Troy Davis execution: Georgia pardons board denies plea for clemency

[danarhea]

Davis, 42, was put on death row 20 years ago for the 1989 murder of a police officer, Mark MacPhail, in Savannah following a fight with a homeless man over a bottle of beer. Since then seven out of the nine key witnesses who implicated him have recanted their evidence, several saying they were cajoled by police into giving false eye-witness statements.
Another 10 have come forward to point the finger at a separate man present at the scene of the murder, Sylvester Coles.
Meanwhile, no forensic or DNA evidence linking Davis to the shooting has ever been found, and nor has the murder weapon.

So here we have 7 of the 9 witnesses at the trial recanting their testimony, saying that the police coerced them to give false testimony. We also have 10 witnesses coming forward, who say they saw a different man killing the officer. They even identified the killer. And there is NO physical evidence linking Davis to the crime. But that doesn't matter. The state of Georgia is about to commit premeditated murder. Does this mean that Georgia officials should, in turn, be executed by it's citizens? No, I do NOT advocate this, any more than I advocate the state murdering an innocent man.

Rick Perry would be proud of Georgia. After all, when the Texas forensic board announced a finding that Perry did cause an innocent man to be executed here, he simply fired them all and replaced them with political cronies, who then shut down the investigation.

Yes, most people on death row deserve it. But it is cases like this one in Georgia and the one in Texas that make me opposed to capital punishment. You just can't bring an innocent man back from the dead after you have murdered him. And state-sanctioned murder is exactly what this is. I find the state of Georgia guilty of capital murder.

One more question? Had Davis been a white man, would he be going to the death chamber tonight? That's worth a debate too, so what do you think?

Article is here.

 

[liblady]

So here we have 7 of the 9 witnesses at the trial recanting their testimony, saying that the police coerced them to give false testimony. We also have 10 witnesses coming forward, who say they saw a different man killing the officer. They even identified the killer. And there is NO physical evidence linking Davis to the crime. But that doesn't matter. The state of Georgia is about to commit premeditated murder. Does this mean that Georgia officials should, in turn, be executed by it's citizens? No, I do NOT advocate this, any more than I advocate the state murdering an innocent man.

Rick Perry would be proud of Georgia. After all, when the Texas forensic board announced a finding that Perry did cause an innocent man to be executed here, he simply fired them all and replaced them with political cronies, who then shut down the investigation.

Yes, most people on death row deserve it. But it is cases like this one in Georgia and the one in Texas that make me opposed to capital punishment. You just can't bring an innocent man back from the dead after you have murdered him. And state-sanctioned murder is exactly what this is. I find the state of Georgia guilty of capital murder.

One more question? Had Davis been a white man, would he be going to the death chamber tonight? That's worth a debate too, so what do you think?

Article is here.

this is exactly why the death penalty should be abolished.

 

[Chenoa]

Without physical evidence, you don't carry out the death penalty. IMO. Eye-witnesses have been proven to be horribly unreliable, I would never convict based on eye-witness testimony alone. If there is any doubt whatsoever, I would rather err (with life imprisonment) than kill an innocent man.

I don't have enough data to form a reasonable opinion on race and capital punishment. I'll get back to you on my opinion on that one.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

So here we have 7 of the 9 witnesses at the trial recanting their testimony, saying that the police coerced them to give false testimony. We also have 10 witnesses coming forward, who say they saw a different man killing the officer. They even identified the killer. And there is NO physical evidence linking Davis to the crime. But that doesn't matter. The state of Georgia is about to commit premeditated murder. Does this mean that Georgia officials should, in turn, be executed by it's citizens? No, I do NOT advocate this, any more than I advocate the state murdering an innocent man.

Rick Perry would be proud of Georgia. After all, when the Texas forensic board announced a finding that Perry did cause an innocent man to be executed here, he simply fired them all and replaced them with political cronies, who then shut down the investigation.

