As the entire world watched, you put the needle in Troy Davis’ vein. As candlelight vigils were held in London, Paris and New York, you ignored the outcries and decided it was more important to be right than protect justice. As Davis refused his last meal and last words, you continued to reject every last minute plea.

This particular case is not even about whether the death penalty is right or wrong. This case is not about Troy’s guilt or innocence. It is well beyond all that. This case proves our criminal justice and legal system are beyond repair. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that people from low socioeconomic status or minorities are far more likely to be convicted than rich white people.

Not only convicted, but likely will have longer sentences or death. Does that seem fair? Furthermore, the burden of proof during the original trial rests with the prosecution. However, for every other appeal, the defendant must prove his innocence. You, dear Georgia, completely botched this case from the beginning.

Witnesses were tainted, the jurors were tainted and the police never even considered any other suspects. The trial should have been moved to a different location after you flashed Davis’ picture on the news with the words “Cop Killer.” You should not have had all the “witnesses” together to reenact the crime.

Any two-bit police department in the nation knows this. What is your excuse for acting so unprofessionally on this case? Without any evidence of Troy’s guilt, how can he prove he is innocent? Yet, that is what the courts have expected of Davis.

I cry tonight as your state murders a man. I think that maybe this will open up the eyes of the nation of the problems with the death penalty. However, that won’t bring Troy Davis back. He has spent most of his life in jail only to be killed by your state to teach him killing is wrong. I wonder if the victim was not a cop or not white if the outcome would be different?

I already know the answer to that. A police officer’s life is worth more than other people. I hope everybody feels good down there for this state-sponsored lynching. Please know that I will never spend another moment in your state again. I would hate to be wrongly accused of a crime in your backwards ass state.

Yours truly,
Erin

The article Dear Georgia…, A Reaction to Troy Davis` Execution appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The world is still coming to terms with the shocking execution of Georgia inmate Troy Davis as more details emerge of Davis’ final moments. Davis spoke to the spectators gathered to watch him be put to death on Tuesday night. His final words before the lethal injection took his life were chilling.

Addressing some of his last words to the family of the victim, Mark MacPhail, who were in the viewing gallery, Davis lifted his head as needles were inserted into his arm, and insisted, as he always has done, that he was not responsible for killing the young, off-duty police officer.

“I am innocent. The incident that happened that night was not my fault,” he said, according to the four US media representatives who attended. “I personally did not have a gun. I was not the one who took the life of your father, son, brother.” Davis then turned to prison officials. “For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.”

Outside, the crowd of nearly 700 people cried and held hands as Troy Davis was killed. Over a million people from around the world signed petitions in support of Davis. Riot police and helicopters were dispatched as the execution approached, however there were no incidents of violence. Even though, many protesters were angry.

Davis’ lawyers amounted the execution to a “legal lynching.” “In the state of Georgia 48.4 percent of people on death row this morning were black males, and in Georgia they make up no more than 15 percent of the population,” his lawyers told reporters outside the jail.

Polls show that 57 percent of Americans believe Davis is innocent. This may be, as I have been saying, the catalyst that ends capital punishment in America. The US currently executes more people than any country in the world except China, Iran, North Korea and Yemen.

Although just over 60 percent of the public still support capital punishment, that number appears to have been slowly falling since the 1990s. DNA technology has allowed several death row inmates to be exonerated in recent years, denting faith in the system. Davis released a final message to supporters earlier in the day.

Edward Dubose, a member of the Georgia NAACP, met with Troy before his execution. “Troy wanted me to let you know – keep the faith. The fight is bigger than him … The death penalty in this country needs to end. They call it execution; we call it murder.”

The article Troy Davis’ Final Words appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardons has, inexplicably, denied clemency to death row inmate Troy Davis. Offering little explanation, the Board announced that the appeal for clemency was denied and that Davis will be executed on Wednesday. Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles said it considered “the totality of the information presented” before deciding to deny clemency.

