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Almost Certainly Innocent, Troy Anthony Davis Receives Another
Execution Date
Troy Anthony Davis almost certainly is innocent, but that has not
stopped the State of Georgia from giving him a new execution date:
September 23, 2008. The State of Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole
held a hearing on his case on September 12, 2008 and, despite tens of
thousands of letters from ACLU supporters, denied him clemency. The
Board still has discretion and can choose to hear Davis's case again.
An African-American, Davis was convicted of the murder of off-duty
Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail in 1991. No physical evidence
links him to the crime, and he has steadfastly maintained his
innocence. His conviction was based solely on the testimony of
witnesses. There was no other evidence against him. And, since his
trial, seven of those witnesses have recanted -- changing the story
they told in court.
Some witnesses say they were coerced by police. Others have even
signed affidavits implicating one of the remaining two witnesses as
the actual killer. But due to an increasingly restrictive appeals
process, none of this new evidence has ever been heard in court.
The case of Troy Davis highlights all that the ACLU finds problematic
with the death penalty: the risk of innocent people being executed,
inadequate counsel and racial and geographic disparities. It is an
example of our criminal justice system's inability to ensure
that only the guilty are convicted at trial and sentenced to death.
The Troy Davis case also is an example of a less obvious problem with
our criminal justice system -- that the ever-increasing number of
procedural hurdles erected by courts and legislators to deny death-row
inmates relief and expedite their executions has seriously eroded the
system's ability to correct its mistakes.
Troy Davis must not be executed. Act now: Write Georgia's State
Board of Pardons and Paroles and ask them to commute or stay
Troy's death sentence.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=kUOW9jkIcYrywLrRrMx2NA..
*********************************
Almost Certainly Innocent, Troy Anthony Davis Receives Another
Execution Date
Troy Anthony Davis almost certainly is innocent, but that has not
stopped the State of Georgia from giving him a new execution date:
September 23, 2008. The State of Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole
held a hearing on his case on September 12, 2008 and, despite tens of
thousands of letters from ACLU supporters, denied him clemency. The
Board still has discretion and can choose to hear Davis's case again.
An African-American, Davis was convicted of the murder of off-duty
Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail in 1991. No physical evidence
links him to the crime, and he has steadfastly maintained his
innocence. His conviction was based solely on the testimony of
witnesses. There was no other evidence against him. And, since his
trial, seven of those witnesses have recanted -- changing the story
they told in court.
Some witnesses say they were coerced by police. Others have even
signed affidavits implicating one of the remaining two witnesses as
the actual killer. But due to an increasingly restrictive appeals
process, none of this new evidence has ever been heard in court.
The case of Troy Davis highlights all that the ACLU finds problematic
with the death penalty: the risk of innocent people being executed,
inadequate counsel and racial and geographic disparities. It is an
example of our criminal justice system's inability to ensure
that only the guilty are convicted at trial and sentenced to death.
The Troy Davis case also is an example of a less obvious problem with
our criminal justice system -- that the ever-increasing number of
procedural hurdles erected by courts and legislators to deny death-row
inmates relief and expedite their executions has seriously eroded the
system's ability to correct its mistakes.
Troy Davis must not be executed. Act now: Write Georgia's State
Board of Pardons and Paroles and ask them to commute or stay
Troy's death sentence.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=kUOW9jkIcYrywLrRrMx2NA..
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