"NAACP tells Ga. lawmakers to end death penalty," is the AP filing datelined Atlanta, via the Rockdale Citizen.
The Georgia chapter of the NAACP is asking state lawmakers to end capital punishment.
NAACP state president Edward Dubose said at a rally Monday that execution is murder. State Sen. Vincent Fort has said he will file legislation to end capital punishment.
Dubose cited the case of Troy Davis, who was convicted of killing an off-duty policeman in Savannah and executed last year. Davis' case attracted worldwide attention amid claims from his supporters that Davis was innocent and that there was too much doubt for an execution.
"Georgia lawmakers begin work immediately," is by Walter C. Jones of Morris News Service. It's via the Augusta Chronicle.
Unlike most opening days of the General Assembly, the Senate got right to work debating substantive legislation Monday.
And:
Outside, two hundred or so supporters of Amnesty International and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People rallied against the death penalty. Many held posters or wore buttons with a photo of Troy Davis, a Savannah man executed last year for killing an off-duty policeman.
“If they can do it to him, they could do it to any of us,” said Rep. Sharon Beasley-Teague, D-Red Oak.
As in most years, legislation is pending calling for a halt to capital punishment, but the bills never come up for a vote in committee. This year, Senate Democratic Whip Vincent Fort of Atlanta announced plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit a death sentence based solely on eyewitness testimony.
Related posts are in the abolition and state legislation indexes; also coverage of the Troy Davis case.
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