Global day of protest Sept. 16:
STOP RACIST EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS
By
Dianne Mathiowetz
Atlanta
Published Sep 14, 2011 3:23 PM
“If I knew then what I know
now, Troy Davis would not be on death row. The verdict would be ‘not
guilty. ’ ”
— Brenda Forest
juror in Davis’ original
trial
The State of Georgia has scheduled Troy Davis’ execution for Sept.
21.
Millions of U.S. and global activists are engaged in a massive effort to stop
this legal lynching. They are signing petitions, organizing rallies and
meetings, and contacting elected officials and other influential individuals. A
Twitter account at hash tag Too Much Doubt is rapidly informing millions
more.
Every avenue is being pursued to mobilize public opinion to influence the
Georgia Pardons and Parole Board — which meets on Sept. 19 — to
grant Davis clemency.
The governor-appointed five-member board has the authority to stop the
execution. Although the board has previously denied Davis clemency, three new
members have not heard all the details of his case.
On Sept. 15, organizational representatives and community members will deliver
hundreds of thousands of petitions to the board’s offices.
Sept. 16 has been declared the International Day of Solidarity with Troy Davis.
Protests will take place across the United States — in Boston, New York
City, Philadelphia, Providence and elsewhere — and abroad.
In Atlanta, a march will assemble at Woodruff Park and proceed to Ebenezer
Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue. There, Davis’ family members, exonerated
prisoners, and civil rights, community and religious leaders will give voice to
the millions who call for clemency.
Seven of nine witnesses recanted trial testimony
Davis has always maintained his innocence. His supporters assert that there is
too much doubt to execute him.
When an off-duty police officer, Mark Allen MacPhail, was shot in a Burger King
parking lot in Savannah, Ga., on Aug. 19, 1989, a massive manhunt was carried
out in the city’s African-American neighborhoods. MacPhail, on security
duty, had checked out an altercation in the restaurant’s dimly lit
parking lot. The only evidence recovered at the murder scene was bullet casings
from a .38 caliber gun.
Two days later, Sylvester Coles came to the police station with his lawyer. He
claimed that he saw Davis with a gun. Coles had earlier been identified as
creating the disturbance that drew MacPhail’s attention. Coles
acknowledged owning a .38 caliber gun, which was never recovered.
Nevertheless, police issued an all-points bulletin for the capture of
20-year-old Davis. They blockaded, surrounded and entered the Davis family home
in Cloverdale without a warrant. Shortly after, Davis turned himself in and was
charged with MacPhail’s murder.
At the 1991 trial, Chatham County prosecutors didn’t provide any physical
or forensic evidence that tied Davis to the shooting. Their only
“proof” was nine eyewitnesses’ testimonies, including
Coles’. The weapon was never found
Davis insisted he was innocent and the victim of faulty identification. The
jury deliberated for only two hours and found Davis guilty. He was sentenced to
die.
As Davis’ appeals wound through the court system, several trial witnesses
recanted their testimonies and said that police pressured them to identify
Davis as the shooter. Antoine Williams now says he doesn’t know who shot
MacPhail, and that because he is illiterate, he couldn’t read the police
statement he signed implicating Davis.
Kevin McQueen and Jeffrey Sapp now acknowledge that Davis never admitted to
them that he killed the police officer, as they testified in court. Only two of
the nine witnesses still hold to their testimony; one is Coles, who has been
implicated in new affidavits.
Case reveals ‘systemic inequities in U.S. legal
system’
Davis’ sister, Martina Correia, who has battled cancer, and mother,
Virgina Davis, who recently died, have passionately defended him, inspiring the
massive movement on his behalf.
Local organizations, such as Georgians for an Alternative to the Death Penalty,
and national groups, such as Amnesty International, the NAACP, Color of Change
and the International Action Center, have organized in the campaign to save
Davis’ life.
The Congressional Black Caucus and public figures as varied as ex-FBI head
Williams Sessions, former prosecutor Bob Barr, Bishop Desmond Tutu,
past-President Jimmy Carter and the Pope have appealed for clemency.
Davis’ case has aroused national and international attention about
systemic inequities in the U.S. legal process. Racism is constantly at play,
given the history of slavery, Jim Crow segregation and racial discrimination in
Georgia. Other factors include police misconduct, unskilled legal counsel and
media bias. Complex appeals procedures place deadlines and technicalities over
issues of innocence.
This case reveals injustices, which are rife throughout the U.S. legal system
for those convicted of all crimes. The U.S. prison population is the largest in
the world. More African-American men are incarcerated than attend college.
Since 1973, 138 death-row prisoners have been exonerated. Most of them were
convicted based on faulty eyewitness testimony. Newly discovered DNA evidence
has proven their innocence.
Davis has come within days and hours of being executed three times. Each time
another avenue of legal appeal prevented it. With the pressure of millions
mobilized on his behalf, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a Savannah federal
district judge in August 2009 to convene a hearing to examine the evidence. The
burden of proof shifted to the defense, which had to prove that Davis was
innocent beyond reasonable doubt, turning the standard of “innocent until
proven guilty” on its head.
In June 2010, Troy’s supporters filled the courtroom and the streets
outside. The recanting witnesses told their stories, relating the police
pressure put on them. New witnesses came forward. The prosecution offered the
same evidence. Police and prosecutors denied any coercion.
Judge William Moore’s decision admitted that the state’s case was
not “ironclad.” It said that executing an innocent person would
violate the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment. However, he rejected the
original trial witnesses’ recanted testimony, implying their statements
under duress were more believable than voluntary affidavits. He ruled that the
jury’s original decision of conviction and the death sentence would not
have been affected by altered eyewitness testimony.
In March 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Davis’ final appeal for a
new trial, setting the stage for issuance of the Sept. 21 execution date.
From his death-row cell in Jackson, Ga., Troy Anthony Davis takes strength from
all those who write, march, speak, sing and act on his behalf. He always urges
that this campaign for justice be extended to all those victimized by an
inherently unfair system.
For more information, see www.JusticeForTroy.org and www.IACenter.org.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
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