Yes, most people on death row deserve it. But it is cases like this one in Georgia and the one in Texas that make me opposed to capital punishment. You just can't bring an innocent man back from the dead after you have murdered him. And state-sanctioned murder is exactly what this is. I find the state of Georgia guilty of capital murder.

One more question? Had Davis been a white man, would he be going to the death chamber tonight? That's worth a debate too, so what do you think?

Article is here.

In such cases the Georgian officials should face the same punishement regarding premeditated murder as anyone who commits such a crime.

 

[jamesrage]

I am for the death penalty but I do not think you should get such a punishment based only on eye witness testimony.

 

[soccerboy22]

If the governor doesn't pardon the execution, then the family should sue the state. Obviously, there are reasons to doubt his verdict.

 

[TheNextEra]

There is clear doubt. While I support the death penalty I don't support it when this much doubt exists.

 

[X Factor]

As an aside, Rick Perry didn't sentence anyone to die. Actually, the only way to get the death penalty in Texas is if jurors assess it. That's different than every other state where it's the judge who does the sentencing.

Regarding eye witness testimony, think about this, if you're the victim of a crime and you're the only witness to it (because people typically don't commit crimes where there are lots of witnessess), do you believe the guy should not be prosecuted because nobody else was around to see it? Something to consider.

 

[TheNextEra]

Regarding eye witness testimony, you should consider, if you're the victim of a crime and you're the only witness to it (because people typically don't commit crimes where there are lots of witnessess), do you believe the guy should not be prosecuted because nobody else was around to see it? Something to consider.

Noone is saying they shouldn't be prosecuted, only that the death penalty shouldn't apply based off of eye witness testimony only.

 

[X Factor]

Noone is saying they shouldn't be prosecuted, only that the death penalty shouldn't apply based off of eye witness testimony only.

So, as long as the guy is good about leaving no physical evidence, he could commit mass murder in front of 50 people and he shouldn't get the death penalty (I ask with sincerity)?

 

[soccerboy22]

So, as long as the guy is good about leaving no physical evidence, he could commit mass murder in front of 50 people and he shouldn't get the death penalty (I ask with sincerity)?

I don't think so X. I mean look at this case, well over half the people said they were wrong because of police action. Now that aside, should we really put some one to death because of a few people's apparent thought?

 

[Tigger]

I am in favor of sending 100 Innocent men to their deaths in order to ensure that every guilty one ends up there. It isn't my PREFERENCE for how it should work, but in order to ensure that the guilty end up getting their just rewards, that's the way it has to work.

 

[herenow1]

This is soo sad!!!

 

[TheNextEra]

So, as long as the guy is good about leaving no physical evidence, he could commit mass murder in front of 50 people and he shouldn't get the death penalty (I ask with sincerity)?

If there was no physical evidence ( which the chances of that happening would be close to nil) I would rather err on the side of caution and do life in prison without the possibility of parole.

One innocent life being snubbed by the state is one too many.

 

[jamesrage]

So, as long as the guy is good about leaving no physical evidence, he could commit mass murder in front of 50 people and he shouldn't get the death penalty (I ask with sincerity)?

If you are going to execute a man wouldn't you want solid physical evidence that man did what it is he was convicted of?

 

[TheNextEra]

I am in favor of sending 100 Innocent men to their deaths in order to ensure that every guilty one ends up there. It isn't my PREFERENCE for how it should work, but in order to ensure that the guilty end up getting their just rewards, that's the way it has to work.

Karmas a bitch and you may end up being one of those 100 then.

 

[Chenoa]

So, as long as the guy is good about leaving no physical evidence, he could commit mass murder in front of 50 people and he shouldn't get the death penalty (I ask with sincerity)?

Of course he should. But it's highly unlikely that 50 eyewitnesses to a mass murder have any reason to lie. In the Troy Davis case, that doesn't seem to fit the circumstances of what happened.

