(Updated 5/18/2008)
Latest: Georgia Supreme Court denies reconsideration of the denied appeal for new trial (4/14/2008)
The Current, Harrowing Timeline:
The "motion for reconsideration" with the Georgia Supreme Court in the hopes that they would change their decision and grant either an evidentiary hearing or new trial was denied on 4/14/2008. Other legal avenues are being considered; howvever, Troy's main line of appeals have been exhausted. Now that the US Supreme Court has ruled on the Baze v. Rees lethal injection case out of Kentucky, executions are starting to be scheduled across the country. It is possible that a date could be set against Troy this summer unless a legal appeal to the US Supreme Court is filed, which could lead to a fall date if that fails. We are on high alert in Georgia. Other prisoners have received dates this year. We must act with urgency as an execution date is likely this year. It is possible that it would be not be as soon, but we must act quickly in case we do not have much time. Once the Superior Court in Chatham County issues an execution warrant, the Department of Corrections will set the execution date. Then the Parole Board will be in a position to hold a clemency hearing, which it does not do when there is no execution date. Usually, the Board holds the hearing the day before the execution date. Last summer, Troy came within 23 hours of being executed before the Board issued a stay of execution. He had already been asked to request his last meal and put on death watch.
Focus of the Troy Davis Campaign: Appeal to the parole board to prevent the execution by granting a stay and commuting the death sentence to life (which is what is in their power). This would keep alive the possibility of a new trial request. Currently, the courts have failed Troy and we have little hope that the judicial branch will stop the madness.
Case Background:
Troy Davis was sent to Georgia’s death row in 1991 for the murder of Mark Allen MacPhail, a white police officer in Savannah, Georgia in 1989.
The conviction was not based on any physical evidence
The murder weapon was never found. The prosecution relied on witness testimony.
7 out of 9 witnesses have recanted or contradicted their story
Many alleged coercion by the police.
Excerpts from their affidavits:
“[The police] were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and that I would … go to jail for a long time and I would be lucky if I ever got out, especially because a police officer got killed…I was only sixteen and was so scared of going to jail.”
“After the officers talkedto me,they gave me a statement and told me to sign it. I signed it. I did not read it because I cannot read … I was totally unsure whether he was the person who shot the officer. I felt pressured to point at him ... I have no idea what the person who shot the officer looks like.”
“The police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me…. They wanted me to tell them that Troy confessed to me about killing that officer. The thing is, Troy never told me anything about it. I got tired of them harassing me …. I told them that Troy did it, but it wasn’t true.”
“[T]here was and is no doubt in my mind that the person who shot the officer had the gun in and was shooting with his left hand.” Davis is right-handed.
One of the witnesses may be the actual murderer!
1 of the 2 witnesses who has not recanted has been implicated by 9 people as the murderer.
Several factors have made it tough to appeal with the new evidence
Severe cuts to Georgia’s legal defense resources meant that two lawyers represented close to 160 people on death row, including Davis, when he needed critical work done for his appeals. Also, in 1996, Congress passed the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which increased restrictions on appeals. No court would hear the new evidence - the witness recantations. Davis was turned down throughout his appeals, including at the US Supreme Court.
Davis came within 23 hours of execution in July, 2007. Then , the Georgia Supreme Court said it would consider his “extraordinary motion for a new trial” appeal in August, 2007 and held a hearing in November. On March 17, 2008, the court rejected his appeal on “overly rigid” (dissenting Judge Sears) technicalities setting an impossibly high bar for the recantations to be considered. Troy needs your help! Please take action - sign a petition, educate your friends and contacts.
Background in Spanish