Troy Davis denied clemency

[ellenrr]

Source: ap

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied Troy Davis Clemency for the 1989 murder off-duty Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail.

Davis' attorneys and supporters made one last plea for clemency on Monday. Less than 48 hours before his scheduled execution, the family of death row inmate Troy Davis proclaimed their belief in his innocence and prayed that he would not be put to death for a crime they are convinced he did not commit.

"There's doubt here," said Davis' sister Martina Correia. "You can't make mistakes. You have to be sure because you can't go backwards."

In the years since Davis' conviction, several prosecution witnesses have either changed or recanted their testimony.



Read more: http://www.11alive.com/news/article/205925/40/DOWNTOWN-Troy-Davis-denied-clemency

---

barring any unforeseen event, he will be murdered by the state tomorrow.

[kaiden]

1. I am heartbroken.

[classof56]

2. Sad and shocking, but I imagine the tea partiers will be cheering.

:cry:

[ellenrr]

4. yes but sadism precedes the awful tea party

in Huntsville - the killing field of Texas - every time there is an execution a bunch of people gather, and when the lights flicker to announce the execution - they cheer.
nice...
I hope there is a hell they go to. And that they know why they are in hell.
but I don't believe in hell, so not much comfort.

[Dulcinea]

53. I hate to be such a cynic....

...but it sounds like someone's political career is riding on this. There seems to be a lot of doubt.

[Slit Skirt]

3. I am outraged...truly what kind of country do we live in

this says it all doesn't it

[Moostache]

30. What kind? Easy - a declining, amoral swamp.

This country has been rotting from within for decades and the recent emergence and popular obsession with the virus known as the "Taxed Enough Already Party" (in an era of HISTORICALLY LOW TAX RATES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT) was the last straw.

We live in a country that has become deeply anti-science, anti-inclusive and anti-cooperative...in short, we live in a failed state that is just waiting for the tremors that split it for good...

[sinkingfeeling]

5. I'm to the point of admitting that we live in a barbaric, hate-filled country.

[Blue_Tires]

49. About 6 or 7 years ago there was a black death row inmate in VA

He had like a 70-point IQ and had been waiting 20-something years for execution until DNA evidence cleared him...And I could NOT believe how much local sentiment was "How DARE these people with their new science steal our moment of justice!! He wouldn't have been on death row for 20 years if he WASN'T guilty!":puke:

Revenge is like a drug for us...Someone always has to pay, regardless of their actual involvement

[asjr]

6. Will he be hanged and the members

of the board will stand beneath the tree to have their pictures taken with the deceased? Will they wear their white sheets? If there was just a flicker of evidence that showed innocence these people should have come to another conclusion.

[Synicus Maximus]

44. You do realize that two of the five members of the board are black

including the chairman.

[asjr]

54. Actually, no I did not realize that. My bad.

[mistertrickster]

56. So's Clarence Thomas. For that matter, so's Obama. nt

[fortyfeetunder]

71. It matters not.

Personally, I'd like to see them face to face with the NAACP, Al Sharpton, and Tavis Smiley to explain themselves.

[handmade34]

7. what a pathetic

little world the people on the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles live in... I am saddened and outraged beyond words. I have followed this case for years and take this to heart... :cry:

[historylovr]

8. Sad news indeed. nt

[ccavagnolo]

9. no hope

and tons of hate.

[midnight]

10. K&R.

[FarLeftFist]

11. So no physical evidence, no DNA, no weapon, just eyewitness accounts who have changed their story

And someone can be sentenced to death. This could happen to anyone.

[FourScore]

27. But didn't you hear? The witnesses aren't credible.

Except with the testimony they gave the first time. Under intimidation. That was credible.

:sarcasm:

[Blue_Tires]

51. That's why the so-called "Tough on crime" campaign platform is such bullshit

Because governors end up killing innocent people instead of letting their political image take a hit in front of the voters...

