The Loveshade Family Blog

In spite of an international outcry that severely questioned his conviction, Troy Anthony Davis, 42, was executed on Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

After four years of blogging about his case, there seems to be nothing more we can do to help him. But we can do something for others, quite possibly including you, the reader

The so-called Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 was passed in the emotional wake of the Oklahoma City bombings.  It had a tremendous effect on one of the most fundamental principles of a free society, that of habeus corpus.  In short, it made it much more difficult for a person who was rightly--or wrongly--convicted to have their case reviewed.

In the case of Troy Davis, his options were very limited from the beginning.  Even though seven of the nine witnesses against him recanted their testimony, some saying they were coerced by the police, and one of the two remaining witnesses was said to have confessed to the killing of officer Mark MacPhail, Davis could not get a true new trial.  The closest was when the U. S. Supreme court did something it had not done in 50 years: let a man be tried to be found innocent.

But finding someone innocent who was at the scene of a crime, whether they were involved or not, is virtually impossible.  And because of the 1996 law, that was Davis' best, if lousy, option.

We will be making an effort to get that law changed, and will post more information later.

For now, here are the last words of Troy Anthony Davis:

"I'd like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I'm not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent.

"The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth.

"I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight.

"For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls."

Article at http://news.yahoo.com/troy-davis-maintains-innocence-final-words-035511137.html

Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Troy_Davis_Execution_Protest_2011_Shankbone.JPG

You can find all our blog entries on Troy Anthony Davis by clicking on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=troy+anthony+davis

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

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"Georgia's pardons board rejected a last-ditch clemency plea from death row inmate Troy Davis on Tuesday despite high-profile support from figures including the pope and a former FBI director for the claim that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989." (See link below).

So many people would rather take a chance on killing an innocent man than on not killing one who's guilty.  America is a nation that likes to see people killed whether in fiction or fact, whether at home or overseas. A former head of the FBI said Troy Davis' case should be reheard.  Even U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr., who did not find him innocent in an extremely rare U.S. Supreme Court-approved hearing, said he believed a majority of jurors, based on current evidence, would have found him guilty. A majority. You don't convict someone, let alone kill them, on a vote of the majority.

We've been blogging about the case of Troy Anthony Davis for four years, and sincerely hope the so-called Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) of 1996 gets reviewed.  For those who don't know, this relatively new law makes it extremely difficult for a person wrongly convicted of homicide to get new evidence considered.  Because of this law, even with a great deal of evidence of innocence, the wrongly-convicted will likely die.

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 21.

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UPDATE: An eleventh-hour please to the U. S. Supreme Court was made.  Davis' execution was put on hold.

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LINKS

See article quoted above at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44592285/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

To see all our entries on Troy Anthony Davis, click on http://loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=troy+anthony+davis

Image is from http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/206/images/troydavis.jpg The copyright remains with them.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

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Troy Anthony Davis, who was convicted of the 1989 murder of Officer Mark Allen MacPhail, is scheduled to die at 7 p.m. September 21, 2011 in Georgia.

It appears Davis cannot get another appeal; his lone hope is clemency from the state Board of Pardons and Parole which has set a hearing for September 19.  (Information on petitions people can sign is below).

Troy Davis was convicted on no physical evidence; the primary evidence was that of witness testimony.  But after his conviction, most of the witnesses recanted their testimony, some saying they were coerced by the police.  One of the remaining witnesses against Davis, Sylvester "Redd" Coles, was identified as a possible suspect.  In fact some said they heard Coles admit to the killing.

The U. S. Supreme Court made the extremely unusual move of calling for a hearing to give the defense a chance to prove Davis' innocence in June of 2011.  However, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. said it failed to prove his innocence, which legal experts said is usually extremely difficult to do.  Moore said that while "the state's case may not be ironclad, most reasonable jurors would again vote to convict Mr. Davis."

A conviction requires more than most; it requires unanimous consent of 12 jurors.

Prosecuters said the recants were not valid, and that Coles may have falsely said he committed the murder to enhance his image.

If Davis is granted clemency, he would likely be sentenced to life in prison.  Supporters say that would at least give time to prove his innocence.

The board did not grant clemency in 2008; however, the five-member board now has three new members.

PETITIONS

More than 50 legislators in George; William Sessions, former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and thousands of people worldwide have a signed a petition asking for clemency for Davis based on the questionable level of evidence.

Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson have introduced a bill called the Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act.  Under current law, it is extremely difficult to get evidence of a person's innocence heard by the court after a wrongful conviction, and they hope to get that changed in Georgia.

Note: you do not have to be a member of one of these groups to sign the petitions:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=12970 Amnesty International USA Petition

http://www.ncadp.org/#Troy_Front_Page National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Petition

http://www.naacp.org/campaign/davis NAACP Petition

LINKS

http://www.reddingnewsreview.com/newspages/2011newspages/lewis_johnson_11_100000082.html

http://www.ajc.com/news/troy-anthony-davis-execution-1160699.html

http://www.ajc.com/news/parole-board-to-again-1162012.html

To see all our blog posts on Troy Anthony Davis, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=troy+anthony+davis

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 01:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

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