Rassemblement du 14 avril 2022 pour Melissa Lucio – Hôtel de ville de Paris
Under the initiative of the group The Youth with Christiane Taubira, several abolitionist associations, human rights activists, members of civil society and elected representatives from Paris gathered at the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville 13 days before Melissa Lucio’s scheduled execution date to call on the Texas authorities to reinvestigate the case. Melissa, a working class Latin American woman and mother of fourteen children has been on death row since 2008 despite undeniable evidence of her innocence.
Nicolas Perron et Sabrina Van Tassel – © Florence Rivières
Geneviève Garrigos, Paris councillor and former president of Amnesty International France: “With the police looking for someone to blame at all costs and this well-oiled political machine, I see Troy Davis in Melissa’s case”. In 2011, ECPM and the international community rallied to prevent the execution of Troy Davis, who had become a symbol of the fight against the death penalty. The Libérons Mumia! collective, which is fighting tirelessly to defend the rights of Mumia Abu Jamal, was also present to denounce the American justice system that kills and keeps Mumia, the first honorary citizen of the city of Paris, within the walls of Greene prison, Pennsylvania, despite him being seriously ill.
“With the police looking for someone to blame at all costs and this well-oiled political machine, I see Troy Davis in Melissa’s case”