Death row inmate Troy Davis To Be Executed For Cop Killing
The Supreme Court today cleared the way for the execution of a Georgia man who claimed he was wrongly convicted of shooting a police officer in a dark parking lot in Savannah.
The justices turned away Troy Davis' final appeal in a one-line order without comment or dissent.
His lawyers said seven of the nine witnesses who pointed to Davis at his trial have since recanted their testimony. They said his case raised the "great constitutional" question of whether an innocent man can be put to death.
Apparently, the justices did not agree. They did not explain why.
Davis had been scheduled to die Sept. 23, but the high court issued a stay so it could consider his appeal.
One possible explanation for today's action is that the justices have studied the record and concluded that Davis was properly convicted. A state appeals court, the Georgia Supreme Court, a federal district judge, the U.S. court of appeals in Atlanta and the Georgia Board of Pardons reviewed Davis' case -- including the recanted statement from the witnesses -- and ultimately upheld his guilt.
But the Georgia Supreme Court divided 4-3 on the question. The majority said it put greater faith in the trial testimony of the witnesses. The dissenters said Davis should have a new trial.
Amnesty International USA today denounced the courts' refusal to hear Davis' appeal. "The Supreme Court's decision is truly shocking, given that significant evidence of Davis' innocence will never have a chance to be examined," said Larry Cox, its executive director. "Faulty eyewitness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, and the hallmark of Davis' case."
Davis' conviction rested on the statements of several people who were in or near the parking lot of a Burger King after midnight one night in August 1989. Officer Mark MacPhail was on duty at the Greyhound bus station and came out to stop a fight involving a homeless man who had a six-pack of beer.
MacPhail gave chase to one man, who turned and shot him. The shooter then fired several more times, killing MacPhail.
Troy Davis, then 19, was there, as was Sylvester "Redd" Coles. Both men are black, and they were about the same age, height and weight.
Coles identified Davis as the shooter and was the state's strongest witness in the murder case. Davis' lawyers contend Coles was the shooter and that he falsely pointed to Davis.
During the trial, several witnesses said they saw Davis accost the homeless man, and they said he had a gun. Others said they had seen the shooting from some distance, but most of them said later they were not sure who had fired the shots.
"The only remnants of the state's case against [Davis] are the self-serving testimony of Redd Coles and Steve Sanders' dubious in-court identification of Mr. Davis that occurred two years after the crime," Davis' lawyers said in their appeal to the high court.
President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among those who have objected to the execution of Troy Davis.
Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court today cleared the way for the execution of a Georgia man who claimed he was wrongly convicted of shooting a police officer in a dark parking lot in Savannah.
The justices turned away Troy Davis' final appeal in a one-line order without comment or dissent.
His lawyers said seven of the nine witnesses who pointed to Davis at his trial have since recanted their testimony. They said his case raised the "great constitutional" question of whether an innocent man can be put to death.
Apparently, the justices did not agree. They did not explain why.
Davis had been scheduled to die Sept. 23, but the high court issued a stay so it could consider his appeal.
One possible explanation for today's action is that the justices have studied the record and concluded that Davis was properly convicted. A state appeals court, the Georgia Supreme Court, a federal district judge, the U.S. court of appeals in Atlanta and the Georgia Board of Pardons reviewed Davis' case -- including the recanted statement from the witnesses -- and ultimately upheld his guilt.
But the Georgia Supreme Court divided 4-3 on the question. The majority said it put greater faith in the trial testimony of the witnesses. The dissenters said Davis should have a new trial.
Amnesty International USA today denounced the courts' refusal to hear Davis' appeal. "The Supreme Court's decision is truly shocking, given that significant evidence of Davis' innocence will never have a chance to be examined," said Larry Cox, its executive director. "Faulty eyewitness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, and the hallmark of Davis' case."
Davis' conviction rested on the statements of several people who were in or near the parking lot of a Burger King after midnight one night in August 1989. Officer Mark MacPhail was on duty at the Greyhound bus station and came out to stop a fight involving a homeless man who had a six-pack of beer.
MacPhail gave chase to one man, who turned and shot him. The shooter then fired several more times, killing MacPhail.
Troy Davis, then 19, was there, as was Sylvester "Redd" Coles. Both men are black, and they were about the same age, height and weight.
Coles identified Davis as the shooter and was the state's strongest witness in the murder case. Davis' lawyers contend Coles was the shooter and that he falsely pointed to Davis.
During the trial, several witnesses said they saw Davis accost the homeless man, and they said he had a gun. Others said they had seen the shooting from some distance, but most of them said later they were not sure who had fired the shots.
"The only remnants of the state's case against [Davis] are the self-serving testimony of Redd Coles and Steve Sanders' dubious in-court identification of Mr. Davis that occurred two years after the crime," Davis' lawyers said in their appeal to the high court.
President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among those who have objected to the execution of Troy Davis.
Los Angeles Times
