12 Days of Christmas Giving: Day 7 In Memory of Troy Davis

If you were like me, you were glued to Democracy Now's live reporting leading up to the shameful execution of Troy Davis on September 21.


That night I wrote on Facebook: 

Going to bed sickened and angry and ashamed of the US tonight. Trying to remember the incredible strength and determination showed by Troy's sister Martina Correia and her son, De'Jaun.

Early the very same day, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were freed from prison in Iran. Shane's first words to the press were: 

Two years in prison is too long, and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in American and Iran.

Though Shane can't have known about the status of Troy Davis' case, his words on that day were an incredible call for strength and solidarity in the face of personal injustice and suffering, a trait exhibited by Troy Davis himself only days before his murder by the state of Georgia:

‎The struggle for justice doesn't end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I'm in good spirits and I'm prayerful and at peace. But I will not stop fighting until I've taken my last breath. (via Amnesty International)

How could I wallow in my own sadness and frustration when people like Troy and Shane refused to? So I got up the next morning and gave a donation to The Innocence Project, an organization that works to exonerate those wrongly convicted, like Troy Davis. You can donate to them here. 


Obviously it's urgent to free innocent people, but it's also urgent to abolish the death penalty in the US, which is why I also gave to the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. This grassroots organization takes leadership directly from death row prisoners and their families. Donate to CEDP here.   


While you're at it, why not donate to Democracy Now, too?


In a sad postscript, Martina Correia, who had been battling breast cancer for more than ten years, passed away on December 1. The Nation published a moving tribute to her and her steadfast work to save her brother's life.