Radley Balko | September 23, 2008
Barring a U.S. Supreme Court intervention or an unlikely intervention from Gov. Sonny Perdue this afternoon, the state of Georgia will execute Troy Davis this evening at 7pm.
Davis was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1991 based on eyewitness testimony. The problem is that seven of the nine people who testified against him at his trial have since recanted, saying they were pressured and coerced by the police. Three other witnesses who did not testify at the trial have since come forward to say another man committed the murder—a man who happens to have been one of the two remaining witnesses against Davis who have yet to recant their testimony.
The Georgia Supreme Court granted a stay last year with Davis within hours of execution. The same court voted 4-3 this year to proceed with Davis' punishment.
So is Georgia about to execute an innocent man? It looks as if there's at least enough doubt that we can't say for sure.
And that ought to be more than enough doubt to hold off on the execution.
UPDATE: With about a half hour to spare, the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed Davis' execution for one week while it reviews his appeal.
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Way to go, covering this one, Niel Boortz. Way to use your
public platform to bring attention to this abortion of
justice.
Oh wait, I forgot. You were too busy talking about the terrorists
under your bed.
"Is Georgia About to Execute an Innocent Man?"
I hope not, that is so wrong. I hope he is either guilty or is set
free.
We have taken the teddy bear hostage. If our demands are not
met, he will be beheaded!
Death to the pillows! May Allah smite the comforter!
Why bother giving a man all those appeals and stays if you're just going to execute him despite the evidence anyway? Georgia should be honest with itself, and hang people after trial. Why bother with the charade if evidence doesn't mean anything?
You forgot to mention, Radley, that one of the two witnesses who didn't change their testimony, was the person who first indicted Davis, and who also confessed of having a gun of the same caliber, but "thew it away" a few hours before the incident. A good summary of the case (albeit a little outdated) can be found here.
Geez...how insensitive can you be to the victim's family here. Can't we all agree they have a right to some closure?
So is Georgia about to execute an innocent man? It looks as
if there's at least enough doubt that we can't say for sure.
And that ought to be more than enough doubt to hold off on the
execution.
A humble suggestion - How about we hold off on the death penalty
until police and prosecutorial misconduct and incompetence are
things of the past?
I know, I'm a dreamer.
I made a guess as to the race of the soon-to-be victim before
clicking the link. I was right! What a coincidence!
The south is disgusting. Why is this man not being set free?
Thom, I don't think jokes like that are appropriate right now. Christopete, I hope you're joking, though.
J Sub D, according to your standards we'd never have
executions.
You are beginning to grok the awesomeness of J sub D's cunning
plan.
"""A humble suggestion - How about we hold off on the death
penalty until police and prosecutorial misconduct and incompetence
are things of the past?"""
I agree 100%. I've never been anti-death penalty until I started
blogging on this site. Radley has convinced me that the government
is not responsible enought to wield that authority.
But really now, a cop was killed, they got a conviction. That's all
they wanted. To second guess, even in the light of the facts would
be disrespectful to the cop and his family. So they think. It's
better to kill an innocent man than open old wounds.
The family of the slain cop should ask the governor to step in. It
really shows how little the system, and people involved, cares
about doing the right thing. They got their conviction, that, not
justice is what satisfies them.
You know, reading other comment threads at other locations on
the intardwebs you'd think that the rules were "Guilty until proven
innocent" and "Beyond a reasonable doubt of innocence". Not just
this case but in others it seems the overwhelming majority of
people think that if there is a shred of possibility of guilt, then
the person IS guilty.
Sad, so sad. I certainly hope that Gov. Perdue steps in but I am
not seeing it happen.
Perdue can't easily step in; in Georgia the governor can't grant clemency. He may hold a prayer session if he's in a good mood, but not much more than that...
It isn't cruel and unusual "punishment" if he didn't actually do the crime. What is he being punished for? see what I mean, therefore this is completely constitutional.
Ok I hate scalia, but I still feel guilty for that joke. I sincerely hope they don't kill the man.
Don't count on Sonny. He'll only do what is politically
expedient. He is quite the demagogue:
He is a former Democrat who turned Republican when it became
popular to make the switch.
He stood on the steps of the state capitol building and prayed for
rain when he ran out of other options during last year's drought.
(This was after rationing did not quite do the trick. Market based
solutions were not part of the discussion.)
He has recently implemented price controls on gasoline, causing
severe shortages and long lines at gas stations around metro
Atlanta.
I'm sure that on this issue he's doing his political calculations
right this very minute.
This is one of those cases where I wonder why I care so much,
since I can't change anything and all it does is make me
angry.
