We're not politicians, or lawyers or corrections officers or anything of that sort. We are an athlete and a sports writer, which might seem like miles away from the concerns of Georgia's machinery of death. But that distance has made us all the more disgusted and appalled by the treatment of death row prisoner Troy Davis. An injustice somewhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and on Aug. 24, an injustice was done. On that summer day, federal Judge William T. Moore of Savannah, Georgia, coldly dismissed Troy Davis' claims that he is innocent of the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Judge Moore made this decision despite the fact that a conservative-leaning US Supreme Court ruled almost a year ago for the incredibly specious case to be reviewed.
This was a case without either material evidence or a murder weapon. It depended solely upon nine eyewitnesses who named Troy Davis as the shooter. That sounds pretty compelling, but what moved the Supreme Court to call for a review is the fact that since the conviction, an astounding seven out of nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony. Several have claimed that intense police pressure led to their choosing of Davis. One of the two witnesses who maintain that Davis is guilty, a gentleman named Sylvester Coles, has been named by several of these witnesses as the actual shooter.
However, none of this evidence has been heard because of a law signed by President Clinton in 1996 called the anti-terrorism and effective death penalty act. This act restricts federal reviews of state death penalty convictions. So in essence, whatever additional information that is obtained after the fact, regardless of errors discovered by the state, federal review remains restricted. Davis' case has also been met with mountains of challenges because Congress voted back in 1995 to restrict funding for organizations that want to provide assistance for death row prisoners who can't afford dream teams of expensive lawyers. The Georgia Research Center was helping Davis with his case, but their budget was cut by two-thirds, and Davis was unable to introduce the new evidence. An unfortunate reality is that justice costs, and if you cannot afford the dream team of attorneys and private investigators, you are in a world of trouble. The state, after an indictment, narrows its focus on conviction and simply will not take the time and resources to fully examine innocence or guilt. It's an absolute disgrace.
As Davis' sister and advocate, Martina Correia, explained to Democracy Now following the judge's ruling:
[T]he lawyers actually had a subpoena for Sylvester "Red" Coles, but they have no policing powers, so they can't go on private property and serve a subpoena... And the judge did not give them policing powers, nor did he assign any police to serve the subpoenas that were already issued and ready to be served on Sylvester Coles... So what we had to do was we had to trust that he would come to court.
In other words, Moore had no incentive or compelling authority to subpoena Coles, and when Coles didn't show, it was a mark against Mr. Davis.
Highlighting many of the worst aspects of the U.S. justice system when it comes to death penalty cases, the State of Georgia would be wise to intervene in some form or fashion. The parole board in Georgia has executive clemency power. Pressure needs to be applied to them. What type of confidence will the citizens of Georgia have in their state if some type of intervention is not done? There is precedence for parole board intervening in capital cases. In fact, earlier this year a man by the name of David Crow had his sentence commuted. So it can be done, they just have to have the moral courage to stand up for what everyone who has looked at the facts of this case knows is right. And that is that Troy Davis is innocent and the state of Georgia is hell bent on executing an innocent man.
This fight is far from over. Numerous organizations like Amnesty International, the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union; the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, singer Harry Belafonte and thousands of protesters have spoken out. And make no mistake about it -- we can win. A group called The Innocence Project, which was founded in 1992, has gotten more than 220 people exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing.
75% were cases of mistaken identity, and many of those cases have extreme similarities to the case of Troy Davis: poor representation, weak case, low income, etc. We cannot give up on Troy Davis. Every life is precious. He has already been incarcerated since 1991 -- we think it's past time that justice finally prevails.
For more information about the case, please visit nodeathpenalty.org or Amnesty International.
Amnesty International: Will Georgia Execute a Man Despite Doubts About His Guilt?
Commutation was considered.
This was the result.
"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."
"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."
Based upon the evidence presented in this last hearing, it was clear the court would rule against Davis. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone that knew the facts of the case.
Anti death penalty folks, were, of course, fed a bunch of nonsense by their leadership and they simply accepted it.
As I wrote 6/25/10
Innocence claims will offer no reprieve for Troy Davis
Based upon the media reports, alone, of the two day hearing of June 2010, just as I suspect Davis' attorneys have known all along, the appellate case cannot prevail in overturning the findings that Troy Davis is guilty of the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail.
What happened in the two day hearing was very ordinary, if you are aware of anti death penalty nonsense. (1)
contd
Sylvester "Redd" Coles' "Confessions"
The blockbuster witnesses who were going to testify that the "real murderer" Sylvester "Redd" Coles had confessed to them were not allowed to testify, because Davis' attorneys refused to call Coles to testify, thereby rendering these witnesses in possession of hearsay evidence and, therefore, not able to testify.
Well, Judge Moore did allow, wrongly, one of them, Anthony Hargrove, to testify. The judge "said that unless Coles is called to the stand, he might give (Hargrove's) hearsay testimony "no weight whatsoever."
Of course, Davis' attorneys didn't call Coles. Davis' attorneys made sure Hargrove's testimony as well as the other "confession" witnesses will have no weight.