We're lucky that in the last couple of decades DNA and forensics have made huge strides. Not to mention that it's more than likely you'll be on camera. It is "mainstream knowledge" now that eyewitness testimony is rarely credible. Usually people trained in law-enforcement and security are better at it than the rest of us. We just don't pay attention and when we're forced too (as in a robbery or rape), terror usually skews what we remember. Just my opinion.

 

[Tigger]

Karmas a bitch and you may end up being one of those 100 then.

So be it. If I'm incompetent enough to not be able to prove my innocence, then I probably deserve exactly what I get.

 

[jamesrage]

I am in favor of sending 100 Innocent men to their deaths in order to ensure that every guilty one ends up there. It isn't my PREFERENCE for how it should work, but in order to ensure that the guilty end up getting their just rewards, that's the way it has to work.

I look at those guilty men on death row and even regular as subhuman scum,garbage or human cockroaches. So if anything the life of innocent people should be worth way more than that of scumbags in prison. So we should demand that if we are going to execute someone then we should make sure we take every possible route to make sure that person did what ever it is they did before we execute them so that one innocent person does not pay for the crimes of someone else. This is why I support an appeals system based on the degree of evidence.The stronger the evidence the less appeals you get and if they got you on video then they should be able to just take you out back after a guilty conviction and put a bullet in your head.

 

[soccerboy22]

I am in favor of sending 100 Innocent men to their deaths in order to ensure that every guilty one ends up there. It isn't my PREFERENCE for how it should work, but in order to ensure that the guilty end up getting their just rewards, that's the way it has to work.

It embarrasses me to know we are from the same area because of this? How dare you say innocent men should die simply because you want every guilty person to die as well.

 

[X Factor]

I am in favor of sending 100 Innocent men to their deaths in order to ensure that every guilty one ends up there. It isn't my PREFERENCE for how it should work, but in order to ensure that the guilty end up getting their just rewards, that's the way it has to work.

It's pretty obvious I support the death penalty but this it really dumb. If you execute people in place of the guilty, that means the guilty people get away with the murder that the innocent person was executed for, so, even using your own logic, your position makes no sense.

 

[Tigger]

It embarrasses me to know we are from the same area because of this? How dare you say innocent men should die simply because you want every guilty person to die as well.

We may be from the same bit of real estate (New England) but we are most definitely NOT from the same place philosophically. We have lost the idea of JUSTICE and PUNISHMENT in this land, and we're much worse off for it. I don't LIKE seeing innocent people executed, but it's a fact of life on occasion. Just the way the system works. You're going to get some wheat in with the chaff from time to time.

 

[Tigger]

It's pretty obvious I support the death penalty but this it really dumb. If you execute people in place of the guilty, that means the guilty people get away with the murder that the innocent person was executed for, so, even using your own logic, your position makes no sense.

This happens much less often than most people like to suggest. Additionally, I rarely see truly innocent people executed. They may not be guilty of what they were charged with, but they're rarely salt-of-the-earth, Mother Theressa types either.

 

[TheNextEra]

So be it. If I'm incompetent enough to not be able to prove my innocence, then I probably deserve exactly what I get.

It's not about incompetence. it's about more people than you saying you did something you didn't and the authorities taking their word for it.

But hey, if you want to act superior be my guest. Maybe Karma will slap you with a nice needle and put you down for good for something you didn't do.

 

[soccerboy22]

We may be from the same bit of real estate (New England) but we are most definitely NOT from the same place philosophically. We have lost the idea of JUSTICE and PUNISHMENT in this land, and we're much worse off for it. I don't LIKE seeing innocent people executed, but it's a fact of life on occasion. Just the way the system works. You're going to get some wheat in with the chaff from time to time.

You are right about that. I am not willing to let an innocent man die in order to be able to execute others. And you speak of justice and punishment, where is the damn justice in killing an innocent man? If they do kill him then the state of Georgia should face the punishment for murdering an innocent man.