Sunday, July 08, 2007
An Innocent Man Is About To Be Executed
Just another shameful story about the legal justice system in America, especially in the South.
On July 17, a man is scheduled to be executed in the peachy state of Georgia even though chances are very high that he is innocent.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Troy Anthony Davis who was convicted solely on the testimony of nine so-called witnesses. Since then, six recanted most of their court statements.
Back in 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that witnesses in sworn testimony said they never saw Davis pull the trigger but were "pressured by police to say otherwise."
Move along, nothing to see behind the curtain.
On July 17, a man is scheduled to be executed in the peachy state of Georgia even though chances are very high that he is innocent.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Troy Anthony Davis who was convicted solely on the testimony of nine so-called witnesses. Since then, six recanted most of their court statements.
Back in 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that witnesses in sworn testimony said they never saw Davis pull the trigger but were "pressured by police to say otherwise."
Two of [the six] witnesses confirmed their new claims in interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.So what if the death row inmate is black and the murdered man was a white off-duty police officer? Davis was guilty of SOMETHING.
[...]
Susan Boleyn, a lawyer for the state attorney general's office, said that in past years state courts, and more recently Nangle, had considered Davis' new claims and rejected them.
Boleyn also dismissed the recantations. "You may find it compelling
testimony," she told the court. "I don't. I think it was rank hearsay."
Judge Rosemary Barkett expressed concern that Davis has not been allowed a hearing in federal court to present the new evidence. "If these people say, 'I was coerced by the police,' how could he reject that without a hearing?" she asked, referring to Nangle.
Move along, nothing to see behind the curtain.
// posted by Howling Latina @ 6:19 PM 