This is despicable. And for any criticism it may bring me, the
"just execute him" opinion of the victim's family is despicable
too. I would hope that were I in the same unthinkable position, I
wouldn't want it on my conscience that I could advocate for
somebody's execution in such a case.
This cop killer is going to fry despite the insane liberal rantings from the usual clueless suspects who come out of the woodwork to protect black criminals at every opportunity. The more black and lib protesters on TV, the fewer votes for Obama. When the carry Davis out the back door, protesters are invited to hop the bus to the OJ trial. Fools.
Lib blog sites like this one expose the ugly pimpled back side of liberal America for all to see.
Lib blog sites like this one expose the ugly pimpled back
side of liberal America for all to see.
Since the quoted moron thinks that this site is "liberal", I can
safely discount everything he has to say.
"Эта агрессия не будет позволено стоять!"
Хотите помещать ваши деньги, где ваш рот?
"I made a guess as to the race of the soon-to-be victim before
clicking the link. I was right! What a coincidence! The south is
disgusting. Why is this man not being set free?"
Your claiming the South still practices intitutional racism? That's
just silly.
Since the quoted moron thinks that this site is "liberal", I can safely discount everything he has to say.
To contrast my previous negative statement, one of the joys I get
out of this political philosophy is getting derided for being "far
left liberal" one day and "far right conservative" the next.
"Perdue can't easily step in; in Georgia the governor can't
grant clemency. He may hold a prayer session if he's in a good
mood, but not much more than that..."
He did make it rain...
To contrast my previous negative statement, one of the joys
I get out of this political philosophy is getting derided for being
"far left liberal" one day and "far right conservative" the
next.
When you've got a black and white outlook on a world of color, that
happens.
This is one of the saddest commentaries on our society. They won't even look at the evidence. I've spent much of the past few days reading and setting up news pages about Troy Davis, and many of the players. It seems that, were the evidence to be looked into, it would implicate police for witness tampering. The racism is thick. The inhumanity ugly as sin. News page about Troy Davis: http://schema-root.org/p/13911
Always in the back of my mind with cases like this is the
thought that prosecutors would rather have a notch in their belt
than protect their constituency by having the ACTUAL killer in
jail. As this stands, they have no certainty that the killer is
imprisoned, and they are perfectly willing to risk the life (or
lives) of their own brother officers by allowing he who may be the
ACTUAL killer to continue to roam their streets ... most likely
continuing his illegal concealed carry behavior. And now, he's an
even greater risk because he has experience pinning blame for even
the most egregious crimes on someone else, and so must feel
superior to the local police and even empowered to kill at his
obscene whim.
Individual justice denied is also collective justice denied.
I appreciate Bob Barr for taking a stand against this killing. It's in his home state of Georgia, where the death penalty is widely supported especially by conservative voters. But he came out against it, and has been quoted in the media the last few days on this. Good for him.
"The racism is thick." You simply can't substantiate this claim.
This is not your grandfather's georgia. Cynthia Tucker is the
editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Oh, and this...
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/09/23/davis_stay_execution.html
I've lived in Georgia and I've lived in Minnesota. There are racisis in both (but it's not institutionalized). The only difference between the racists in Georgia and the racists in Minnesota is that in Georgia, the have the balls to say it right to your face. In Minnesota, they're just as racist, except they hide it so the can delude themseves with the notion that they are superior to southerners.
UPDATE: The Supreme Court just issued a stay of execution. Don't have more information at present, but he will not be executed tonight.
My comment about the racism was not sufficiently qualified. It
was my sense of the situation. "It seems to me that racism is a
factor" would have been a better way to have put it. The cards were
stacked at the parole board hearing, and I added that up as racism.
But you are right, I really don't know.
I am glad to hear that the Supreme Court is going to look at it. It
is very important that people feel that the justice system is just.
This case leaves many doubting that it is. Closure for the victims
of the relatives, and all that, means nothing next to someone's
life, especially if that someone happens to be innocent.
I am grateful to learn that Troy Davis got a stay of execution.
With all due respect to the victim's family, it is better that Troy
live if there is any doubt about his guilt.
I used to be in favor of the death penalty in severe cases. But I
have learned, through the case of Hannah Overton, that our system
is far too imperfect to use it. She "only" got life without parole
for a crime that not only did she not commit, a crime was never
committed.
An article about that case can be found here -
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Murder_by_omission_or_conviction_by_design.html
A story on ABC's 20/20 about the case is expected on Oct 10.
Now I agree with former Florida Supreme Court Justice Gerald Kogan
who said "Anybody who understands the justice system knows innocent
people are convicted every day."
