Troy Davis Clemency, Religious Leaders Rally For Support

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Religion News Service

(RNS) In a last-minute bid to stop a Sept. 21 execution in Georgia, religious leaders have rallied in previously unseen numbers to call for clemency for death row inmate Troy Davis.

As of Tuesday (Sept. 13), more than 3,000 religious leaders from all 50 states had signed a letter urging the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to examine "developments that cast serious doubt on Davis' guilt."

In most death penalty cases, clemency petitions from religious leaders attract only about 200 signatures, according to Stephen Dear, executive director of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, which is organizing the campaign from its headquarters in Carrboro, N.C.

This time, he said, involvement from the NAACP and Amnesty International has helped recruit pastors via social media and other
online channels. He expects -- or hopes -- the long list of signatories will make an impression.

"We know some of the members of the board have been active in their churches," Dear said. "We're hoping they will see that people like them and their pastors have concerns about this (execution). We're hoping it will reach them on that level."

Davis was convicted in 1991 in the 1989 shooting death of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted or otherwise contradicted their testimony, according to Amnesty International.

Davis' execution has been postponed three times already to allow for further consideration of evidence. Appeals have reached as far as the U.S. Supreme Court.

High-profile people of faith have helped draw attention to Davis' case, including appeals from Pope Benedict XVI and former President Jimmy Carter. Meanwhile, signatures on Dear's petition have come from more than 1,000 leaders across the Southeast, where the death penalty has traditionally enjoyed strong support in religious communities.

Even so, America isn't seeing a new wave of religious opposition to the death penalty, according to Erik Owens, associate director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.

Owens said death penalty opponents may be speaking out on Davis' behalf in large numbers because of the particulars of his case, but that shouldn't be mistaken for fresh fervor since "there's a wide diversity among religious leaders" on the death penalty.

"The tide has not turned," said Owens, co-editor of the 2004 book "Religion and the Death Penalty: A Call for Reckoning." "We're not becoming an abolitionist country in any sense... I'm hesitant to think that petitions like this will do a lot for an individual case, but you never know."

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Comments

[Dianne Jarreau]

12:01 PM on 09/22/2011

In the past,this used to be called a "religious exercise"; actions should be called by their actual names. Taking a man's life, in what used to be called,"a Christian nation", remains what it is: a justified crime. For the good of the people of this nation and for the reputation of this nation before the world, it is not enough to participate in a religious exercise when we should be cleaning out the Supreme Court where we have seemed to forget who actually selected these "Justices" the honor of sitting in judgement on this court. When you review that and recognize that a previous war-mongering President of the U.S. who murdered numerous innocent civilians in one of the greater and oldest cities on earth at Baghdad for the sake of Shock and Awe, then you need to admit why and what that was meant to cover up; and begin the removal of the misguided appointees to the Supreme Court. If you have a corrupt Justice sitting on the Court,appointed by a puppet decider undemocratically chosen, you have to look back to when the money-changers were removed from the Temple which then was in a short time destroyed. It would seem our monuments are giving us that sign as well, that our nation is falling apart and cracking closer to the edges of our humanity. And for Godsake don't imagine the ineffectual contenders with their eye on the prize deserve to preside over this corrupt nation.

[CoffeeSmellr]

09:40 AM on 09/18/2011

ANY doubt..IS doubt!! And, doubt, is definitely enough to stop this madness!! To err is human...so let's quit spewing hatred, Humans!! (unbelievable)

[dudleysharp]

06:58 AM on 09/15/2011

Troy Davis: Both sides need to be told
Dudley Sharp, contact info below
May, 2009

Anyone interested in justice will demand a fair, thorough look at both sides of this or any case. Here is the side that the pro Troy Davis faction is, intentionally, not presenting.

(1) Davis v Georgia, Georgia Supreme Court, 3/17/08
Full ruling www(DOT)gasupreme.us/pdf/s07a1758.pdf
Summary www(DOT)gasupreme.us/op_summaries/mar_17.pdf

" . . . the majority finds that 'most of the witnesses to the crime who have allegedly recanted have merely stated that they now do not feel able to identify the shooter.' "One of the affidavits 'might actually be read so as to confirm trial testimony that Davis was the shooter.' "

The murder occurred in 1989.

(2) "THE PAROLE BOARD'S CONSIDERATION OF THE TROY ANTHONY DAVIS CASE" , 9/22/08, www(DOT)pap.state.ga.us/opencms/opencms/

"After an exhaustive review of all available information regarding the Troy Davis case and after considering all possible reasons for granting clemency, the Board has determined that clemency is not warranted."

contd

[dudleysharp]

07:00 AM on 09/15/2011

contd



"The Board has now spent more than a year studying and considering this case. As a part of its proceedings, the Board gave Davis' attorneys an opportunity to present every witness they desired to support their allegation that there is doubt as to Davisâ?? guilt. The Board heard each of these witnesses and questioned them closely. In addition, the Board has studied the voluminous trial transcript, the police investigation report and the initial statements of all witnesses. The Board has also had certain physical evidence retested and Davis interviewed."




