[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 186 (Tuesday, December 6, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H8142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MARTINA CORREIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Martina 
Correia, who passed away recently from breast cancer. Martina was a 
courageous and inspiring woman who proved what President Obama has 
often said, ``In the face of impossible odds, people who love this 
country can change it.'' For decades, Martina fought for human rights 
in defense of her brother, who was sentenced to death based on 
unreliable eyewitness testimony that was later recanted. Martina's 
brother, Troy Anthony Davis, was on death row for 20 years until his 
execution this year.
  Thanks to Martina, people rallied around Troy's case and began to 
really think about how it is that a society such as ours can execute a 
potentially innocent man. Inspired by Martina, a diverse array of men 
and women in the United States and from around the world, people like 
Amnesty International's Laura Moye; NAACP President Ben Jealous; 
Reverend Raphael Warnock, pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist 
Church where the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once pastored; 
British MP Alistair Carmichael; former President Jimmy Carter; Pope 
Benedict XVIth; and a large group of other distinguished leaders from 
around the world whose names are too numerous for me to recognize at 
this time. These folks banded together to fight for Troy Anthony Davis' 
life.
  From her humble roots in Georgia, Martina led this international 
campaign to save her brother and prove his innocence. Martina advocated 
for justice and fought to save her brother's life. And in so doing, she 
became a death penalty abolitionist in the movement to move America to 
renounce and abolish the death penalty, whereupon America could finally 
join the ranks of the other industrialized nations of the world that 
have barred the use of this barbaric form of punishment.
  She became an international human rights advocate, and it will, in 
part, be due to her efforts that we will one day cheer the abolition of 
the death penalty in this country. I will remember and thank Martina 
when we reach that milestone in our development as a Nation and as a 
people.
  Martina fought this battle for her brother while fighting her own 
battle with breast cancer. You see, she was diagnosed with breast 
cancer 11 years ago, and at that time, she was given 6 months to live. 
She beat the odds and fought to stay alive so that she could fight for 
her brother. Before her diagnosis, Martina was a nurse, and she was 
also a veteran who served her country in the 1992 Gulf war.
  Martina's illness eventually forced her to stop working for a living, 
but she continued to advocate for what was important to her. In 
addition to her work on behalf of her brother, Martina also was a 
leader of the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer, where she 
advocated for a cure. Her mother, Virginia Davis, died in April 2011 
shortly after her son, Troy Anthony Davis, suffered defeat on his 
appeal. Martina is survived by one son, Antone De'Juan Davis-Correia; 
two sisters, Kimberly and Ebony Davis; and one brother, Lester Davis.
  It was an honor for me to know Martina and an honor for me to meet 
her mother and an honor for me to meet her brother. I'm comforted in 
knowing that she will reunite with her dear mother and with her 
brother, Troy, as their lives are linked for all eternity.
  Strong and fearless, fighting to the very end without giving up or 
giving in, she fought a great fight. And now it's time to rest for a 
little bit, Martina. You rest in peace. But rest knowing that the 
movement to abolish the death penalty will continue, and with your 
example at the top of our minds, we will never give up until the job is 
done.

                          ____________________