MSNBC is reporting that family, friends and supporters of Troy Davis, who was executed on Sept. 21, gathered today to say goodbye to him at Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga.
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The Rev. Raphael Warnock, spiritual adviser to the Davis family and head of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the church of Martin Luther King Jr., was scheduled to deliver the eulogy, according to the site. NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox were also scheduled to speak.
In a prelude to the funeral on Friday, an estimated 250 people packed the New Life Apostolic Temple in Davis hometown of Savannah for a memorial service. Among the speakers was Davis’ longtime friend Earl Redman, who, according to MSNBC, said he’d known Davis since age 8. He told the crowd that during prison visits, Davis would often say that he expected to die in the death chamber. “He looked me in the eye and he told me, ‘Don’t let me die in vain. Don’t let my name die in vain,’ ” Redman said as a church usher tore paper towels off a roll for teary attendees to dry their eyes.
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