***NEW CALL TO ACTION: PREVENT TROY DAVIS EXECUTION!

Background

After the Supreme Court refused to grant Troy Davis a new hearing, an execution date has been set for Monday, October 27, at 7 p.m. in Georgia. This despite the compelling evidence of Davis's innocence, evidence that has never been heard in a court of law. SEVEN of the NINE non-police witnesses in the case have recanted their stories, most if not all saying they were pressured or threatened by police to finger Davis for the murder of a white police officer. Troy Davis is black. One of the two non-police witnesses who has not recanted has been identified by some as the true killer. More information at TroyAnthonyDavis.org

New Call To Action!

I received this last night from those organizing to prevent the execution of Troy Davis:

Please contact other medical doctors and medical associations and get them involved as well.


TAKE ACTION TO STOP THE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS!

Friends,

We have planned a series of actions to unfold in the coming week in
response to the scheduled execution of Troy Davis on Monday, October
27, 2008 at 7pm.


The first action is to contact the doctor whose company has a
contract with the GA Department of Corrections (GDC) to participate
in executions. GDC policy dictates that two doctors must be present
to allow for an execution to be carried out. This is of course in
addition to the other medical professionals who facilitate executions
including nurses that prepare the IVs through which poison will flow
to Troy Davis' veins.

Please take a moment to send a letter (sample included below) to Dr.
Musso, president of Rainbow Medical Associates and ask him to
remember his humanity and decide NOT to participate in the execution
of a man who may be innocent.

The American Medical Associate Code of Medical Ethics explicitly
provide that "A physician, as a member of the profession dedicated to
preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a
participant in a state execution." With these letters, we will
remind Dr. Musso of his oath to facilitate healing, not killing.

There are three ways you can send this letter:

1) Fax it to 770-692-4754.
2) Snail mail (only if sent before 10/22) to Carlo Musso, MD,
President, CorrectHealth, 9020 Peridot Parkway, Stockbridge, GA 30281
3) On the internet: copy and paste the letter in their online
contact form at: http://www.correcthealth.org/contact

After you take action, please forward this message to your lists.
Thanks so much!

With hope,
Sara

SAMPLE LETTER

October 16, 2008

Carlo Musso, MD.
President, Rainbow Medical Associates
c/o CorrectHealth
9020 Peridot Parkway
Stockbridge, GA 30281

Dear Dr. Musso,

We are writing today to urge you and your company, Rainbow Medical
Associates, to decline involvement with the pending execution of Troy
Anthony Davis on October 27, 2008 at 7:00pm at Georgia Diagnostic &
Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia.

The execution of Troy Davis would be immoral and wrong. Almost all
of the witnesses against him have recanted or changed their stories
and no physical evidence was used to convict him. 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 participate. You can refuse to help the
state of Georgia put Troy Davis to death.

The American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics explicitly
provides that "A physician, as a member of the profession dedicated
to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a
participant in a state execution." We implore you to remember your
humanity and respect you and your firm's oath to facilitate healing,
not killing.

We thank you in advance for choosing not to participate in the
execution of a man who may well be innocent. Such an act would be
irreversible, immoral and deeply damaging to the reputation of our
state and the confidence in our justice system.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Address
Email and/or Phone Number

October 17, 2008

Carlo Musso, M.D.
President, CorrectHealth
Fax: 770-692-4754

Dear Dr. Musso:

You have a crucial decision to make. You may be in the position to help spare the life of a very likely innocent prisoner, Troy Davis. While it may seem that your decision has already been made for you because you are expected to provide medical oversight for his execution, I ask you to think again.

The code of ethics of the Society of Correctional Physicians, of which I understand you are a member, releases you from your obligation by unequivocally stating, "The correctional professional shall not be involved in any aspect of execution of the death penalty."

The American Medical Association also releases you from any obligation to oversee an execution. AMA president William Plested is quoted in a 2006 statement:

"The guidelines in the AMA Code of Medical Ethics address physician participation in executions involving lethal injection. The ethical opinion explicitly prohibits selecting injection sites for executions by lethal injection, starting intravenous lines, prescribing, administering, or supervising the use of lethal drugs, monitoring vital signs, on site or remotely, and declaring death.

"As the voice of American medicine, the AMA urges all physicians to remain dedicated to our ethical obligations that prohibit involvement in capital punishment."
(http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/16556.html)

Should you still feel an obligation to participate in the execution of Troy Davis, I'd like you to look at the obligations of some of the others involved in this case, how they did or did not carry them out, and their reasons for their decisions.

Did the Georgia Board of Prisons and Paroles carry out its obligation to (according to its mission statement) enhance public safety by making informed parole decisions when it refused to consider multiple recantations by witnesses who say they were manipulated by the police into false accusations? Doesn't the refusal to acknowledge Troy Davis's likely innocence actually decrease public safety because of the possibility the real killer is being allowed to walk free? Did the GBPP make this decision as a result of compelling ethical issues, or political expedience?

Did the United States Supreme Court carry out its obligation to uphold the laws of this land when it refused to grant a hearing for Davis, despite compelling new evidence that has not been heard in court, and the likelihood that their refusal would result in the death of a man who may very well be innocent? Did SCOTUS make this decision as a result of compelling ethical issues, or political expedience?

One might argue that by agreeing to oversee the execution of Troy Davis you would be following the examples set by the GBPP and SCOTUS. But is political expedience the correct basis for a moral decision? Of course not. So instead, I ask you to consider the shirking of duties by the GBPP and SCOTUS as releasing you from any sense of duty you might have to do what is expected of you by your employers, and instead follow the codes of ethics of the professional organizations to which you belong, and your own conscience. Refuse to participate in the execution of Troy Davis.

Thank you for your consideration,

"Emlev"

in Atlanta and one is in the works for Savannah.

Thank you for posting this. I sent them a letter yesterday. This is an outrage and just sad. I hate what this says about our justice system for African Americans. It is WRONG.

The message this sends our young people is WRONG. It sends a message of hopelessness and helplessness.

Please help counter act this injustice.

I'd like to think some DUers would show up.

on their website

a friend of mine is working on the Savannah one and I will post here when I know more

Also in the GA section of DU, there is a lot of info re this case.

I hadn't thought of that. Thanks.

Here it is in 'Georgia.'

I'm so glad to see this posted. We're not going without a fight.

Wonderin'.

:(

What sort of nation have we allowed to develop under us?

I wish there was something else we could do too. Who has the power to grant clemency or has that already been tried, but could we petition him/her/them again too? I'm really ignorant of the best way to fight death penalties, but would it be worth appealing to Pres. Bush? I know he has been pretty hard-hearted towards death row inmates in the past as his state executed quite a few people, but maybe Bush could be moved to consider clemency if the right people approached him about it. He is so unpopular maybe if he could see it as a way of redeeming himself in the eyes of Americans to show mercy. Just a thought...