But sadly, there's no way to get elected in the South without it...

[Riftaxe]

60. Perhaps if all of the eyewitnesses had

changed their stories the outcome would have been different.

[boppers]

72. "no physical evidence"?

Shell casings.

Damn weak physical evidence, but not "no physical evidence".

[FourScore]

77. The shell casings prove nothing.

They IMPLICATED him. Apparently, he shot another man in the face earlier in the night and the shell casings from that shooting matched those of the Burger King shooting. But guns can be notoriously transient -- it does not prove that he pulled the trigger. Also, there were no matching fingerprints or DNA found on the casings. Granted, the earlier shooting and casings match are not good -- but that "evidence" alone is not enough to give him the death penalty either.

Also, according to one source I read once (sorry I don't have the link, but I welcome it if someone can prove this right or wrong)without the actual weapon it is impossible to determine if they even came from the same gun. It only shows they came from the same type of gun. I don't know if that information is true, though.

[boppers]

80. See #74

The core of what I was addressing, however, is that there actually *is* physical evidence.

[FourScore]

81. Double speak. The casings are evidence of nothing without the gun. n/t

[Recursion]

82. Well, they are evidence that someone fired a gun of a certain type at that spot

Which is not quite "nothing", but close to it.

[tropicanarose]

12. *pukes* How is this serving justice?!

[SparkyOR]

13. travesty of justice

Mob's need to rush the Basilica!

[duhneece]

14. Can the GA Gov still grant clemency? nt

[duhneece]

15. I'll call the GA Gov right now at 404-656-1776

Will you?

[duhneece]

21. GA Gov can't stay execution

"...Because Georgia’s governor has no power to stay executions, the parole board was the last hope for Mr. Davis..."

I am devastated.

Sorry I had already posted the GA Gov's phone number before I knew.

[vets74]

22. But he appoints the Board. This governor said nothing.

Sad, indeed.

[vets74]

78. Talked to people in Atlanta and Fort Valley. Sonny Perdue = hopeless case.

Killing a nigger is one of the items on his bucket list.

[ladjf]

16. Capital punishment is barbaric and very wrong. It is a terrible

disgrace that the U.S. is among the leaders in the number of executions. nt

[bread_and_roses]

19. Yes. I am so sickened by this. What else is there to say. (n/t)

[ladjf]

59. It means that as a s;pecies, we aren't ready to survive.

Because if we believe that execution is the best solution to heinous behavior, we haven't thought through the situation adequately.

[tropicanarose]

17. Is there ANY way that this can be stopped?! I think that this is a backward racist miscarriage of

justice!!!!!!!!!!!

[duhneece]

33. I'm told the Chatham County District ATtorney can withdraw the death warrant

I phoned, no one answered at 912-652-7308 and my fax has not gone through at 912-652-7328...but I'll keep trying. I am too sick at this injustice to quit trying now.

[iandhr]

18. Sad....

.... but not shocking.

[Submariner]

20. "American Exceptionalism" on display n/t

[wowimthere]

23. Oh but Martina Correia you can go backwards... The parole board just did. And look at what's under

siege in this country. Poor people, middle class are to be decimated and our government and media allow it. It is hard for people to admit they made a mistake, doubts be damned. And truth has nothing to do with justice. This may very well be a crime on top of a crime of major proportions.

[hlthe2b]

24. Sadly, the USSC has regularly refused cases based on "innocence" grounds...

with that detestable flunkie Scalia as much as stating that innocence is beside the point...

Damn these hateful blood-thirsty, blood-lust RETHUG-run states...

[FourScore]

25. The faux party-of-life will be cheering this black man's death.

F*cking hypocrites. They'd be all over saving this man if he were white.

[tropicanarose]

28. That is right! He likely wouldn't have been convicted in the first place if he were white too.

[boppers]

73. Maybe if he was hopelessly brain damaged they'd try to keep him "alive".

Uhm, yeah. So there's that.

