19 September 2013

The 2nd Anniversary of Troy Davis's Execution

Saturday, September 21, 2013, marks the second anniversary of the execution of Troy Davis by the State of Georgia. I was there in Jackson, GA to document the final days of action around his case, and the final moments of his life in the presence of Troy's siblings and family members outside the prison that night. I recently wrote an essay detailing my experience photographing the events around his execution. You can read it here.

In honor of Troy's life and the worldwide movement that tried to save an innocent person from execution, on this second anniversary I am releasing some previously unseen photos that I took in the 24 hours leading up to his death. There are over 100 photos below. Some of these images were posted on my website and on Facebook immediately after the execution, but many others have been sitting here on the computer for these last two years. There are many more I could share, as I took thousands, but these are ones that have the most meaning to me, personally.

Last year on the first anniversary, I was in London for a reception of my photographs at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre (you can listen to my remarks here). This year, I am heading to New York City for Friday's public launch of the just-released book about Troy Davis, which uses some of these photos. In New York City, I'll be joining many of the Amnesty International leaders from the US and UK that were instrumental in building the movement for Troy Davis to reflect together along with members of Troy's family.

While I could write volumes of caption information for each photo below, I will just leave the photos to speak for themselves without my words. That is very hard for me to do, but it is all I have the time and emotional energy for right now as I reflect on Troy Davis's execution. You can find some caption information for select photos at my death penalty photo website, www.deathpenaltyphoto.org/galleries/troydavis/.