this is a shame
ATLANTA --- A death row inmate who has drawn international headlines with claims that he is innocent of killing a Savannah police officer is scheduled to be executed later this month, Georgia authorities said Wednesday.
Troy Davis, who is on death row for gunning down a Savannah police officer in 1989, is scheduled to die Sept. 23. Mr. Davis contends he should be granted a new trial after several witnesses who testified against him have recanted their statements.
The execution order was signed by Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker six months after the Georgia Supreme Court narrowly denied his request for a new trial.
An appeal has been filed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court is not scheduled to discuss the case until days after the impending execution.
The state's decision drew a sharp rebuke from Amnesty International, a human rights group that has worked to draw attention to the case.
"We're shocked and appalled that the attorney general short-circuited justice by setting an execution before letting the Supreme Court weigh in," said Jared Feuer, the group's southern regional director.
Mr. Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of 27-year-old officer Mark MacPhail, who was working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station.
Witnesses identified Mr. Davis as the shooter. A jury convicted him in 1991 and sentenced him to death. At the trial, prosecutors said he wore a "smirk on his face" as he fired the gun, according to records.
But Mr. Davis' lawyers say new evidence could exonerate their client and prove that he was a victim of mistaken identity.
Several witnesses who initially testified against Mr. Davis have since recanted or contradicted their testimony. And three others who did not testify have said another man, Sylvester "Red" Coles -- who testified against Mr. Davis at the trial -- confessed to the killing.
Comments
this is a shame
Fry him! He did something ...
The problem with the death penalty is the number of appeals and allowing most to live for 20 plus years after being convicted. Witnesses change stories and as time goes by they doubt what they witnessed, as their memory fades.
You are right getalife, Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past time for the slow drip!
They should sell raffle tickets wittiness the execution and to allow a winner to throw the switch or push the button. I would buy a ticket....Are you tired of spending for death row inmates? Are you middle class and struggling ? Because if you are you are not alone...there are millions of us. Take and stand and be heard. End the madness.
The problem is that the state plans to execute a man days before the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear his case. If this case has gone on this long without the execution, then what is wrong with waiting a few more days so that the justices can make a ruling? It seems like they will probably concur with the lower courts, but at least Georgia won't look so bad to the rest of the world. For those of you who are so quick to execute someone, if it is proven that this man is innocent, then I hope you all can sleep at night. All I am saying is due process should be followed so that the chances of an innocent man being executed for the death of another innocent man are reduced to 0%.
Ok, I can have sympathy for those wrongly convicted due to only witness statements. Witnesses are mistaken a lot unless they already knew the person and there was no mistaking they knew and witnessed the person involved by multiple witnesses. ex. you witness your neighbor whom you have lived next to for 20 years pull up in his car an shoot his wife on the front lawn. you know this person , but to pull a witness into a lineup after the fact with a bunch of strangers and let them pick which one is closest is BS. They say they know for sure, but they don't usually. But for the convicted serial killers, those with dna evidence other physical evidence, confessions, video.. etc... why is there a waiting list. Example... Brian Nichols. There is no doubt what he did, no doubt what a lowlife he was before hand, and the taxpayers have to spend millions on defending this lowlife [filtered word] Defending him from what? Doing to him what he did to others so callously? He should have been in the chair long ago!!!!! the system doesn't allow for innocent people who have been convicted with little evidence, but they allow a [filtered word] like nichols to waste more money on defending him and housing him!!!
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