He was guilty and so was the other person with him...
ATLANTA --- The state Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday denied clemency for Troy Anthony Davis after hearing from witnesses who now say they fingered the wrong man.
The decision demoralized Davis supporters, who swiftly organized a rally and delivered petitions Thursday to stop the execution.
"We're not only shocked, we are actually at a complete loss for words," said Jared Feuer, the southern regional director of Amnesty International. "There was overwhelming doubt as to the question of Troy's (guilt)."
Barring intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court, which returns to session next week and is scheduled to review Mr. Davis' case after his execution, Mr. Davis will die by lethal injection Sept. 23.
Jay Ewart, Mr. Davis' attorney, said he has filed an emergency motion urging the court to stay the execution.
On Friday morning, the board heard from five of 13 witnesses who either recanted testimony that they saw Mr. Davis kill off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail or who changed their story to implicate another man in the murder.
Mr. Davis' family and supporters said they hoped the witnesses who changed their story, and a lack of physical evidence and a murder weapon tying Mr. Davis to the crime, would save his life.
"Someone pointed the finger at Troy and they couldn't turn it around," Martina Correia, Mr. Davis' sister, said.
State courts have refused to hear how and why the witnesses changed their story, and rejected Mr. Davis' bid for a new trial.
Mr. Davis was convicted in 1991 for the 1989 death of the 27-year-old MacPhail in a Burger King parking lot near a Greyhound bus terminal.
Officer MacPhail was attempting to help a man Mr. Davis struck in the head with the butt of a gun. Witnesses said Officer MacPhail chased Mr. Davis, who turned and fired. Mr. Davis stood over the officer, smiled and fired a final shot, according to witnesses.
Mr. Davis' attorneys say seven of nine witnesses who fingered Mr. Davis have since recanted their testimony, while four said a man with Mr. Davis at the time was the shooter.
Comments
He was guilty and so was the other person with him...
Appears you still have witnesses who said he did it, If anything find the other person and fry his [filtered word] too.
put that dog down.....................
I say charge the witnesses who "recant" with perjury and send em away for 10. Sorry this is a typical 'I don'ts want to be respssssible" line. I was there in Savannah, trust me IT WAS HIM>
dear morris news service,
who are the four who say the shooter was a man with mr. davis at the time? and who is the man? i've been reading about this, including court documents, and i've never heard anything like that. what is your source? and who is the writer?
yes, there are two witnesses who have not recanted. one of them is the alternate suspect- subject of sworn affidavits indicating him as the killer- also the man to go to the police the day after the shooting (with his lawyer) to point to troy davis as the killer. this alternate suspect also owns a chrome plated .38 caliber. officer macphail was shot with a .38 claiber and a witness said he saw a shiny gun. there's a much more obvious suspect but the police screwed up and so now the more likely cop killer is free and a likely innocent man will die due to technicalities preventing new evidence to be introduced.
and, uh, yak1, if you were there, shouldn't you be a witness? aren't you neglecting your civic duty here? clear it up for us.
AMEN JillPeterson!!!
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