I Am Troy Davis: Discussion and Study Guide
About…
…the Book
On September 21, 2011 Troy Davis was executed in Georgia despite significant doubt about his guilt. Nearly a million people spoke out against the execution, including Pope Benedict XVI, President Jimmy Carter, and 51 members of Congress. How did one man capture the world’s imagination, and become the iconic face for the campaign to end the death penalty?
I Am Troy Davis tells the story of an ordinary man caught in an inexorable tragedy: his childhood in racially charged Savannah; the confused events leading to the 1989 shooting of police officer Mark MacPhail; and Davis’ sudden arrest, conviction, and two-decade fight to prove his innocence. I Am Troy Davis takes us inside a broken legal system where life and death hang in the balance. It is also a testament to the unbreakable bond of family, the resilience of love, and the power that comes when voices across the world rise together to demand justice even when it seems out of reach.
…the Authors
Jen Marlowe is a human rights activist, writer, and filmmaker. She is the author of The Hour of Sunlight: One Palestinian’s Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker and Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival. Jen also started a fundraising campaign to support the educational pursuits of Troy Davis’ surviving niece and nephew. Find out how to contribute at her website.
Martina Davis-Correia is Troy Davis’ sister. She was Amnesty International USA’s co-Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Georgia, and a leading advocate for women with breast cancer until her death in 2011, shortly after her brother’s execution.
…Equal Justice USA
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that is fair, effective, and responsive to everyone impacted by crime. We believe in a justice system that is part of the solution instead of the problem: one that prevents crime before it occurs and rebuilds people’s lives in its aftermath, so that all of us can be safer.
EJUSA has been a longtime leader in the movement to repeal the death penalty, partnering with state organizations in over two-dozen states to strengthen local leaders, find common ground across the political spectrum, and build grassroots campaigns that win. We played a critical role in every state that has ended the death penalty in the modern era. Join us to build a justice system that works:
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that is fair, effective, and responsive to everyone impacted by crime. We believe in a justice system that is part of the solution instead of the problem: one that prevents crime before it occurs and rebuilds people’s lives in its aftermath, so that all of us can be safer.
EJUSA has been a longtime leader in the movement to repeal the death penalty, partnering with state organizations in over two-dozen states to strengthen local leaders, find common ground across the political spectrum, and build grassroots campaigns that win. We played a critical role in every state that has ended the death penalty in the modern era. Join us to build a justice system that works.
…Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a global movement of people fighting injustice and promoting human rights.
We work to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. Currently the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization, we investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilize the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world. We received the Nobel Peace Prize for our life-saving work.
Amnesty has led the global movement for abolition of the death penalty since 1977. In the USA, Amnesty mobilizes it’s more than 300,000 members and supporters to oppose executions and support efforts to repeal the death penalty in their states.
…the NAACP
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. Read more about the NAACP’s work and our five “Game Changer” issue areas.