Posted September 20, 2011
Today, the day before Troy Anthony Davis is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection, Georgia Senate Democratic Whip Vincent Fort and Southern Center for Human Rights Executive Director Sara Totonchi have issued a joint statement calling upon the individuals charged with carrying out the execution to refuse to participate in the killing of a possibly innocent man.
Davis is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00pm at Georgia Diagnostics & Classifications Prison in Jackson, Georgia. The statement, included below and sent to all parties mentioned, appeals to the basic humanity of individuals who each play roles in carrying out an execution including the private medical company that contracts with the state to be involved in executions and the Corrections staff at the prison.
Statement from Senator Vincent Fort and Sara Totonchi to Those Who Will Carry Out the Execution of Troy Davis
“The execution of Troy Davis is immoral and wrong. Almost all of the witnesses against him have recanted. The courts and the parole board have failed to use their power to prevent this imminent miscarriage of justice. However, Troy Davis’ execution cannot take place unless human beings at the Georgia Diagnostic & Classifications Prison make it happen. They can refuse to kill Troy Davis.
We call on Dr. Carlo Musso, CEO of Rainbow Medical Associates, the organization contracted by the Georgia Department of Corrections to oversee executions, to decline to participate and not allow any physician or other medical personnel associated with his companies to participate in the immoral execution of a possibly innocent man, Troy Davis. We also call on all employees of Dr. Musso’s businesses, Rainbow Medical Associates and CorrectHealth, Inc., who have any involvement with implementing the Georgia Department of Corrections execution protocol, to refuse to participate in the execution of Troy Davis. Remember your humanity and that your oath is to facilitate healing, not killing!
We are calling for a general strike or sick-out by all but a skeleton staff of the Georgia Diagnostic Prison on September 21st, 2011. We say to the prison staff: If you work on that day, you will enable the prison to carry out the execution of a possibly innocent man. Please remember your humanity!
We specifically call on Georgia Diagnostic Prison Warden Carl Humphrey to refuse to carry out the execution of Troy Davis, because he may be innocent. Warden Humphrey, remember your humanity. You have the power to stop this immoral execution. Use it!
We call on the Deputy Warden of the Georgia Diagnostic Prison to refuse to prepare the lethal injection drugs for injection into Troy Davis’ veins. You have the power to disrupt this immoral execution. Remember your humanity and refuse to participate!!
We call on the prison nurses, who prepare the IV lines through which lethal chemicals will flow through Troy Davis’ veins: Refuse to participate in the execution of Troy Davis, because he may be innocent. You are human beings who have the power to stop this immoral execution. Your oath is to facilitate healing, not killing!
We call on the corrections officers who are assigned to strap Troy Davis to the lethal injection table: Refuse to carry out your tasks tomorrow! You have the power to stop this immoral execution. Call in sick!
We call on the members of the Injection Team: Strike! Do not follow your orders! Do not start the flow of the lethal injection chemicals. If you refuse to participate, you make it that much harder for this immoral execution to be carried out.
Each and every one of you are human beings with the power to refuse and resist participation in an immoral execution of a man who may be innocent. We implore you to use this power. Please remember your humanity!”
This press release originally appeared on the website of the Southern Center for Human Rights. Media Contact: Kathryn Hamoudah 404/688-1202 khamoudah@schr.org
Comments
2 responses to “Southern Center for Human Rights Urges Execution Staff to Strike & Refuse to Kill Troy Davis”
Date of Publication: 09/21/2011
Media Contact: Ron McAndrew, 352-342-1450 (EST) and Jeanne Woodford, 415-243-0143 (PST)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA-This morning, six retired corrections officials, including Dr. Allen Ault, retired Director of the Georgia Department of Corrections and former Warden of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison where he oversaw executions for the state, have sent the following letter to Georgia Corrections Officials and Governor Nathan Deal asking them to urge the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider the decision they made on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 to deny Troy Davis Clemency despite concerns about his guilt. Davis is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00pm at Georgia Diagnostics & Classifications Prison in Jackson, Georgia.
Statement:
We write to you as former wardens and corrections officials who have had direct involvement in executions. Like few others in this country, we understand that you have a job to do in carrying out the lawful orders of the judiciary. We also understand, from our own personal experiences, the awful lifelong repercussions that come from participating in the execution of prisoners. While most of the prisoners whose executions we participated in accepted responsibility for the crimes for which they were punished, some of us have also executed prisoners who maintained their innocence until the end. It is those cases that are most haunting to an executioner.
We write to you today with the overwhelming concern that an innocent person could be executed in Georgia tonight. We know the legal process has exhausted itself in the case of Troy Anthony Davis, and yet, doubt about his guilt remains. This very fact will have an irreversible and damaging impact on your staff. Many people of significant standing share these concerns, including, notably, William Sessions, Director of the FBI under President Ronald Reagan.
Living with the nightmares is something that we know from experience. No one has the right to ask a public servant to take on a lifelong sentence of nagging doubt, and for some of us, shame and guilt. Should our justice system be causing so much harm to so many people when there is an alternative?
We urge you to ask the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider their decision. Should that fail, we urge you to unburden yourselves and your staff from the pain of participating in such a questionable execution to the extent possible by allowing any personnel so inclined to opt-out of activities related to the execution of Troy Anthony Davis. Further, we urge you to provide appropriate counseling to personnel who do choose to perform their job functions related to the execution. If we may be of assistance to you moving forward, please do not hesitate to call upon any of us.
Respectfully and collegially,
Allen Ault – Retired Warden, Georgia Diagnostic & Classifications Prison
Terry Collins – Retired Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Ron McAndrew – Retired Warden, Florida State Prison
Dennis O’Neill – Retired Warden, Florida State Prison
Reginald Wilkinson – Retired Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Jeanne Woodford – Retired Warden, San Quentin State Prison
stop killing innocent people