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.