GA Board of Pardons & Paroles to Hear Plea for Clemency for Convicted Murderer Marcus Ray Johnson Ahead of October 5 Execution

Next execution date in Georgia set for October 5 but Board of Pardons & Paroles to hear clemency plea for convicted murderer Marcus Ray Johnson, who claims lawyers failed to bring up his childhood struggles during trial in stabbing death of Angela Sizemore.

Let us see how the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will handle the plea for clemency from attorneys and advocates for condemned murder Marcus Ray Johnson, who is white, when they meet on October 3rd, two days before he is scheduled to die by lethal injection for the 1994 murder of Angela Sizemore.

Johnson is scheduled to die on Oct. 5 for raping and murdering Angela Sizemore by stabbing her 41 times a short time after they met at an Albany nightclub in 1994. Superior Court Judge Willie Lockette signed Johnson's death warrant just hours after Troy Anthony Davis was executed last week amid worldwide protests of his lethal injection for murdering a Savannah police officer in 1989.

According to trial testimony, Johnson and Sizemore met at a bar called Fundamentals shortly after midnight the morning of March 24, 1994. She had been to a memorial service earlier and was drinking so heavily the bartenders refused to serve her after a while. Johnson was angry and frustrated because another woman had rejected him earlier. Source

It is clear that Marcus Ray Johnson stabbed this woman to death and we don't care one iota about his childhood struggles of his father's abandonment of him when he was 15. Um, he isn't the first child to be abandoned by a parent, so that's not a good enough reason for clemency. We will be watching this case closely to see if the board will grant him clemency. If they do, their actions are racially motivated because there was reasonable doubt in the case of Troy Davis and it is clear this man killed this woman.

Gov. Nathan Deal "Quietly" Appoints Social Conservative & Staunch Abortion Opponent State Rep. James Mills to GA Board of Pardons & Paroles

Gov. Nathan Deal continues to make controversial appointments, with the appointment of fellow Gainesville resident & abortion opponent State Rep. James Mills, to the five-member Board of Pardons & Paroles.

Gov. Nathan Deal, who recently made a controversial appointment of anti-immigration and multiculturalism foe Phil Kent to newly formed immigration oversight board, quietly appointed a Republican, State Rep. James Mills, to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. We know exactly where Nathan Deal is going, "the white male shall ride again in the South." It should also be noted that Mills, who will replace the sole woman on the five-member board, L. Gale Buckner, hails from Deal's hometown of Gainesville.

News of the appointment late Wednesday came as the state executed death row inmate Troy Davis, who had proclaimed his innocence in the 1989 shooting of an off-duty Savannah police officer. The pardons board on Monday rejected Davis' clemency bid and has been under fire from backers of the condemned man. It was the second time the board had declined to halt Davis' execution.

Mills has served nearly two decades in the Georgia House and owns mini storage warehouses. Deal said Mills will bring a valuable perspective to the board as "a small businessman, husband, father, church volunteer and community leader."

"James Mills is a man of strong faith, who will ably balance our hopes for rehabilitation with our need for community safety," Deal said. A favorite of social conservatives and staunch opponent of abortion, Mills launched an unsuccessful bid last year to become House majority leader, the No. 3 position in the chamber. Source: Houston Chronicle

"Strong man of faith," that's problematic because all five members currently serving on the board profess their love oChrist, but did the exact opposite of what He teaches -- sent a man to the death chamber when there were doubts. James Mills has no legal or law enforcement background but is being rewarded for his friendship to Nathan Deal. That's my opinion. Nathan Deal is sending another fox to guard the hen house. You will hear about this man's positions on the board in the near future. James Mills will ascend the board with and interpret the law based on his own ideology, whether it's right or wrong. Mark my words!

Albert Murray, Robert E. Keller, L. Gale Buckner, James E. Donald & Terry Barnard Denied Troy Davis a Clemency Despite Doubts

(l-r) Vice Chairman Albert Murray, Member Robert E. Keller,  Member L. Gale Buckner,
Chairman James E. Donald and Member Terry Barnard

The five people who make up the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles -- Vice Chairman Albert Murray, Member Robert E. Keller, Member L. Gale Buckner, Chairman James E. Donald and Member Terry Barnard -- are playing judge and jury with the life of Troy Davis, who could be innocent of the murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. Let's break down who appointed the five members:

L. Gale Buckner:

L. Gale Buckner was appointed to the Board on January 1, 2005 by Governor Sonny Perdue. She started her career as a communications officer at the Chatsworth Police Department, rising to the level of Sergeant and was honored as Officer of the Year.

Robert E. Keller:

Robert E. Keller from Clayton County was appointed to the Board by Governor Sonny Perdue on January 3, 2007. Mr. Keller served as executive counsel of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia. He is the former chairman of that organization. Before joining the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, he served as both assistant district attorney and district attorney of Clayton County.

Chairman James E. Donald (who is black):

Chairman James E. Donald began his term as Chairman of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles July 1, 2010. Chairman Donald was elected to the position by the Board Members in June. He seems to have been appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Vice Chair Albert Murray (who is also black):

Albert Murray was appointed to the Board on May 15, 2010, by Governor Sonny Perdue. He was elected by the Board to the position of Vice Chairman in June and began serving in that role on July 1, 2010.

Albert Murray:

Appointed to the board by Gov. Sonny Perdue as well. Former State Representative Terry E. Barnard served nearly 16 years in the Georgia House of Representatives prior to being appointed to the State Board of Pardons and Parole. During his 8-term tenure, the Coastal Georgia Lawmaker.

The common thread in all their biographies is that they are Christians who hold the word of God true and close at heart. Then how can you let this man die with so much doubt swirling in the atmosphere?

Atlanta Pastor Marvin Morgan Arrested After Chaining Himself to Flagpole Outside GA Pardons & Parole Office to Protest Troy Davis' Impending Execution

As the state of Georgia prepares to execute a possibly innocent man, Troy Davis, Rev. Marvin Morgan showed up outside the board of Pardons and Paroles in downtown Atlanta and chained himself to the flagpole. Morgan, a pastor at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, said, he had begun a hunger strike to protest the execution.

"If the state of Georgia can intentionally kill a person in a case surrounded with this much doubt, then we're all subject to the same fate," he said. The long, looped chains, secured with a Master lock, were, he said, "saying that when one person's in bondage, we're all in bondage." Source: LA Times

Morgan was reportedly told by a Capitol police officer that he had chained himself to state property. He was subsequently arrested. I don't know with any amount of certainty that Troy Davis is guilty, but where there is reasonable doubt, one must err on the side of caution and reason. What if they are sending an innocent man to his death?