(3) A detailed review of the extraordinary consideration that Davis was given for all of his claims,
by Chatham County District Attorney Spencer Lawton http(COLON)//tinyurl.com/46c73l

Troy Davis' claims are undermined, revealing the dishonesty of the Davis advocates . Look, particularly, at pages 4-7, which show the reasoned, thoughtful and generous reviews of Davis' claims, as well a how despicable the one sided cynical pro Troy Davis effort is.


(4) Officer Mark Allen MacPhail: The family of murdered Officer MacPhail fully believes that Troy Davis murdered their loved one and that the evidence is supportive of that opinion. www(DOT)fop9.net/markmacphail/debunkingthemyths.cfm

Not simply an emotional and understandable plea for justice, but a detailed factual review of the case.


(5) "Death and Dying", by Cliff Green, LIKE THE DEW, 7/22/09,
http(COLON)//likethedew.com/2009/07/22/death-and-dying/

[Redhunteur]

04:00 AM on 09/14/2011

“…signatures on Dear's petition have come from more than 1,000 leaders across the Southeast, where the death penalty has traditionally enjoyed strong support in religious communities.”

This says sooooooooo much about religion.

"Thou shalt not kill"

"Judge not lest ye be judged"

"Do unto others"

"Turn the other cheek"

"Vengeance is mine sayeth the lord"

"What would jesus do?"


Screw it, throw the switch.

[iknowscottyknows]

07:20 PM on 09/14/2011

I am for justice, and for protecting the life of the innocent victim more than the murderer.

[gungavin]

10:11 PM on 09/14/2011

We know that, babe. Kill, kill, kill. Your compassion is underwhelming, to say the least. What a hypocrite!

[BurtonDesque]

03:07 AM on 09/14/2011

Humans are fallible.

Therefore, any justice human justice system is fallible.

Fallible justice systems should not impose irrevocable penalties.

[SayBlade]

02:14 PM on 09/14/2011

Brilliance in simplicity. Well stated.

[iknowscottyknows]

07:18 PM on 09/14/2011

And nobody ever breaks the law. You forgot that one. And every criminal is innocent.

[BurtonDesque]

07:43 PM on 09/14/2011

Logic isn't your strong point, is it.

And every "criminal" is innocent until proven guilty, as least in a civilized society.

[gungavin]

10:15 PM on 09/14/2011

I'm sure you feel really great, and religious whenever someone dies. You know, that's what god wanted: a bunch of killers with no mercy. Are you kidding, babe?

[Challlie]

01:29 AM on 09/14/2011

the death penalty is never right. it shows the offender that the society against which he commits offenses is no better than he is and serves as a kind of retroactive justification for his offensive actions.

[iknowscottyknows]

07:19 PM on 09/14/2011

Then stop killing people. It ain't that hard.

[gungavin]

10:19 PM on 09/14/2011

Hey Scotty, babe; ever hear of forgiveness in your religion? Give it up, man. You're about as religious as a chain saw, and no where near as efficient. Your clown suit will be ready next week.

[Challlie]

02:29 AM on 09/15/2011

not killing is quite hard for people afflicted with certain psychotic disorders just like compassion is quite hard for other people afflicted with certain religious horse-blinders.

[dschiff]

10:33 PM on 09/13/2011

Is he really innocent? I wish I knew.

That 7 of 9 witnesses recanted is problematic in either case, first that they could be so convinced and mistaken in the first place, or second that they have been convinced to back down for whatever reasons.

That's way too much human error.

Why is the court system allowing these appeals and then rejecting them? I'm not sure I know enough detail about this case and the judicial decisions accompanying it, but I hope justice will ultimately be done.

[grammasher]

11:03 AM on 09/14/2011

You pose the wrong question. It should be, "Is he really guilty?" I would rather err on the side of not killing a guilty person as opposed to killing an innocent person.

[gungavin]

10:21 PM on 09/14/2011

That's it in a nutshell, gram. Would that all these 'clowns' could see that!

[dschiff]

11:26 PM on 09/15/2011

I think ultimately, it all comes down to the numbers.

Would you let 99 murderers go free if there was 1 innocent person in the group?
How about 9999 murderers for one innocent?

In any situation, there are "type 1" and "type 2" errors. There is no way to avoid this. Some innocent will be convicted, and some guilty will be freed. If you make the line more lenient, more murderers go free. If you make the line less lenient, more innocent people are wrongly convicted.

As for my question, "is he really guilty," that was said in the context of someone who is already convicted in courts. I don't presuppose guilt, but I also doubt the courts are 50/50 on accuracy.