You can't say the south (as a whole) is racist because of this. After all, Damien Echols is white.
The feds are going to say the execution? I approve, but I am
wary of us getting involved in the affairs of a third world country
(and yes, I know it's Georgia the state, that's the joke
[explanation for TAO and his ilk]).
Seriously, when I took Crim Law the prof once said, "If you ever
get a case and you don't know the parties, look to see if the state
is pushing something from the Middle Ages, and if so, guess someone
v. GA."
MNG - it's so nice to know that somewhere, at some point,
someone's always thinking of me.
Granted, it's you, so that dilutes the
warm-and-fuzzies a lil', but hey, beggars cannot be choosers.
Can't you guys kiss and make up?
"Good Lord! Is this where they eat?!? Tell me this is some kind of
holding cell for miscreants."
"but I am wary of us getting involved in the affairs of a third
world country (and yes, I know it's Georgia the state, that's the
joke [explanation for TAO and his ilk]"
huh?
what ilk would that be? (this ruminant thought "elk" first, of
course...)
you'd need to explain to Talldave, WSDave, What a Guy Dienstag, the
meletary loier, Mr. Steven Crane (damn, what a giveaway)... but not
A_R...
I've lived in Georgia and I've lived in Minnesota. There are
racisis in both (but it's not institutionalized). The only
difference between the racists in Georgia and the racists in
Minnesota is that in Georgia, the have the balls to say it right to
your face.
That's a load of crap; unless, of course, you lived in Georgia 45
to 55 years ago.
Oynx Blackman, the Man!
Have you heard his rendition as an "ex-civil rights activist" on
Colbert's book on tape Epi?
"That's a load of crap; unless, of course, you lived in Georgia
45 to 55 years ago."
Atlanta. 1998-1999. Villa Drive NE.
Minneapolis. 1999- present. Northside.
And have a nice day.
of course, what "Sambo" doesn't say is how many racists
there are in a place.
And, of course, asserts a premise with no evidence.
But hey...it's so "TEH COOL" to say there are racists "everywhere",
let the poor kid get his jollies where he may.
and it's teh cool to say "more in 'north' than in south" and
"they want to differentiate from the south".
MNG: is that anything like an ex lion tamer?
"of course, what "Sambo" doesn't say is how many racists there
are in a place."
But they are everywhere.
Must have touched a long repressed nerve.
I had noticed that, too: it seems to be more fashionable to
preach a "false consciousness" about northerners. "They're REALLY
racist, they just hide it so much better!"
Which is really just outrageous slander.
But they are everywhere.
That's not even a rebuttable assertion. My instinct tells me you're
right, but I am wondering:
A) What your point is in stating that and
B) whether you have any idea what the ratio in a given geographical
locale is (That is, saying that racists are "everywhere" doesn't
tell me whether there are 1:100,000 people or 10,000:100,000
people).
You're really not saying anything.
"A) What your point is in stating that"
To refute the contention that in GA "racism runs thick"(ibid.). I
love the south. I still have family there. Good people
"B) whether you have any idea what the ratio in a given
geographical locale is (That is, saying that racists are
"everywhere" doesn't tell me whether there are 1:100,000 people or
10,000:100,000 people)."
Honestly, I have no way of knowing with any degree of certainty.
But my personal experience is that it's the roughly the same all
across America. Though to be honest, I was told to leave a bar in
rural PA because my kind didn't belong there and Pennsylvania
fought for the Union during the War of Northern Agresssion. d;
"doesn't tell me whether there are 1:100,000 people or
10,000:100,000 people)."
100,000:100,000 seems about right to me. The Chinese, Koreans and
Japanese in Asia are still working though anger issues.
Butler T. Reynolds | September 23, 2008, 3:43pm | #
He stood on the steps of the state capitol building and prayed for
rain when he ran out of other options during last year's drought.
(This was after rationing did not quite do the trick. Market based
solutions were not part of the discussion.)
Did it work?
TAO
How can you make such general statements about Georgia? You elitist
bigot. Are you saying there are not many non-racist Georgians or
many racists in Minnesota? What a bigoted generalization.
"Did it work?"
Yes. It rained. It really did. But not enough to make a
difference.
Poignant, really.
"TAO
How can you make such general statements about Georgia? You elitist
bigot. Are you saying there are not many non-racist Georgians or
many racists in Minnesota? What a bigoted generalization."
I respectfully think you're missing the point. It's not about
ratios, which I would contend are the same (but don'tagree with
Matilda's numbers). It's about differences between regional
cultures.
"It's about differences between regional cultures."
