BOOKS: ​“I Am Troy Davis”

I Am Troy Davis is a recent book by Jen Marlowe and Troy Davis’ sister, Martina Davis-Correia, that tells the story of a possibly innocent man who was executed in Georgia in 2011. Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer in Savannah. Years later evidence casting doubts about his guilt emerged, including recantations from several of the witnesses who had testified against him. Pope Benedict XVI, President Jimmy Carter, and 51 members of Congress petitioned for his clemency. Regarding the book, actress Susan Sarandon said, “I Am Troy Davis is a painful yet very important book, one that will bring you face to face with the human impact of the death penalty system, prompt you to think deeply about the flaws in our criminal justice system, and inspire you to stand with all those who have been wrongfully placed on death row.” Kirkus Reviews called the book, “Poignant and humane… a powerful narrative that challenges the notion that ‘the taking of one life can be answered by the taking of another.’”

(J. Marlowe and M. Davis-Correia, “I Am Troy Davis” (Haymarket Books, September 2013); DPIC posted May 28, 2014). Read an essay about the book by Pastor Randy Loney of Macon, Georgia. See Innocence and Books.