Stop the Scheduled EXECUTION of Troy Davis on September 21st! “Too much DOUBT”

 By Juanita Bratcher

 

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on September 21, 2011, in the state of Georgia. There is a picture of Troy Davis with big lettering inscribed: ‘Too Much Doubt…Stop the Execution.’ Davis’ fate now rests in the hands of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Although Davis has steadfastly maintained his innocence and seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, he will die on September 21^st if the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles does not stop this execution.

“Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt…it’s the foundation of our justice system, built to serve and protect the wrongly accused. But in the case of Troy Davis, it’s a principle that has been defied, ignored and trampled on” – Benjamin Todd Jealous, President & CEO, NAACP.

“Where is the ‘Hidden Hand’, asked Rev. Harold Bailey, Founder & President of Probation Challenge and the PCC Internet Broadcast Network: WWW.ProbationChallenge.Org. “It is quite clear to me that if Troy Davis, convicted in August, 1989 for murder in Georgia was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, he would have been executed many years ago.”

Bailey, former Chairman of the Cook County Board of Corrections and a former Adult Probation Officer, said in his 49-plus-years of “laboring in the ‘Criminal Just Us System’, it seems that the Troy Davis story is yet another chapter to be filed away. Where is the hidden hand?

“Now, there appears to be a powerful ‘hidden-hand’ that perhaps stems from the justice system. But nonetheless, the record reflects recantations by seven of the nine trial witnesses and other contradictions by those who were involved. In the sake of justice, all matters should be put on hold until proven beyond a reasonable doubt has been established. That’s what fair, honest and God-fearing people would consider.”

Bailey said the “Hidden Hand” was there again in July 2008. “Davis’ attorney filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the US Supreme Court, appealing the Georgia Supreme Court decision and arguing that the Eighth Amendment creates a substantive right of the innocent not to be executed.  However, an execution date was scheduled for September 23, 2008, before the United States Supreme Court decided whether to take up Davis’ case.”

In a statement, Jealous said the execution should be stopped, that “there is simply too much doubt in his (Troy) case for us to allow this to happen.

“A week from today, on Monday, September 19th, Troy has his final hearing in front of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. They have the power to halt the scheduled execution and commute Troy’s sentence, permanently preventing what could be a wrongful execution.

”It is now up to us to make sure the Board hears our voices loud and clear,” Jealous added. “Send a letter to the Board asking them to grant clemency for Troy Davis, and make sure it’s something from the heart.” http://action.naacp.org/write-the-board

Earlier this month, Jealous said he visited the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, where Troy Davis awaits his fate.

”Troy spoke to me about the pain of life on death row: his uncertain future, the isolation from his family, and the frustration that comes from being unable to tell his side of the story.

”It is hard to fathom that our justice system would sentence a man to death when there is so much doubt. Consider this:

• Seven of the nine original witnesses in Troy’s case have recanted or changed their story;
• One eyewitness testified for the first time in 2010 that he saw his relative, not Davis, shoot Officer MacPhail;  and
• At least 10 individuals have implicated the alternative suspect as the actual perpetrator.

“Right now we have two options. We can admit defeat and accept that some things are too big to change. Or we can stand behind our brother, like the NAACP has done for generations, and demand justice.

”I, for one, cannot sit idly by as a justice system that is supposed to protect the most vulnerable among us imprisons and executes a man like Troy Davis. And as part of the organization that has led every major civil rights battle for generations, I know you feel the same.

”Now is our chance to speak out and save Troy’s life. The members of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles have the power to do this. Write to them and ask for clemency now: http://action.naacp.org/write-the-board

”Together we can save a life,” said Jealous.

Said Bailey: “One should not consider sending a person to meet the Creator without first considering that many other people, who by reason of DNA, have been found ‘not guilty’ and sent home. They also were but one step away from death’s door.  I have only to ask the complexion of Troy A. Davis to understand that less thought is being played here than if the defendant were White.”

On a final note, Bailey said: “The Georgia Supreme Court refused to grant a stay of execution and the Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency without giving a reason for their decision.”

As reported in www.copylinemagazine,com, September 13, 2011, Davis was convicted for the alleged murder of Savannah, Georgia Police Officer Mark MacPhail in 1989.

Since his tenure on Death Row, a long list of prominent individuals has asked for clemency for Davis, noting doubts, contradictions in testimony and recantations by seven of the nine witnesses.

Prominent names and organizations that either asked for a new trial, evidentiary hearing, urged a stay of execution and/or fairness and accuracy or suggesting that Davis’ life be spared, include Former President Jimmy Carter, Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Georgia Congressman and Presidential candidate Bob Barr, former FBI Director William Sessions, U.S. Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee, Singer Harry Belafonte, Actor Mike Farrell, Author Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking), the NAACP and Amnesty International, among others.

Over the years, there were letter writing campaigns to Georgia and the Federal Court, although neutral to Davis’ guilt or innocence.

www.copylinemagazine.com  also reported details of the case as listed in Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, at the trial in August 1991, the district attorney sought the death penalty. According to the prosecution, Davis had shot Michael Cooper, then met up with Redd Coles at a pool hall, pistol-whipped the homeless man Larry Young, and then killed Mark MacPhail.^[16] Trial witnesses Harriet Murray, Redd Coles, Dorothy Ferrell and Antoine Williams testified that Davis, wearing a white shirt, had struck Young and then shot MacPhail.^[28][29][30] Coles admitted arguing with Young but stated that Davis had hit him with a pistol.^[31] On cross-examination, Coles admitted that he also had a .38 pistol, but stated that he had given it to another man earlier that night.^[28] A neighbor of the Davis family, Jeffrey Sapp, testified that soon after the murder Davis had confessed to him.^[31] Kevin McQueen, a former fellow prisoner, testified that Davis had confessed to shooting MacPhail as he feared that the officer would connect him to the shooting of Cooper earlier in the evening.^[32] Cooper testified that he was inebriated when shot and said that Davis “don’t know me well enough to shoot me”.

You can get more details on Troy Davis’ years on Death Row at www.wikipedia.org.