This will become part of the anti death penalty PR machine - the anti death penalty folks will blame the system for not allowing the "truth" to come out, by muzzling these witnesses, even though Davis' attorneys had to do this intentionally, knowing that the witnesses couldn't be heard, because of the hearsay rule.
The defense couldn't call Coles, because he would have been a strong witness to rebut his alleged confessions, therefore making things worse for Davis. I seems obvious that the defense made a statement as to how fragile and unreliable these "confession" witnesses were that Davis' attorneys refused to call Coles.
Hargrove being wrongly allowed to testify must have been a surprise.
contd
Additional problem for Davis: There are solid witnesses against Davis who did not recant.
The recantation witnesses claims that the police pressured or threatened them into falsely testifying make no sense.
First, even if we wrongly presume that some were pressured and threatened into false statements, both police and prosecutors knew, before trial, that they need not risk lying witnesses.
Why risk perjured testimony when you don't need it? They wouldn't have.
Secondly, the non recantation witnesses, the police investigators, and prosecutors have been consistent from the beginning of the case - those witnesses haven't recanted, and police and prosecutors have testified that there were no threats or pressure for false testimony and those consistent, non recanting witnesses gave truthful statements without pressure or threats.
Thirdly, there is no evidence that the investigating officers or the prosecutors had ever been involved in such illegal activities before and the non recantation witnesses give more weight to the position that police and prosecutors did not pressure or threaten for false testimony and to the proposition that the recantations were the lies.
Judges are very aware of false testimony and how pressure can be applied to produce it, by community activists, such as anti death penalty folks.
Judges are aware that pressure is a two sided coin and they must consider both sides of it and how that may effect credibility. In a case such as this, the evidence is such that Davis cannot prevail.
Credibility - this says it all.
contd
"(Troy) Davis' legal team also summoned Benjamin Gordon, who testified that he saw Sylvester "Redd" Coles shoot and kill the officer." (2)
Gordon, who is incarcerated and has at least six prior felony convictions, said he never came forward because he did not trust the police and feared what Coles might do to him or his family in retaliation.
"Is there any doubt in your mind that Redd Coles fired that shot?" Horton asked. "No, sir," Gordon replied.
Davis' legal team has long maintained that Coles, who was at the scene and came forward after (Police Officer) MacPhail's slaying and implicated Davis to police, was the actual triggerman. Coles has denied shooting MacPhail.
Beth Attaway Burton, the state's lead attorney, got Gordon to acknowledge he never said he saw Coles shoot MacPhail in interviews with police "or in sworn statements he gave Davis' legal team in 2003 and 2008."
"What made you change your story today?" Burton asked.
"It's the truth," Gordon said. "
I think the judge will have to weigh Gordon's credibility similarly to that of Davis' other supportive witnesses - ZERO.
contd
Note: We will hear protests that Davis' attorneys tried to subpoena Coles the day before the hearing, but couldn't locate him. The judge didn't buy it saying that there was no excuse based upon them having much time to prepare for the hearing. It's clear they didn't want Coles. When Davis loses this appeal, he will then appeal to a higher court, which will uphold the denial.
(1) 3 of many
"The Innocent Executed: Deception & Death Penalty Opponents"
http(COLON)//homicidesurvivors.com/2009/10/08/the-innocent-executed-deception--death-penalty-opponents--draft.aspx
The 130 (now 139) death row "innocents" scam
http(COLON)//homicidesurvivors.com/2009/03/04/fact-checking-issues-on-innocence-and-the-death-penalty.aspx
"Cameron Todd Willingham: Another Media Meltdown", A Collection of Articles
http(COLON)//homicidesurvivors.com/categories/Cameron%20Todd%20Willingham.aspx
(2) All quotes from this article:
"Witnesses back off testimony against Troy Davis", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 23, 2010 www(DOT)ajc.com/news/atlanta/witnesses-back-off-testimony-555778.html?cxntlid=daylf_artr
contd
Other references:
Troy Davis: Both sides need to be told
Dudley Sharp, contact info below
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
Thanks for yet another republican policy that YOU SIGNED, Klinton.
For over a year now, I've been blogging on the issues involved in this crisis -- including the need for the American public to know about cases like Troy Davis and Hank Skinner and Cal Coburn Brown (there are so many more names that could be listed here), and to understand the failures in our current system, from a practical viewpoint.
The AEDPA Act referenced by an earlier comment is one issue of which we all need to be aware.
Another is the crisis in funding legal representation for appointed attorneys in death cases. Georgia's flagrant problems are b4 the US Supreme Court, but this lack of money to provide effective assistance of counsel (which some feel is a core issue in Mr. Davis's trial) permiates every state.
I've already predicted that Troy Davis' review by Judge will be appealled - the judge's almost 200 page order suggests he thinks his papers will be graded, as well.
It's not over for Troy Davis; it's too late for others -- like Cal Coburn Brown. We all need to do our parts to fight for justice in the death penalty.
Thank you again,
Terry Lenamon, Esq.
www.deathpenaltyblog.com