I'd be interested in seeing numbers on Southern Corporate America
v. Northern Corporate America. At BellSouth, in Alanta, I saw many
more black faces than I do at the Minneapolis-based multi-billion
dollar regulated utility I work at now. there's like five of us.
But lawdy how they love us! d;
TAO
I hope you see what a tiresome cunt it makes of any person who must
always nit-pick with any other person's generalization. Everyone
generalizes, even an extremely culturally sensitive soul such as
yourself...
First you denigrate the accomplishment of those here who have
attained a bachelors degree ("increasingly worthless") and now you
denigrate an entire state. You elitist bigot!
"I hope you see what a tiresome cunt it makes of any person who
must always nit-pick with any other person's generalization."
Cunt is not a pretty word.
Though to be honest, I was told to leave a bar in rural PA
because my kind didn't belong there and Pennsylvania fought for the
Union during the War of Northern Agresssion. d;
I have visited the coal country of west-central PA, where the
population is heavily salted with the descendents of central/east
europeans. And let me tell you, they really seem to dislike black
people. Or at least some of them, by the things they say. While
it's sad, it's also funny in a way, because black people are like a
rumor up there. I went to a summer festival up there in August, at
the parade, where everyonefrom miles around seemed to be there, I
saw one black person, and I think that even she was
biracial/multiracial.
"While it's sad, it's also funny in a way, because black people
are like a rumor up there."
Well said. Well said!
I wish I wrote better. So to clarify, the Pennsylvania bigot didn't
say "and Pennsylvania fought for the Union during the War of
Northern Agresssion". That was me.
I hope you see what a tiresome cunt it makes of any person
who must always nit-pick with any other person's generalization.
Everyone generalizes, even an extremely culturally sensitive soul
such as yourself...
Nope. Mission not accomplished, MNG.
I'd like you to see how tiresome it is for you to drag into every
thread whatever personal proclivities of mine it is with which you
have problems.
But why are you such a bigoted person in relation to GA or to
those with bachelors degrees? Do you really think the latter's
accomplishments are "increasingly worthless" and the former are
hopelessly racist?
LOL! Oh, you're sensitivities must be so conflicted!
To clarify: the BAs are increasingly worthless due to artificial
inflation of school numbers thanks to the government. That's not a
value judgment on the worth of the person or their educational
level: that's a fact.
Not sure how I demonstrated "bigotry" in terms of Georgia. Because
I said it was less racist than most people think?
You know, MNG, alcoholism is not a joking matter. I worry for
you.
"To clarify: the BAs are increasingly worthless due to
artificial inflation of school numbers thanks to the
government."
No. Thanks to Oprah.
"I had noticed that, too: it seems to be more fashionable to
preach a "false consciousness" about northerners. "They're REALLY
racist, they just hide it so much better!"
Which is really just outrageous slander.'
Yeah, TAO, that is saying that GA is less racist than most people
think, LOL!
I'm sorry you think that the accomplishment of many hard working
folks is "increasingly worthless", whether b/c of the government or
not. I on the other hand think these people's accomplishments
demonstrate inherent worth. I'm sorry you are such an
elitist...
Oh I see, TAO, you were just fighting unjust generalizations and bigotry aimed at Northerners now! You ARE the PC police here, eh? You go, girl, LOL!
I'm sorry you think that the accomplishment of many hard
working folks is "increasingly worthless", whether b/c of the
government or not. I on the other hand think these people's
accomplishments demonstrate inherent worth.
Learn to parse, please. When I said, "increasingly worthless", I
meant "increasingly worth-less, in terms of market value" NOT
"worthless" in the connotative sense in which you're using it. Like
I said, it's not a value judgment.
Oh I see, TAO, you were just fighting unjust generalizations
and bigotry aimed at Northerners
*Sigh* No. Try again. My point (which most people understood,
except, strangely...you) was that it seems popular to the point of
faddish (for the postmodernist psychologizing that passes for
thought in the Ivory Tower these days) to claim that "Northerner
Whites are just as Racist: They just Hide it Better".
That's false consciousness bullshit, and I don't care if it's a
generalization or not.
Sorry I can't stick around to see how this ends, but "Katt
Willaims, Pimp Chronicles Pt.1" is just starting on the Comedy
Channel.
Bye!
So are the Southerners or the Northerners more racist? Either
way, you are a generalizing bigot! LOL!
"for the postmodernist psychologizing that passes for thought in
the Ivory Tower these days"
You might wannat try to get into those walls before you judge them,
you bigot!
So are the Southerners or the Northerners more racist?
Either way, you are a generalizing bigot!
Hey, moron, I'm saying NEITHER ONE.
