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Documents detail Troy Davis' last hours
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Troy Davis was executed Sept. 21 for the murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. - photo by File photo

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Listen to Troy Davis' final statement

ATLANTA — After a long day of emotional goodbyes, Troy Davis knelt in his prison cell and began to pray 15 minutes before he was scheduled to die. Then a guard spotted him doing something less expected: He was sleeping.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press provide a glimpse into the last moments of Davis' life before he was executed Sept. 21 for the murder of an off-duty Savannah officer. At one point, Davis vowed to fast and refused several prison meals, but as the night dragged on he asked for food. And as his 7 p.m. scheduled execution time came and went during a late appeal, guards caught Davis taking an hour-long nap.

Davis' execution for the murder of Mark MacPhail was the center of an international outcry from supporters who said he was the victim of mistaken identity. Prosecutors and MacPhail's family said they were certain Davis was guilty and that justice was served.

The documents were obtained through an Open Records request. Prison officials also provided an audio recording and transcript of his last words, which he used to again proclaim his innocence and urge his supporters to "continue to fight this fight."

Davis was no stranger to execution dates. The state had tried three other times to execute him since 2007 and each time it was delayed. One of the executions was called off less than two hours before Davis was to die. He was notified of the fourth attempt on Sept. 7, and a day later he was asked to make a last meal request. He scrawled a response in big letters: "None. Will Be Fasting!"

But he began quietly making arrangements in case the execution went forward. He sent prison officials the names of dozens of visitors — a list of 28 for each of his final two days. When he accidentally misspelled a name, he scribbled a note to an administrator with a correction, ending it with "God Bless You." And he sent an undisclosed sum of money from his personal prison account to a relative, describing it only as a "family gift."

He asked prison officials to allow four of his supporters to watch his lethal injection — attorneys Thomas Ruffin and Jason Ewart, minister Stephen Browning and his friend Gemma Puglisi, an American University professor who advocated on his behalf. He put Puglisi at the top when asked to rank the four, but prison officials rejected her without elaboration.

Davis was no model prisoner, the documents show. A record contained in the file lists five disciplinary violations during his 20 years in prison, including insubordination and failure to follow instructions. In March 2011 he was sanctioned for having a cell phone.

He had few possessions in his death row cell. The state issued him a uniform and clothes, some bedding, a pair of shower shoes, a roll of toilet paper, a container of deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste. His personal belongings were limited to a pair of glasses, a pen and a writing pad, two Watchtower magazines and his Bible.

Death watch began at 7 a.m. on Sept. 20, a day he spent meeting with visitors, watching TV and talking to his attorneys. A nurse brought him a fish oil pill and other unspecified medications around 9:20 p.m. and he was asleep within half an hour.

He awoke the next morning and refused his breakfast tray. He stayed in bed until about 7:50 a.m. when he was strip-searched and escorted to the shower. The prison warden met with him a few minutes after he finished shaving, and the first of his 28 visitors came to see him at that morning.

He turned down his lunch at noon and, after the last visitor left about six hours later, refused to eat an early dinner, requesting only the grape drink on the tray. Guards spotted him praying around 6:45, and 15 minutes later, when his execution was scheduled to begin, he was napping. He awoke an hour later, called his attorney for an update and asked the guards to bring in some food. He spent the next few hours on and off the phone with his lawyer awaiting news on his fate.

He probably heard that the Supreme Court denied his request for a last-minute stay shortly before guards came into the room at 10:28. A few minutes later, he was strapped to the gurney and execution witnesses started filing in. It was over at 11:08, when authorities pronounced him dead and cleared the death chamber.

 

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Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program announces grant
Funds earmarked for Share the Road initiatives
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Grant funding totaling $93,458 has been awarded to the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program (GMSP) by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The approved funding will be used to increase motorcycle safety awareness and outreach by encouraging all motorists and motorcyclists to Share the Road.

“The need for motorcycle safety programs is greater than ever, and this support from GOHS enables motorcycle safety programs and impaired riding initiatives to reach riders and non-riders alike” said Commissioner Spencer R. Moore. “Thank you GOHS for helping (the Department of Driver Services) and GMSP educate and encourage all Georgia drivers to ‘Share the Road.’”

The grant allows DDS to further develop the Motorcycle Safety Outreach Program by continuing to fund a position to promote state and national safety initiatives. The GMSP outreach coordinator researches, coordinates and helps maintain an adequate presence at industry events, local schools and colleges, regional meetings and festivals to increase awareness of motorcycles on the roadways and provide the most current information on motorcycle safety initiatives.

Visitors to a GMSP event display are also encouraged to sign up for regular newsletters which provide additional safety information, as well as review the motorcycle safety message on other social media platforms.

GMSP regulates motorcycle training for new riders, as well as seasoned riders, who want to learn how to ride a motorcycle legally and safely. The program is based on a continuum of learning and therefore offers three entry points to rider education.

Students participating in the Basic Riders Course do not need specialized motorcycle equipment, as the GMSP provides both a motorcycle and a helmet to class participants. Upon successful completion of the course, participants receive a 90-day license waiver card that exempts them from both the written and on-cycle skills tests needed to obtain a Class M license in the state of Georgia.

Please visit the DDS website at www.dds.georgia.gov for many online services including the convenience of enrolling in a GMSP training class and accessing many licensing services.

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