By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – With September 21 quickly approaching, Troy Anthony Davis’s friends and family are doing all that they can to halt his execution. Forty-two year old Davis has been on death row since 1991 for allegedly killing off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since his trial, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their guilty statements, admitting they are not sure who killed MacPhail. Now, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups are lobbying to delay and vacate Davis’s death sentence, scheduled for September 21, 2011.
On August 18, 1989, Officer MacPhail went to assist Michael Young, a homeless man who was being attacked in the parking lot of a Greyhound Bus Terminal/Burger King Restaurant, according to Savannah Now News. When he got to Young’s side, MacPhail was shot twice with a .38-caliber pistol, once in the heart and once in the face. MacPhail died from those injuries.
Troy Davis was subsequently tried in the Chatham County Superior Court. According to Savannah News Now, it took the jury only two hours to convict Davis of the murder and recommend the death penalty.
There is no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime. Police never even found the murder weapon. Nine witnesses testified against Davis, stating that he was guilty. Seven of the nine witnesses have since recanted their statements, saying that they are not sure who killed MacPhail. Furthermore, three witnesses now say that another man, Sylvester “Redd” Coles has confessed to the crime, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Davis still maintains his innocence.
Amnesty International reports that since 1991, when Davis was first put on death row, more than 90 prisoners have been released from death row around the United States. In fact, a number of states have recently acted to abolish the death penalty including New Jersey, New Mexico, and Illinois.
Some believe that there are racial undertones playing a significant role in this case; Davis is an African American man, MacPhail a white cop. Human Rights Watch disapproves of the death penalty in general, for its inherent cruelty and finality. Amnesty International’s USA researcher, Rob Freer said, “Given the doubts that persist in this case, the Board cannot in good conscience allow this execution to go ahead.”
Davis’s friends and family have created a website to keep the public informed of his struggle. The website is entitled: “Troy Anthony Davis: An Innocent Man Facing Execution in Georgia.” On the website, readers can find letters from celebrities and political figures supporting his cause.
In 2007, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole pardoned Davis less than 24 hours from execution because there needs to be “no doubt as to the guilt of the accused,” according to Amnesty International. In 2008, the Supreme Court granted Davis a stay of execution just two hours before he was scheduled to be put to death. The Court mandated that the federal district court look at the case again; the district court held that Davis “failed to show his actual innocence,” according to CNN.
After a federal hearing last year, Judge William Moore ruled that “Mr. Davis is not innocent” and that he has not shown “by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable juror would have convicted him in the light of new evidence,” according to Amnesty International. Furthermore, Judge Moore said that Davis’s evidence was “too general” and provided “[nothing] more than smoke and mirrors,” according to CNN.
Troy Davis’s most recent appeal was to the United States Supreme Court. Davis requested more time to prove his “actual innocence” as reported by CNN. The Supreme Court however, refused his request without comment.
According to CNN, many prominent figures have supported Davis’s cause, including former President Jimmy Carter, actress Susan Sarandon, Pope Benedict XVI, and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu. All of these figures have rallied to help Davis get a new trial.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has already scheduled an appointment for September 19 to give Davis’s legal team one last chance at delaying the execution, reported Savannah Now News. Without a grant of clemency, the state of Georgia will execute Troy Davis on September 21, 2011.
For more information, please visit:
Amnesty International — Georgia Sets Execution Date for Troy Davis — 8 Sept. 2011
SavannahNow.com — Troy Davis Execution Date Set for Sept. 21 — 8 Sept. 2011
Atlanta Journal Constitution — Parole Board to Again Hear Troy Anthony Davis Case — 7 Sept. 2011
CNN.com — Human Rights Group Protests Imminent Execution of Georgia Man — 7 Sept. 2011
Human Rights Watch — Letter from HRW to Georgia Governor, Sonnie Perdue and Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles — 20 Oct. 2008
