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Supreme Court Orders New Hearing for Troy Davis
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 3:34 pm
By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered a federal judge Monday to “receive testimony and findings of fact” in a new hearing for death row inmate Troy Davis, giving the condemned man a chance to present evidence his lawyers say could clear him in the murder of an off-duty Savannah, Georgia police officer almost 20 years ago.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said it would be” an atrocious violation of our Constitution and the principles upon which it is based” if Davis were to be executed, only for evidence to emerge later proving his innocence.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Scalia calling Davis' claim a "sure loser,"</span> <span style="font-style: italic">saying all the evidence in the case had been reviewed and rejected previously.</span>
“Imagine a petitioner in Davis’s situation who possesses new evidence conclusively and definitively proving, beyond any scintilla of doubt, that he is an innocent man,” Stevens wrote. “The dissent’s reasoning would allow such a petitioner to be put to death nonetheless.”
According to USA Today, the Supreme Court rarely intervenes in death penalty appeals at late stages and almost never when a condemned inmate is filing the kind of special petition that Davis did. Scalia and Thomas noted in their dissent that it had been nearly 50 years since the court last accepted such a petition.
“The court ordered a federal judge in Georgia to review what we and many others believe is the overwhelming evidence of Troy's innocence,” NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous said in a statement Monday.
The NAACP and other organizations, including "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" and BlackAmericaWeb.com, launched a campaign urging Davis’ supporters and death penalty opponents to work to get Davis off death row and create an opportunity for his lawyers to present the evidence Davis has said will clear him.
“<span style="font-weight: bold">There was no physical evidence tying him to the crime, and seven out of nine witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.</span> And today, finally, the Supreme Court gave Troy a chance to present this evidence and prove his innocence! That's a victory for Troy and his family — and for all of us,” Jealous said.
The Supreme Court had recessed at the end of June without making a decision on Davis’ case, appearing to delay any developments until the fall term.
At the time, the NAACP lauded the delay, which put the brakes on setting an execution date for Davis.
Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing off-duty Savannah police Officer Mark MacPhail, largely on the basis of eyewitness testimony. In addition to the recantation of seven witnesses in the case, others have come forward to say another man had confessed to killing MacPhail. Further, Davis has no previous criminal record, and there is no physical evidence linking him to the killing.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Sylvester “Redd” Coles, who has been identified as the shooter, has denied killing MacPhail. Coles, who was at the scene, was the first person to implicate Davis in the shooting.
MacPhail’s family has maintained that Davis was the shooter and that the execution should go forward.
An execution date had been scheduled for Davis on three separate occasions. The last time, in 2009, Davis came within two hours of execution.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Davis’ application for clemency, but his execution date was stayed in October by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals pending further examination. The appeals court rejected the appeal on April 16, but kept the stay in place to allow Davis’ lawyers to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. If this final level of appeal fails, a new date will be set for Davis’ execution unless Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue gives him clemency.
The case has drawn international attention, with Pope Benedict XVI among those calling for Davis’ death sentence to be commuted.
Davis’ case also has raised questions about the fairness of the death penalty because of the questionable circumstances of the case and because not only are black men more likely to be executed, but executions are more likely when the victim was white than black.
According to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund report "Death Row USA 2008," 79 percent of the victims in cases where the convict was executed were white, compared to 1.35 percent of black victims.
The NAACP urged the public to write Gov. Perdue and District Attorney Larry Chisolm, who is Savannah’s first African-American D.A. and a death penalty proponent, through its Web site, www.IAMTROY.com.
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 3:34 pm
By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered a federal judge Monday to “receive testimony and findings of fact” in a new hearing for death row inmate Troy Davis, giving the condemned man a chance to present evidence his lawyers say could clear him in the murder of an off-duty Savannah, Georgia police officer almost 20 years ago.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said it would be” an atrocious violation of our Constitution and the principles upon which it is based” if Davis were to be executed, only for evidence to emerge later proving his innocence.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Scalia calling Davis' claim a "sure loser,"</span> <span style="font-style: italic">saying all the evidence in the case had been reviewed and rejected previously.</span>
“Imagine a petitioner in Davis’s situation who possesses new evidence conclusively and definitively proving, beyond any scintilla of doubt, that he is an innocent man,” Stevens wrote. “The dissent’s reasoning would allow such a petitioner to be put to death nonetheless.”
According to USA Today, the Supreme Court rarely intervenes in death penalty appeals at late stages and almost never when a condemned inmate is filing the kind of special petition that Davis did. Scalia and Thomas noted in their dissent that it had been nearly 50 years since the court last accepted such a petition.
“The court ordered a federal judge in Georgia to review what we and many others believe is the overwhelming evidence of Troy's innocence,” NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous said in a statement Monday.
The NAACP and other organizations, including "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" and BlackAmericaWeb.com, launched a campaign urging Davis’ supporters and death penalty opponents to work to get Davis off death row and create an opportunity for his lawyers to present the evidence Davis has said will clear him.
“<span style="font-weight: bold">There was no physical evidence tying him to the crime, and seven out of nine witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.</span> And today, finally, the Supreme Court gave Troy a chance to present this evidence and prove his innocence! That's a victory for Troy and his family — and for all of us,” Jealous said.
The Supreme Court had recessed at the end of June without making a decision on Davis’ case, appearing to delay any developments until the fall term.
At the time, the NAACP lauded the delay, which put the brakes on setting an execution date for Davis.
Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing off-duty Savannah police Officer Mark MacPhail, largely on the basis of eyewitness testimony. In addition to the recantation of seven witnesses in the case, others have come forward to say another man had confessed to killing MacPhail. Further, Davis has no previous criminal record, and there is no physical evidence linking him to the killing.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Sylvester “Redd” Coles, who has been identified as the shooter, has denied killing MacPhail. Coles, who was at the scene, was the first person to implicate Davis in the shooting.
MacPhail’s family has maintained that Davis was the shooter and that the execution should go forward.
An execution date had been scheduled for Davis on three separate occasions. The last time, in 2009, Davis came within two hours of execution.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Davis’ application for clemency, but his execution date was stayed in October by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals pending further examination. The appeals court rejected the appeal on April 16, but kept the stay in place to allow Davis’ lawyers to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. If this final level of appeal fails, a new date will be set for Davis’ execution unless Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue gives him clemency.
The case has drawn international attention, with Pope Benedict XVI among those calling for Davis’ death sentence to be commuted.
Davis’ case also has raised questions about the fairness of the death penalty because of the questionable circumstances of the case and because not only are black men more likely to be executed, but executions are more likely when the victim was white than black.
According to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund report "Death Row USA 2008," 79 percent of the victims in cases where the convict was executed were white, compared to 1.35 percent of black victims.
The NAACP urged the public to write Gov. Perdue and District Attorney Larry Chisolm, who is Savannah’s first African-American D.A. and a death penalty proponent, through its Web site, www.IAMTROY.com.