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    Decision expected soon

    Update — #TooMuchDoubt: How social media may save Troy Davis from the deathpenalty

    Nicole Kreisberg
    Sep 19, 2011 | 11:13 pm

    UPDATE: The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency for Troy Davis, allowing for his execution to be carried out on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Davis has few options left. The U.S. Supreme Court has aleady denied his appeal and the Georgia governor does not have the power to commute his sentence. Supporters say they will continue the fight, even appealing to President Obama. Family and friends of the slain police officer, Mark Allen McPhail, say justice needs to be served.

    -----------------

    Sunday morning, hundreds began gathering in prayer working to save a man they believe is innocent, from his date with execution. It's a fight garnering support in Texas and around the world and it's a fight making waves in social media.

    Outside the Georgia Board of Pardons & Paroles’ office they gathered in solidarity for Troy Davis. Reminiscently located off Martin Luther King Junior Drive, the office hosted a hearing Monday to determine whether Davis should be granted clemency, or a pardon from death row.

    It's a last ditch effort for Davis, the board can offer clemency, commuting his sentence to life without parole. This is his final chance to escape his slated fate, he has exhausted all his appeals, been set for—and released from—three different execution dates, and now is set for execution again on Wednesday.

    An African American male, Troy Davis was accused of murdering a police officer in 1989. He was convicted and sent to death row in 1991. Two decades later, Davis has attracted international attention because many think there is considerable doubt he actually belongs there.

    Since the trial, seven of the original nine witnesses recanted their testimony, claiming they were mistaken or coerced into false identification by the police. Witnesses who originally identified Davis as the shooter now claim:

    “I am not proud for lying at Troy's trial, but the police had me so messed up that I felt that's all I could do or else I would go to jail.” - Darrell Collins

    “After the officers talked to me, they gave me a statement and told me to sign it. I signed it. I did not read it because I cannot read…” – Antoine Williams

    “At Troy Davis' trial, I identified him as the person who shot the officer. … I felt pressured to point at him because he was the one who was sitting in the courtroom. I have no idea what the person who shot the officer looks like." - Antoine Williams

    “Everything happened so fast down there. I couldn't honestly remember what anyone looked like…but that’s not what the cops wanted to hear.” – Larry Young

    Following news that this case was wrought with controversy, turmoil and drama, anti-death penalty groups began to get involved.

    The Campaign to End the Death Penalty (CEDP), Amnesty International, and the NAACP were just a few of the organizations outraged by Georgia's attempt to put a possibly innocent man to death. Sunday's 24-hour prayer vigil was only one of hundreds of events over the last couple of weeks, crying out against his death sentence.

    These organizations have not acted alone. Celebrities ranging from Jimmy Carter and former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson to Al Sharpton and Pope Benedict XVI have spoken on behalf of Davis, pleading to spare his life due to the unusual circumstances.

    These actions succeeded in garnering the public's attention. The NAACP sent a petition to the pardons board with 663,000 signatures—begging they overturn the original execution decision. And CEDP helped organize rallies across the U.S. this past Friday, deemed International Day of Solidarity for Troy Davis.

    And international it was. Along with the people rallying in cities like New York, Austin, and San Francisco, were people rallying in other countries like Spain and Australia.

    Most interesting about these rallies is that the organizations used social media to organize them. Among the international demonstrations, videos, and letters, Amnesty International launched a social media campaign to convince the public that there is #TooMuchDoubt to execute Davis.

    The campaign asks people to change their Facebook pictures to 
photos of Davis with the words Too Much Doubt written above his face. And several tweets every minute include the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt.

    The NAACP also jumped on the social media bandwagon to help citizens get their voices of support heard. It launched the “I am Troy Davis” campaign, with similar Facebook photos and hashtags. It also let supporters text their signatures to the petition.

    The campaign led musicians, producers and DJs to add over 500 voices, proclaiming "I Am Troy Davis," to the to the growing list of petition signatures. Rodney Carmichael reports:

    “The campaign has compiled seven music-backed tracks featuring calls of solidarity from such supporters as Martina Correia (sister of Troy Davis and founder of the Free Troy Davis Movement) and Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr. (son of slain Chicago Black Panther leader Fred Hampton)… as well as a host of local musicians and artists.”

    This radio collaboration let listeners call in from anywhere—Mexico, Thailand, Jamaica—to say that they too are Troy Davis. They too should be innocent until proven guilty. And they too want justice.

    While the decision by the Georgia Board Pardons and Paroles will be based on the facts of the case, the hearing already shows just how successful social media can be. After hundreds of thousands of people around the globe have spoken out—through editorials, Facebook, text messaging, Twitter, and podiums.—we will see whether #TooMuchDoubt is enough to save Troy Davis.

    unspecified
    news/city-life

    Texas tragedy

    Camp Mystic halts reopening plan after outrage by families, lawmakers

    Associated Press
    Apr 30, 2026 | 3:00 pm
    Memorial Service Held For Young Camper Killed In Hill Country Floods
    Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
    Pink and green bows signifying a young camper who was lost in the Hill Country floods.

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Camp Mystic on Thursday, April 30 halted reopening plans on the Texas river where floodwaters killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors, backing down in the face of outraged families and investigations that accused the all-girls Christian camp of dangerous safety and operational deficiencies.

    The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners' determination to reopen, follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. Those hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff, and missed chances for an evacuation that came too late as floodwaters ripped through the camp over the July 4 weekend last year.

    “We never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that," Matthew Childress, father of 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress who died, said in a statement.

    The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.

    “No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.

    A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp has withdrawn its application.

    The decision was praised by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who opposed the camp's reopening while investigations were ongoing.

    “I am thankful to hear that, today, the Eastland family withdrew their application,” Patrick said in a statement. “Given the tragic circumstances, this is the correct decision to protect Texas campers and to allow time for all investigations to be completed.”

    The families of the victims packed the court and legislative hearings, often wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late. The testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed for “help!” somewhere in the distance.

    Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors and a member of the Eastland family that owns and operates the 100-year-old camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, offered a tearful public apology to the victims’ families on Tuesday.

    “We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” Eastland said, with the victims' families sitting behind him. “I’m so sorry.”

    All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

    Texas health regulators have said they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp's owners. The Texas Rangers are also looking into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.

    The camp, established in 1926, did not evacuate as the storm rolled in and was hit hard when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes.

    summer camppoliticstexasweathertexas flood
    news/city-life
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