Monday, September 08, 2008

Is the USA a Third World Country?

On September 23, this man, Troy Davis, will be killed by the State of Georgia.

Troy Davis


Is it so hard to walk a mile in his shoes?

Background from Amnesty International USA:

Restrictions on Federal appeals have prevented Troy Anthony Davis from having a hearing in federal court on the reliability of the witness testimony used against him, despite the fact that most of the witnesses have since recanted, many alleging they were pressured or coerced by police. Troy Davis remains on Georgia death row, and may be scheduled for execution in the near future.

Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia; a murder he maintains he did not commit. There was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles – the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.

His next hearing is scheduled for September 12. Find out what you can do to help and also more about the case here.

More information on the death penalty in the USA is here.

4 comments:

Y said...

This would be a big,big mistake!Especially when there`s no physical evidence and a found weapon.
So Georgia has the death penalty?

Sue said...

Yup. So many states have the death penalty, that I would have to do a separate post about it. So, I have added a link to Wikipedia. There are over 3,000 folks on death row in the USA right now.

Anonymous said...

This man is complete trash. There is overwhelming evidence against him, in spite of a concerted campaign claiming otherwise. The campaign is just a red herring in an attempt to muddy people's understanding of reality. He's not worth the kilowatt or injection that will dispose of him. See ya Troy Anthony Davis. His death should have been immediate.

Jessica said...

Most cases have no physical evidence - it's not like "CSI."

If he is innocent, then he got the short end of the stick - his lawyer wasn't good enough to beat the charges, but not bad enough to get him off on a poor representation.

Funny: my first day back at your blog and I'm looking at the law stuff..... Can't get away from it, I guess.