[FourScore]

75. Or if he were a fetus. n/t

[RT Atlanta]

26. Sadly, I'm not surprised at my state

Because, you know, it's just one man's life and even if 7 of 9 witnesses have recanted, Mr. Davis hasnt established his innocence.

Extremely disappointing....

Don't death certificates for those condemned to die by capital punishment typically list the cause of death as "homicide?" What a sad state of affairs.

Thoughts & prayers to Mr. Davis.

[tropicanarose]

29. How many think that there will be rioting because of this?

[CBGLuthier]

35. doubtful

but nice try

[tropicanarose]

43. I am not certain if your post was in response to my own. A lot of people are very upset about this r

I wonder what the vibe is in GA right now.

[blkmusclmachine]

31. That's GOP "Family Values" for you:

Although I've suspected for awhile now that the "family" part of "Family Values" always referred to the DC Cult/"Church" called "The Family" that lives on C Street behind the White House. Pastor Perry would fit in perfectly.

[Botany]

32. The DA says that the shell casing found at the scene ....

... matched up to the the shell casing from another shooting the Mr. Davis was involved in and to a
gun that was found in his possession.

For what it is worth.

[dpibel]

36. Why the embellishment?

Here's the only quote I've been able to find, which is at http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/troy-davis-executed-parole-board-denies-clemency-131916604.html:

"But Spencer Lawton, the former district attorney who prosecuted Davis and was seen at Monday's hearing, wrote in a 2008 op-ed in the same paper that the witnesses who recanted their testimony were "not believable." Lawton added that shell casings recovered from an earlier shooting linked to Davis were fired from the same gun found at the scene of MacPhail's murder."

It actually doesn't say what you claim. Do you have a different source for the much less vague statement you've cited? There's a big difference between "found at the scene" and "found in his possession," wouldn't you say?

[Botany]

48. I was going from memory ... thanx

But shell casings found @ 2 different shootings that came from the same gun will make the police
look for a common link ....... now that does or does not make Mr. Davis guilty ..... I would be curious
to see if Mr. Davis was found guilty in the other shooting.

[boppers]

74. The gun is missing.

Thus, there's no way to test if the specific weapon always made those markings, or even if it's just marking made by that model (and not a single weapon)... they'd have to test every weapon in the shells caliber to even figure out an approximate match (this was not done).

Of course, even if there was a unique match, it also doesn't indicate who held the gun when it was fired, or explain why it was fired.

For example: Suppose there was an indisputable match between the casings, unique to a specific weapon. There were two shootings. Assume person A fired the shots at the first shooting, person B fired the shots at the second, and person C is going to be executed for it.

[Divine Discontent]

34. wow. that sure seems like a politically charged decision! there's an awful lot of intelligent and

well-known people who include an ex-Pres and other dignitaries who are upset by this ruling. I don't know what else can be done unless the SCOTUS gets involved, but seriously, if that man is innocent as I've been persuaded he is, then God bless his soul, and shame on those putting him to death.


http://www.zazzle.com/republicans_2012_keeping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128002960205017719

[handmade34]

38. SCOTUS 'involvement' in 2009

"...In Monday’s decision, Justice John Paul Stevens noted that no state or federal court has convened a hearing and heard the new testimony and assessed its reliability. “The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary hearing,” Stevens wrote. He was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, issued a vigorous dissent. He noted that the Georgia Supreme Court, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles and the federal appeals court in Atlanta already reviewed and rejected Davis’ claims of innocence.

The high court, Scalia said, is ordering a hearing that is “a fool’s errand” because Davis’ claim is “a sure loser.”

“Transferring his petition to the district court is a confusing exercise that can serve no purpose except to delay the state’s execution of its lawful criminal judgment,” Scalia said.

The decision noted that the court’s newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor, did not participate in it. Nor did the decision indicate how Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito voted. But at least two of them must have voted to grant Davis’ request because a five-vote majority was needed for it to prevail.
..."

