NYT Op/Ed on Troy Davis Execution: 'A Grievous Wrong,' 'Appalling'

[Hissyspit]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/opinion/a-grievous-wrong-on-georgias-death-row.html?_r=2&hpEDITORIAL

A Grievous Wrong

Published: September 20, 2011

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for the 1989 killing of a police officer in Savannah, Ga. The Georgia pardon and parole board’s refusal to grant him clemency is appalling in light of developments after his conviction: reports about police misconduct, the recantation of testimony by a string of eyewitnesses and reports from other witnesses that another person had confessed to the crime.

This case has attracted worldwide attention, but it is, in essence, no different from other capital cases. Across the country, the legal process for the death penalty has shown itself to be discriminatory, unjust and incapable of being fixed. Just last week, the Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Duane Buck, an African-American, hours before he was to die in Texas because a psychologist testified during his sentencing that Mr. Buck’s race increased the chances of future dangerousness. Case after case adds to the many reasons why the death penalty must be abolished.

The grievous errors in the Davis case were numerous, and many arose out of eyewitness identification. The Savannah police contaminated the memories of four witnesses by re-enacting the crime with them present so that their individual perceptions were turned into a group one. The police showed some of the witnesses Mr. Davis’s photograph even before the lineup. His lineup picture was set apart by a different background. The lineup was also administered by a police officer involved in the investigation, increasing the potential for influencing the witnesses.

In the decades since the Davis trial, science-based research has shown how unreliable and easily manipulated witness identification can be. Studies of the hundreds of felony cases overturned because of DNA evidence have found that misidentifications accounted for between 75 percent and 85 percent of the wrongful convictions. The Davis case offers egregious examples of this kind of error.

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http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2094103,00.html#ixzz1YXoVkzA4

Troy Davis' Clemency Denial: The Failure of a Legal 'Safety Valve'
By NATHAN THORNBURGH Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

When Texas Governor Rick Perry said in a recent Republican presidential candidates' debate that his sleep is untroubled by doubts about the guilt of any of the 235 men and women who have been executed on his watch, he pointed out that his state has "a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place" to review death penalty cases. A cornerstone of that process, in Texas and elsewhere, is the Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is designed to act as a safety valve, removed from the emotion of the crime and the courtroom. It's a last resort, not to retry a case, but to ensure that a conviction is so ironclad that there is no doubt that it merits the ultimate punishment.

That safety valve failed in Georgia Tuesday, just as it has on a number of occasions in Texas. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied convicted murderer Troy Davis' last appeal for clemency, setting him on a seemingly unstoppable course for execution Wednesday evening.

For the simplest picture of why that decision was so wrong — as so many of Davis' myriad supporters have pleaded for years — just look at the numbers.

— 7: that's how many of the nine original eyewitnesses have recanted their testimony against Davis.
— 0: the amount of physical evidence linking Davis to the crime (no fingerprints, no DNA, no weapon recovered).
— 3: the number of jurors who voted for death in the original trial who now believe their vote was a mistake.
— 22: the number of years the family of slain police officer Mark McPhail has had to wait for an answer to the question of whether or not Davis would die for the crime.

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[chill_wind]

1. K & R. n/t

[pacalo]

2. It's unbelievable that a state would be willing to execute a man whose case has so many flaws

& no evidence.

This is a classic example of a miscarriage of justice. The key factor is that a police officer was murdered & someone -- anyone -- has to pay for it.

I read John Grisham's non-fiction book, "An Innocent Man", about two men (both white) who were sentenced to die & the only evidence against him was a witness who actually committed the murder & was related to someone on the police force! It was very similar to Troy's case but in Ron Williamson's case, they were able to establish Ron's innocence through DNA & he was finally released after many, many years. DNA is useless in Troy's case, as the weapon has never been found.

This is horrible.

[Nye Bevan]

3. Even supporters of the death penalty should only want it to be carried out when there is no doubt

of guilt. This case obviously does not meet that standard.

[EOTE]

6. Sadly, that's not the case.

There are some even here who have no problems whatsoever with the state murdering an innocent man. They'll claim that there's plenty of evidence against him and the case is airtight. Of course, when asked to present that evidence, they'll either ignore the request or tell you to google it. It's sickening how some can be so incredibly cavalier about someone else's life.

[Hissyspit]

4. kick nt

[L0oniX]

5. +1

[PotatoChip]

7. I can't believe we even HAVE states w/death penalties.

It's not only barbaric, but ridiculously contradictory. How can these states kill someone for the crime of killing when the state is doing the very same thing? Wtf?

I really hope there will be some justice for Mr. Davis. Murdering him should not even be an option, but since that is the current state of affairs, at the very least he should be given a new trial (or acquittal by judge) based on the evidence as it stands now-- whether he is facing the death penalty or no.

[PotatoChip]

10. Kick

:kick:


On edit: Please excuse this as a newbie accident... I meant to kick the OP, not my response to it. Sorry. :blush:

[iscooterliberally]

8. I can't understand this.

If the State of Georgia kills Troy Davis and it turns out that he really is innocent, will this mean
that the entire State of George will be guilty of murder? This should be a windfall for the big Pharma company that makes those lethal injection drugs. Think of all people in Georgia that we will now have to put to death. :sarcasm:

Maybe we need to change the name of the Department of Justice, to the Department of Vengeance. It seems that folks in our country keep confusing the words justice and vengeance. It's not surprising being that quite a few people think that pride and greed are virtues.

Our Justice systems is far to imperfect for the death penalty, but our pride in our country, and our greed for vengeance gets in the way. I hope that our country evolves sooner rather than later. We need to be the good guys again.

[DesertFlower]

9. K&R. nt