You might wannat try to get into those walls before you judge
them, you bigot!
Been there, done that. Back there again, despite all of your
implications to the contrary.
"it seems popular to the point of faddish (for the postmodernist
psychologizing that passes for thought in the Ivory Tower these
days"
But, how can you generalize about "the Ivory Tower these days"?
Surely you realize that there is at least some diversity among
college profs (look at the ones Reason references quite a bit)? You
bigot! LOL!
"Hey, moron, I'm saying NEITHER ONE."
From what you post supra it sure don't seem like that...
From what you post supra it sure don't seem like
that...
Your reading comprehension skillz =/= my problem.
LOL TAO, it's obvious that Sambo read it that way as well. Do
you think he did not understand you? You elitist asshole!
LOL!
Sambo | September 23, 2008, 7:59pm | #
"of course, what "Sambo" doesn't say is how many racists there are
in a place."
But they are everywhere.
Must have touched a long repressed nerve.
"That's a load of crap; unless, of course, you lived in Georgia
45 to 55 years ago."
Uh, no it isn't. I speak from personal experience. I suppose they
might tend to hold their tongue around the people they so despise
(while sober), but they certainly aren't shy around a less hostile
audience -- "less hostile" being presumed due to skin
color/familiarity.
"At BellSouth, in Alanta, I saw many more black faces than I do at
the Minneapolis-based multi-billion dollar regulated utility I work
at now. there's like five of us."
According to the Census bureau's website, Atlanta is 61.4% black.
Minneapolis is 18.0% black. I'm not sure "racism" is the issue.
Tut, Tut, you generalize (certainly falsely) about college professors...What's wrong with you bigot?
"Buck | September 23, 2008, 10:26pm | #
Isn't Sambo itself a racist term?"
No more so than Buck.
"According to the Census bureau's website, Atlanta is 61.4% black.
Minneapolis is 18.0% black. I'm not sure "racism" is the
issue."
Which is why I said "I'd be interested in seeing numbers on
Southern Corporate America v. Northern Corporate America", which
would include Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee. Just curious.
BTW, Comedy Central bleeped the heck out of Katt Williams. Very
annoying. Will try to watch the encore airing at eleven o'clock
Central. I think they don't bleep after midnight Eastern.
The only thing I have to add to this is that the one time I went to Georgia I literally witnessed racial profiling in progress, when a perfectly harmless black man who was talking to me and my friends was taken away in a police car because some girl had lost something and, with no proof at all that he had stolen it, accused him of just that. It was ludicrous. I suppose it's possible that he had stolen it, but from the circumstance it seemed far more likely that the girl didn't know what she had done with it, pinpointed the nearest black person, and accused him of theft. And the police were happy to concur with her.
While it's nice to hear that the Supreme COurt temporarily stayed the execution, it still underscores the problem inherit with the death penalty - the fate of one persons life is too often dependent on the ability of a handful of people, whether a jury or panel of judges, to accurately determine one's guilt and the punishment that may follow and which is all too final.
"a perfectly harmless black man . . . I suppose it's possible
that he had stolen it"
Then I suppose it's possible he wasn't harmless. Not to say he was
guilty, or that he wasn't profiled - I wasn't there. If there was
no real evidence of guilt, then he shouldn't have been arrested,
guilty or not.
My experience, by the way, is that non-Southern bigots are not
necessarily interested in hiding their bigotry. The guy in a
Western state who said how glad he was that there were no black
people in his state; the guy in a New York gym who ranted to me
about how the Chinese were hogging the swimming pool, like the
ungrateful foreigners they are - I suppose that's more xenophobia
than racism, but it's in the same ballpark.
MNG,
If it's a beautiful thing, why describe it with an ugly word?
On North vs. South: Did you ever notice how few Northern white
people are willing to live in neighborhoods where the vast majority
are black? Must be just a coincidence!
Let's end the charade. Everyone is racist, it's in our nature, a
holdover from the days when we were packs of monkeys fighting over
watering holes. The latitude at which one sees the light of day
doesn't have any effect on this.
Did you ever notice how few Northern white people are
willing to live in neighborhoods where the vast majority are
black?
Anecdotal only, but I lived in Boston, then in Richmond. Race
relations were much better in Richmond.
Jonas, its not racial profiling the guy who was arrested was fingered by the purported "victim." Racism (by the victim, anyway), but not profiling.
As a native Georgian, I was really weirded out to see a
Confederate Battle Flag flying in upstate NY a stone's throw away
from Canada.
I'm glad that SCOTUS stayed the execution. I wish my state had
given the man another trial.
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