[tblue37]

37. Bloodlust must be satisfied--regardless of whether the blood

belongs to an innocent person or a guilty one.

I am not against the death penalty in all cases (though I am against it in most), but when it is applied depsite such obvious doubts, it is simply murder.

[handmade34]

39. I am convinced

policepeople and the victim's mother just want someone to pay... doesn't really matter who... that's what it sounds like when I hear and read the comments

[Township75]

40. We only have 48 hours to relate this tragedy to Repubs, Tea Baggers, and any other

right wing organization we can, so let's get to it. TIME IS WASTING!!!

[handmade34]

41. ...

In moments of immense sadness, moments that shake the foundation of our faith in the justice system and mankind, adequate words are scarce.

Today, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles co-signed on the decision to execute Troy Davis.

Despite overwhelming evidence pointing to his innocence -- evidence that prompted former FBI Director William Sessions and more than a million others to write in support of clemency -- Troy's execution is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21.

His family has been moved by the efforts of the NAACP and supporters around the world. They have asked us to express their thanks to you personally.

They also asked us to tell you that this is not the hour to give up.

For the past two decades that Troy has been on death row, miracles have interceded at crucial moments. Can you help us make a miracle happen now?

Please stand with Troy and his family. Tell District Attorney Larry Chisolm that he has to intercede:

http://action.naacp.org/Ask-DA-Chisolm-To-Help

Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm is the man who requested the death warrant against Troy Davis. He's the glue that holds the case together and, even after today's news, he remains in a unique position to petition the judge to withdraw the death warrant against Troy. It's a long shot, but it's Troy's best hope.

Please, our last hope is to change the heart of District Attorney Chisolm. Sign today, and we will make sure that every name is hand delivered to his office:

http://action.naacp.org/Ask-DA-Chisolm-To-Help

We will soon reach out to tell you how you and your families and communities can organize gatherings in your hometowns to reflect on Troy's experience, and to offer prayers for his family. But tonight is the time to redouble our efforts, not to back down. Tonight, we hold on to hope.

Please, take one last action and sign the petition today:

http://action.naacp.org/Ask-DA-Chisolm-To-Help

Thanks for all of your support,

Edward Dubose
Georgia State Conference President
NAACP

[Gregorian]

42. WTF!

This is sick!

Words fail me for how screwed up America is. I'm sorry, but this is the point where I no longer consider this country to be civilized.

[alp227]

45. So who REALLY killed the police officer?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Davis_case

Could it have been Davis' friend? Who really did if 7 of the 9 witnesses recanted and said it wasn't Troy?

[handmade34]

46. not knowing

is no justification for killing someone... I trust you and many know this... it is the others that scare me and make me sad for my country

[closeupready]

47. Yes, when 7 of 9 witnesses recant, that is CLEARLY reasonable doubt,

which is enough to commute the sentence to life, IMO.

[vets74]

79. Likely one of the two who didn't recant.

Reportedly, this one also admitted to it.

[Gregorian]

50. I'm really down. This is having a profound effect on me today.

I don't ordinarily post twice in a thread.

I'm going through my morning, but have noticed that the life is drained out of me. I'm like a zombie, going through the motions.

This kind of shit isn't happening in a vacuum. I doubt many Americans know who Troy Davis is. They are the enablers of the sick America. But for those who do know, the country is a burden on them.

Maybe I'm impatient with the progress of human society. After all, it was only recent history where the Spanish Inquisition was murdering and torturing people.

We're better than this. And what will killing Troy accomplish? Will it just be a means by which the state can avoid a costly trial? What could have been more costly than keeping him in jail over these years?

There is no excuse for this. Furthermore, this only serves to drop the country down yet another notch. And to torment those of us who are civilized.

[shireen]

62. .

:hug:

[polmaven]

52. Your use of the word "murdered" is

absolutely SPOT ON!! There is no other word for what is happening here. What a criminal action this is turning into. Completely felonious!

