As clock counts down, celebs rally for Cop Killer Troy Davis
With one eye on the clock, celebrity supporters of Troy Davis are using their platforms to continue to spread the word about the Georgia inmate.
Davis is scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m. for the 1989 murder of off-duty Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail. [Keep up with the latest developments over at This Just In.]
Hip-hop artist Big Boi is one of many who has used his fame to bring awareness to the case, and departed for the prison in Jackson, Georgia, earlier today. "Troy Davis is from my home town of Savannah Ga, and personally reached out to me," the rapper tweeted Tuesday along with the hashtags "#FreeTroyDavis" and "#TooMuchDoubt." "6 hours and 14 minutes to fight, #meetmeinjackson Georgia for a 100% peaceful rally," he wrote Wednesday.
Lupe Fiasco addressed the controversy during a concert Tuesday while performing his hit, "Superstar," in Atlanta. "Unstrap him from the chair, put Troy back in his cage...Unstrap him from the chair, put Troy back in the A," Fiasco said, slightly altering the song's lyrics, as the crowd cheered.
Sean Diddy Combs, Gabrielle Union, Kimora Lee Simmons, Questlove of the Roots and reality stars Toya Wright and Kim Kardashian have also spoken up about Davis on their Twitter feeds, with some retweeting a link to a Global Grind post discussing the issue. "There is #TooMuchDoubt to kill Troy Davis," the tweets read, along with a link to the post. Combs has also instructed his 4 million followers to call "Attorney General Eric Holder" to "urge him to intercede on Troy Davis" and listed the phone number to call.
Russell Simmons has been working his Twitter account as well, reaching out to fellow celebs Katy Perry and Kanye West, encouraging them to read up on Davis' situation. The industry exec offered to purchase the "Troy Davis" trending topic to further spread the word ("Who Is Troy Davis" has been trending for much of Wednesday). "My prayers are with the family of Troy and the family of Officer MacPhail. #TooMuchDoubt," he wrote Wednesday.
Actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard has joined in, asking her followers to take it directly to the top: "#URGENT #WHOISTROYDAVIS #p2 CALL @BARACKOBAMA to -speak up- for #troydavis" she wrote Wednesday afternoon.
Atlanta based group The Indigo Girls have been steadily raising awareness for the cause on their Twitter account as well.
Toure brought up an interesting question to the furious Twitter activity, writing, "I care about Troy Davis. I don't want the brother to be executed. But I don't think tweeting about him will save his life." He continued that he wasn't asking for others to cease the tweets, but rather that "It's not really about Troy Davis so much as overestimating the power of Twitter."
What do you think? This social media tool in particular has become the most immediate way for a celebrity to either confirm or deny rumors, expound on a situation in the press and to offer their personal views on what's happening in the world.
In a situation such as this, what do you think the impact is of a celebrity raising awareness on a topic by communicating it with their millions of followers?
