Troy Davis is Dead

[brandonl337]

This Wednesday at 11:08 P.M. Troy Davis was executed.

He was an almost certainly innocent man, 7 of the 9 eyewitnesses had recanted their testimony, what's more, of the 2 that did not, one is believes to be the actual murdered and may confessed to such while intoxicated. Also, there has been no physical evidence to tie Troy Davis to the murder.

The Supreme Court had an emergency session to decide whether to stay the execution, they ultimately did not, and what's more, there were no published dissenting votes calling for saving Troy Davis' life.

[libertarianeurope]

And so, My faith in humanity dies further still.

The Death penalty is despicable and is far from any form of justice.

[lighthorseman]

I sent an email to the governor.

Sorry Troy. I hope you are in a better place.

[brandonl337]

Won't do any good, the governor specifically denied the stay, nevermind that he stayed the execution of a man who admitted to the murder and had compelling evidence of the murder, but that man was white so of course we can't kill him. /sarcasm (I fucking loathe this state.)

[mrsyoungie]

I was reading John Grisham's "The Confession" all this week while the drama was going on. Spooky how life was imitating art. Very sad. Where are all the pro-lifers when you really need them?

[MaybeNever]

Pro-lifers, of course, only care about you from conception to birth. Then they'll poke your eye out without a problem.

[ironbite]

Someone post that Reba song about the lights going out in Georgia

Ironbite-cause that's what this is.

[brandonl337]

Yeah, this case has just solidified my utter contempt for the republican party, I will never respect them, I will never join them, no matter how many time my dad say "herp derp, you'll understand when you pay taxes, then you'll totally lose all empathy for other human beings and subscribe to the republican philosophy of 'fuck you I've got mine.' It's fucking sickening.

[Vene]

I've paid taxes, it was not that bad of a thing.

[MaybeNever]

As a liberal, I have an orgasm every time I pay taxes. It's pretty great. MOAR TAXES PLEASE

[erictheblue]

Sept 23, 2011 14:40:14 GMT -5 brandonl337 said:

Also, there has been no physical evidence to tie Troy Davis to the murder.

Are you sure about this? I thought I read that the GA Parole Board, in denying the motion to stay his sentence, said they reviewed the "other" evidence against Davis and found it compelling. ("Other" means non-eyewitness testimony. I'll look for where I read this.)

One thing that was pointed out to me regarding eyewitness testimony is that memory works both ways. As you said, 7 of the eyewitnesses have recanted. I wonder why. The reason they gave is pressure from law enforcement, and that is possible. Another possible reason is their memory of that time is fading. 21 years ago, they may have been sure of what they saw; but 21 years is a long time. (How many of you can recall perfectly events from that long ago, even ones that had an emotional impact?) As time passes, memory fades, and what was once sure and clear is now hazy.

The other question is what does "pressure from law enforcement" mean? Does it mean they were pressured to ID Davis? Or does it mean LEO kept asking "are you sure this is the man?" And if the second, was the pressure because LEO wanted it to be Davis, or because they wanted to make sure the right person was arrested and tried?

Another question that came to my mind was "where were these people the previous 3 times he was scheduled for execution?" If the eyewitnesses were so convinced they were wrong, why didn't they say anything before?

Perhaps Davis was innocent. But for me, there is not enough evidence to say for sure.

[brandonl337]

From what I understand, the witnesses recanted before this latest execution date, also it doesn't matter that they were sure of what they say, eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable and it's insane to give the death penalty based on that. also I specified physical, as in gun-powder residue, fingerprints that sort of thing, the only thing close to physical evidence is bullets that may have been linked to another shooting Davis was a suspect in.

[Vene]

I don't care if Davis was guilty or innocent, the death penalty is barbaric.

[MaybeNever]

Oh Vene, you are just a European Communist.

[erictheblue]

Sept 23, 2011 16:34:58 GMT -5 brandonl337 said:

From what I understand, the witnesses recanted before this latest execution date,

Which is what I meant. Davis had 3 execution dates where it was stayed. If the eyewitnesses were so sure they were wrong and had been pressured by law enforcement, where were they the first 3 times he was supposed to die?

also it doesn't matter that they were sure of what they say, eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable and it's insane to give the death penalty based on that.

I know it is. However, juries (not judges or prosecutors) decide on the death penalty. Which means 12 people decided there was enough evidence to sentence him to death.

also I specified physical, as in gun-powder residue, fingerprints that sort of thing, the only thing close to physical evidence is bullets that may have been linked to another shooting Davis was a suspect in.

This is what I asked. Still looking for where I heard or read it, but it sticks in my mind the GA Parole Board said they reviewed other evidence - not just the eyewitness testimony. If there was other, physical, evidence linking Davis, it may not matter that eyewitnesses recanted.

Edit: OK, I found a different story that said there wasn't much physical evidence. So I was wrong on what I heard. (Since I can't find a reference on Daily Kos, which is where I thought I had read it, I must have heard Rachel Maddow mention it on her show and just misunderstood the decision of the Parole Board.)