How do those "people" sleep at night after being legally responsible for murder?

[mistertrickster]

55. Yeah, but he IS black in Georgia. He's definitely guilty of that.

:sarcasm:

[Recursion]

83. Georgia's death row is whiter than Georgia as a whole, actually

There is systemic racism in the death penalty, but it involves the race of the victim: the surest way to get the death penalty is to kill a white man or rape a white woman, and both murders and rapes are almost entirely committed within rather than across racial groups.

[Kennah]

57. Contact Info, Names, Numbers, and Email Address of Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles

James E. Donald
Chairman, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles
[phone]
[e-mail]

Albert R. Murray
Vice Chairman, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles
[phone]
[e-mail]

L. Gale Buckner
Member, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles
[phone]
[e-mail]

Terry Barnard
Member, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles
[phone]
[e-mail]

Robert E. Keller
Member, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles
[phone]
[e-mail]

http://africanamericanpundit.blogspot.com/2011/09/save-troy-davis-georgia-man-set-to-be.html

[Dem2theMax]

64. Thank you for the contact info.

It took me about five minutes to write to all of them. I hope everyone who comes into this thread will do the same.

[Blue Owl]

58. Isn't it more important to appease the salivating tea party cretins?

You know they need their weekly sacrificial blood just like in the grand old testament days of yore and gore.

:sarcasm:

[shireen]

61. disgusting and sickening

Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles ... really really disgusting human beings.

I'm so sorry Mr. Davis. :cry:

[fascisthunter]

63. Sociopaths... ironic

[pettypace]

65. Obama needs to grant clemency in this case

It's the right thing to do. Yes, it will surely hurt his reelection hopes, but they are pretty paltry to begin with as it stands.


Will be interesting to see how he approaches the matter.

[Kennah]

66. I don't believe he can

[Recursion]

84. He can't; it's a state crime

He doesn't have the power of pardon over state crimes.

[Kennah]

67. Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm

His Email address may be:
[e-mail]

The Email I sent did not bounce.

[unkachuck]

68. in time, if Davis....

....is proven innocent, then everyone associated with his death should be charged with first degree murder, tried and executed....we must have an eye for an eye....

[Matilda]

69. Amnesty International have a petition going

They emailed me this morning (Sydney time) - here is the link:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=516533&msource=W1109EADP04D&tr=y&auid=9522348

[DonCoquixote]

70. Geesh

I will not lie, there are people whose deaths I would cheer. Dick Cheney comes to mind. However, as much as my glands might like that, I realize the government should never have the power to kill outside of war, and even in war, it needs to be scrutinized. All governments need an enemy to be the hated ones, the ones that can be killed without impunity, and the fact is, the majority of Americans, and by majority I mean White, feel safe knowing the state kills those scary brown and black people. It sounds offensive, but it is true. If the GOP is not resisted, the same people that cheered letting the uninsured die will be the ones signing death warrants, just for the sheer jollies they get from killing people.

[OldEurope]

76. Appeal from the Council of Europe

"As Secretary General of the Council of Europe I appeal to the competent US authorities to find a way to spare the life of Troy Davis, scheduled to be executed today. The reason is not only our disagreement over capital punishment, but first and foremost the serious doubts which persist about the integrity of the conviction. I hope this appeal will not be perceived as outside interference. Europe is a close ally and a friend of the United States of America, and at moments like this true friends are the ones who speak out, with the respect and honesty that our relationship deserves, " said Jagland.
More:
http://www.coe.int/lportal/web/coe-por-tal/press/newsroom?p_p_id=newsroom&_newsroom_articleId=644647&_newsroom_groupId=10226&_newsroom_tabs=newsroom-topnews&pager.offset=0

For your information:
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens, and is an entirely separate body from the European Union (EU), which has only 27 member states. The current Secretary General is the former Prime Minister of Norway, Thorbjørn Jagland.