“The Board members have not taken their responsibility lightly and certainly understand the emotions attached to a death penalty case,” the five-person panel said in a statement. The board’s statement noted that it has commuted three death penalty sentences since 2000 and “thoroughly deliberated” the Davis case.

During the clemency hearing on Monday, Davis’ legal team and supporters provided testimony from one of the original jurors who believes she made a mistake. Another person testified that a different person confessed to the killing of the off-duty police officer that Davis was convicted of killing. Despite all of the doubt, the victim’s family believes that Davis is the killer and wants the execution to proceed.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who plans a noon EDT vigil at the state prison in Jackson on Wednesday, said he’s asking his supporters to urge the pardons board to reconsider. Sharpton is also asking Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm to block the execution, although that seems unlikely.

“This is probably the most egregious injustice I have seen in a long time, to set a precedent that a man can be executed when the evidence against him has mostly been recanted,” said Sharpton. “It’s unthinkable.”

Amnesty International USA director Larry Cox called the pardon board’s decision “unconscionable.” “Should Troy Davis be executed, Georgia may well have executed an innocent man and in so doing discredited the justice system,” Cox said. Davis’ legal team said in a statement it was “incredibly disappointed” by the board’s decision.

“The death penalty should not be exercised where doubt exists about the guilt of the accused. The Board did not follow that standard here,” their statement said. “The state’s case against Mr. Davis, based largely on discredited eyewitness testimony and an inaccurate ballistics report, cannot resolve the significant, lingering doubts that exist here.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/amnestyinternational_usa/

The article Anthony Troy Davis Denied Clemency appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

By the time you read this, Troy Davis may know his fate. On Monday, Troy Davis and supporters pleaded for clemency in front of the Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardons amid unprecedented support for his imminent death sentence to be commuted. The hearing and decision is expected on Tuesday.

Georgia legal system sentenced Davis 20 years ago for the murder of an off-duty police officer. Since that time, Davis and family members have maintained his innocence. With no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime, he was convicted on eyewitnesses’ testimony. The majority of witnesses have since recanted.

In fact, one witness has come forward stating that another man confessed to killing the officer at a party. Despite this, the execution has been scheduled for Wednesday.

A trending topic on Twitter, more and more people are convinced that Georgia may be taking the life of an innocent man. Nearly one million signatures have been collected on a petition requesting clemency for Davis. Three hundred demonstrations and vigils have been held around the globe in the past few days, with protesters holding signs stating “I am Troy Davis” and “Justice for Troy Davis.”

The parole board heard from one of the jurors who originally recommended the death penalty for Davis. Brenda Forrest told the panel that she no longer trusted the verdict or sentence: “I feel, emphatically, that Mr. Davis cannot be executed under these circumstances,” she said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The board also heard from Quiana Glover, who testified that she had heard Sylvester Coles, one of the witnesses that fingered Davis, confess in June 2009 to having been the killer, at a party where he had been drinking heavily. Members of the murdered officer’s family still believe Davis is the killer and ask that the execution go forward.

We are at an important point in our legal history. If Georgia decides to go forward with the execution, as they have in the past, the death penalty will no longer be sustainable in the United States. Yes, it may take awhile to pitter out, especially in pro-death states like Texas. But, the majority opinion in the U.S. will change. The tides are already changing and executing Troy Davis will be the final push.

Whether he is guilty or innocent is not the point. There is simply too much doubt to kill someone. Even if the witnesses had not recanted and pointed their finger at Troy, eyewitness testimony is not enough. Study after study has proved that. How in the hell did the jury ever sentence this man based on no physical evidence?

And how has court after court upheld this freaking travesty of a conviction? And how can the country be so blind to these injustices? The West Memphis Three, an equally horrendous case, received more media attention because the media could get to them. The Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardon has never allowed media to interview Davis. Why???

