For Immediate Release:
Contact: Benjamin Woods, SAMI, 607-339-8188, stdntsagainstmassincarceration@gmail.com
On Friday September 16, 2011 at 12pm Students Against Mass Incarceration-Howard University (SAMI) will host a rally in support of Troy Anthony Davis at the flagpole on the yard of Howard University. The rally is one part of the International Day of Action called by Amnesty International.
In 1989, Davis was convicted of murdering a white police officer named Mark Allen MacPhail. MacPhail was an off-duty cop working as a security guard outside of a Burger King when he was shot multiple times. Nine people originally stated that they witnessed Davis shoot MacPhail but, today, seven witnesses have recanted their testimony. Several now assert they were coerced by local law enforcement. One witness who worked at the Burger King, states he cannot read but was forced to sign a written confession. In addition, there is not one shred of physical evidence such as a gun, which connects Davis to the crime. We are inviting the entire community and news media to help us to support an innocent man.
About SAMI
SAMI was founded in February 2011 at Howard University. The mission of the organization is to raise awareness about the prison industrial complex, political prisoners, and recidivism. We feel the aforementioned are the fundamental issues of our generation and can only be addressed through radical and militant Black activism linked to previous social movements but revised for a 21st century context.
