the doubts about Davis’ guilt, the hearing demonstrated that doubts persist in the case. Without the aid of physical evidence, he had to rely on witnesses whose statements were readily relied upon by the state at trial, but whose post-trial revisions and recantations have been dismissed throughout the appeals process.
At the hearing, a witness offered new testimony that he claimed he was too fearful to offer in the past. He testified to seeing the alternative suspect in the case, a relative of his, shoot Officer MacPhail. Additionally, new witnesses emerged to testify that the alternative suspect confessed to them that he had committed the murder. Their testimony was dismissed by the court as not credible.
The federal judge acknowledged that the state’s case against Troy Davis was not “ironclad”.
Davis is now at risk of receiving an execution date because the US Supreme Court on 28 March 2011 refused to consider his final appeal.
Georgia does not currently have the drugs needed to carry out executions; however, this may or may not cause much delay as authorities may be able to acquire new drugs soon.
Troy Davis’ case underscores reasons why the death penalty should be abolished. 138 people have been exonerated from US death rows since 1973; others may have been executed despite serious doubt about their guilt. There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty has a special deterrent effect and capital prosecutions come with huge financial costs, far higher than ordinary criminal justice cases. The cost of the death penalty diverts resources from more constructive solutions, such as support for law enforcement and crime prevention and services for murder victims’ families. We can have justice without the death penalty.
TAKE ACTION
Please help us spread the word about Troy Davis. Let’s tell Georgia: there should be no executions, not least when there are doubts about guilt. Please sign the petition and help us get signatures on our two sign-on letters – for clergy and legal professionals. Information and of these tools are available at www.justicefortroy.org. [Within the USA:] You can get text alerts by sending the word “troy” to 90999 [“nine zero, triple nine”].
Saturday, April 2, 2011
In Honor and Remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Shot in Memphis, April 4, 1968, while supporting sanitation workers’ collective bargaining rights
Teach-in
Monday April 412 noon Willis Building (1st
& Reade)6:30 pm Tipsy Teapot (Evans & 4th
)
This Greenville, NC event is in conjunction with the AFL-CIO & NAACP call for a
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
In support of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS
From Wisconsin to North Carolina: defend human rights, jobs and public services www.we-r-1.org
Sponsored by: Down East HOPE Committee for Collective Bargaining Rights
For more information, contact Frank (252) 327-8843, Zach (252) 412-9297
Shot in Memphis, April 4, 1968, while supporting sanitation workers’ collective bargaining rights
Teach-in
Monday April 412 noon Willis Building (1st
& Reade)6:30 pm Tipsy Teapot (Evans & 4th
)
This Greenville, NC event is in conjunction with the AFL-CIO & NAACP call for a
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
In support of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS
From Wisconsin to North Carolina: defend human rights, jobs and public services www.we-r-1.org
Sponsored by: Down East HOPE Committee for Collective Bargaining Rights
For more information, contact Frank (252) 327-8843, Zach (252) 412-9297
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