Because they know they royally screwed this up. And this is your chance, Georgia, to make amends. Grant Davis clemency once and for all. Allow him a new trial. If you were right, you have nothing to lose. And if you were wrong, that is the very least you can do for Davis.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/javacolleen/

The article Anthony Troy Davis Waits for Decision appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

A clemency hearing has been set for Monday in the case of Troy Davis. Davis is scheduled to be executed on September 21 at 7 PM in Georgia despite the lack of evidence. Davis and supporters will plead their case before the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles next week. Meanwhile Amnesty International are ramping up their ongoing petition drive to plead with Georgia to stay Davis’ execution once again.

Davis has been on death row since 1999 for the killing of an off-duty police officer in 1989. Although no physical evidence connected Davis to the crime, nine witnesses reported he shot the officer in a Burger King parking lot. Seven of the nine witnesses have since recanted their testimony. Support for Troy Davis has been world wide and include the Pope, Desmond Tutu, Jesse Jackson and others.

Amnesty International says “support for Davis’s clemency campaign has swelled with hundreds of thousands of people worldwide taking action, from luminaries such as Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta to singer-songwriter Cee Lo Green.”

Amnesty International also says that among the petition signatures from around the world, 26,000 come from Georgia residents and that “support has also come in form of letters to the parole board from former President Jimmy Carter and Norman Fletcher, former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, to Tweets from R.E.M.”

“This is a case that has resonated with Americans of all stripes,” said Larry Cox, executive director of AIUSA.  “When serious questions about someone’s guilt permeate a case, it brings together liberals and conservatives, those who oppose the death penalty and those who are staunch supporters.  In the case of Troy Davis, hundreds of thousands are raising their voices to say there is simply too much doubt to execute.”

Earlier this week, former Georgia republican Congressman Bob Barr appeared on MSNBC’s as a guest of Al Sharpton. Barr is an advocate of the death penalty, but opposes Troy Davis being executed. Barr said the “recantations of seven witnesses make the Davis case one of those where the death penalty should not be applied.”

Supporters from Amnesty International will present their petition to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles this week. Davis’ family is also collecting signatures for their own petition which has over 200,000 names so far.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/javacolleen/

The article Clemency Hearing for Troy Davis Set for Monday appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

An execution date was set for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. Davis, 42, is scheduled to be executed on September 21. This is the fourth time an execution date has been set for Davis. Amnesty International has renewed the call for clemency amid news of the new execution date.

Davis “could very well be innocent,” said Laura Moye, the head of Amnesty’s Death Penalty Abolition Campaign. “It’s difficult to believe that a system of justice could be so terribly flawed.” Davis was convicted for killing an off-duty police officer in 1989. Davis has maintained his innocence throughout the twenty years he has remained on death row.

Many celebrities, including Susan Sarandan, Desmond Tutu, Jesse Jackson and the Pope, have asked Georgia to give Davis a new trial. No DNA evidence was used and the conviction was based primarily on eyewitness testimony. Since the conviction, seven out of nine eyewitnesses have since recanted their stories. However, Davis has been unable to get a new trial.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Davis’ request that his execution be delayed in order to gain more time to prove his “actual innocence.” Upon reviewing Davis’ claims of innocence, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia found last year that Davis “vastly overstates the value of his evidence of innocence.”

“Some of the evidence is not credible and would be disregarded by a reasonable juror,” Judge William T. Moore wrote in a 172-page opinion. “Other evidence that Mr. Davis brought forward is too general to provide anything more than smoke and mirrors,” the court found.

Families react to the news on Wednesday of the new execution date. “The family’s still feeling optimistic. We’ve been down this road countless times to where you know executing date, clemency hearing, and then at the execution things get changed so we’re still playing very cautious,” Mark MacPhail Jr., son of the murdered police officer, told local news on Wednesday.

Davis’ sister Martina Correia has always been his biggest advocate. ”I’m very disappointed in Georgia because there’s still doubt, but I’m holding the parole board to their standard that when there’s doubt that they won’t execute,” Correia stated. A clemency hearing has been set for September 19^th.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/javacolleen/

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