A Georgia congressman and the president of the NAACP are praising the older sister of Troy Davis following her death after a long battle with cancer.

Martina Davis Correia died at a Savannah hospital Thursday exactly two months after she attended the October 1st funeral for her brother, a death row inmate who was executed despite insisting he was innocent in the 1989 slaying of a Savannah police officer.

Correia, 44, had battled breast cancer for more than a decade.

Correia worked for years to exonerate her brother, helping draw worldwide millions to support him. In a statement Friday, Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta called her an "angel of mercy who sacrificed her health to win her brother's life."

NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous called 44-year-old Correia "a true hero and warrior for civil and human rights."

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.

Tags: Troy Anthony Davis, Savannah, Troy Davis, GPB News, Martina Davis Correia