The cause of death was breast cancer, according to USA Today.
Davis's case became a cause celebre before he was executed by the state of Georgia in September. Davis was convicted in the 1989 shooting of Mark MacPhail, a police officer in Savannah, Ga. The legal proceedings became a rallying point for opponents of the death penalty, who argued that there was too much reasonable doubt in his case for him to be executed. Following Davis's conviction, seven of the nine prosecution witnesses recanted their testimonies, and a prosecutor said in the following years that he would not have pursued the case had so much doubt been introduced during the trial. His defenders included the nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, and William S. Sessions, the FBI director under Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
Correia was one of his most vocal supporters and defenders.
In a blog post at the Huffington Post, Correia wrote about the agonizing decision to tell her son, Antone, about his uncle's impending death and her own health problems. "In addition to dealing with his uncle facing execution, carrying a full load of advanced placement classes in his high-school's International Baccalaureate program, my son lives with the stress of me being critically ill," she wrote. "I have been battling stage-four breast cancer since De'Jaun was six years old. My original diagnosis was six months or less. That was over ten years ago."
The week before Davis's execution, Correia made an emotional, symbolic gesture in his defense by getting up from her wheelchair. "I'm here to tell you that I'm going to stand here for my brother today," she said. Correia, a trained nurse who served in the 1991 Gulf War, then stood up on stage with the help of others around her.
Correia, 44, had battled breast cancer for more than a decade. Her younger sister, Kimberly Davis, confirmed her death to The Associated Press, but declined to comment further.
Troy Davis was executed Sept. 21 for the 1989 slaying of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail despite an outcry from thousands of supporters worldwide who believed he was wrongfully convicted. In his last words, Davis insisted he was innocent.
Correia was her brother's chief supporter, rallying Amnesty International and other death penalty opponents to her brother's cause. Her work helped win Davis a rare hearing in federal court to prove his innocence — something granted no other U.S. death row inmate in more than 50 years — thought the courts ultimately upheld his death sentence.
"She was the No. 1 messenger and was the one that really inspired people to get involved and work for him," said Laura Moye, who heads Amnesty International's campaign to abolish the death penalty. "She is the person who really sparked the global campaign for Troy Davis."
Moye said Correia had been admitted to a Savannah hospital a week ago and died peacefully Thursday surrounded by family.
"''She was given six months to live 11 years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer," said Moye, who was also at the hospital when Correia died. "Her spirit was fighting every inch to stay alive, but her body just gave out."
Correia had been hospitalized in September as Davis' lawyers and supporters fought to the end to spare his life. Correia helped direct the fight from her hospital bed, and later used a wheelchair to join protesters outside Georgia's death row the night of his execution.
Even after Davis was put to death, Correia vowed to keep fighting capital punishment in the U.S.
"We're going to keep moving forward," Martina Correia told The Associated Press on Sept. 23, two days after Davis' execution. "That's what my brother would have wanted us to do, not be angry and wallow and those kinds of things."
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