Give Troy Davis a new trial.

Comments

1. JimC says

   September 18, 2011 at 4:26 pm

   I admit I haven’t followed this closely, but how is that even possible?

   • liveandletlive says

     September 18, 2011 at 8:22 pm

     and have not been following it too closely either but it seems to me to be of urgent importance. In the amnestyusa.com link provided in the post there is this information about the witnesses.

     Most of State’s Witnesses Contradicted Their Testimony
     Since trial in 1991, seven of the nine state trial witnesses have contradicted their testimony or admitted their testimony was false. Additionally, several informants who testified at trial also recanted. All of the state trial witnesses who recanted that are still alive have testified to the Board or the federal district court:

     Kevin McQueen told the Board in 2007 that he was a jailhouse snitch and that his testimony that Troy Davis confessed to him was a complete fabrication.
     Larry Young told the Board in 2007 that Coles, not Davis, most likely attacked and pistol-whipped him. The record shows that the shooter attacked Young before shooting MacPhail.
     Antoine Williams told the Board in 2008 that he had serious doubts about his identification of Davis. Also, he told the board the shooter was the same man arguing with Young.
     Darrell Collins recanted his police statement at trial and at the 2010 federal evidentiary hearing, testifying that the police had threatened him as an accessory if he did not implicate Troy Davis.
     Jeffrey Sapp told the Board in 2007 that his trial testimony that Troy Davis confessed to him was a fabrication that was a result of police suggestion and intimidation.
     Dorothy Ferrell told the Board in 2008 that she lied at trial when she confidently implicated Davis. The shooter’s light colored skin led her to conclude before trial that Coles was the likely shooter (Coles’ complexion is lighter than Davis’, hence the nick name “Redd”). Ferrell testified at trial that she could identify Davis, despite being positioned across a four-lane tree-lined boulevard with poor lighting conditions at 1:00am.
     Harriet Murray (died in 2006) signed an affidavit in 2002 reaffirming her initial statements that the shooter was the same person who argued and followed Young. She could not initially “put a face” on anyone in the lot and identified Davis only after the problematic crime reenactment.
     Of the two witnesses who have not contradicted their trial testimony, one (Steven Sanders) could only identify Troy Davis at trial, two years after he told police that he “wouldn’t know the shooter again if I saw him.” The other is Sylvester Coles, whose recantation would implicate himself.

     • liveandletlive says

       September 18, 2011 at 8:53 pm

       the witness information is in the naacp link:

       http://www.naacp.org/pages/troy-davis-a-case-for-clemency

2. liveandletlive says

   September 18, 2011 at 8:33 pm

   I don’t know if they are trying to commute the death sentence only or the entire conviction, but he has already been denied the right to a new trial.

   In August, a federal judge emphatically rejected Davis’ claims that he was wrongly convicted. In a 172-page order, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. said Davis failed to prove his innocence during an extraordinary hearing in June ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

   http://www.ajc.com/news/troy-anthony-davis-execution-1160699.html?cxntlid=brkng_nws_bnr

   If there is this much of a chance that this guy is innocent than not only should his death sentence be commuted but he really should get a new trial so that he can be set free.

3. liveandletlive says

   September 18, 2011 at 8:35 pm

   seven of nine of the witnesses “recanted”, now I’m seeing that they recanted or contradicted. Not even sure it makes a difference but I’m going to update the post anyway.