Tuesday, October 14, 2008

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Regarding Troy Davis

Today the United States Supreme Court announced that it would not hear the matter of Troy Davis, paving the way for the State of Georgia to proceed in its intent to to request a death warrant to execute Troy Anthony Davis despite significant new evidence that Davis may, in fact, be innocent.

As summarized at AlterNet.org, “ Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Authorities failed to produce a murder weapon or any physical evidence tying Davis to the crime. In addition, seven of the nine original state witnesses have since recanted or changed their initial testimonies in sworn affidavits. One of the remaining witnesses is alleged to be the actual perpetrator.”

AlterNet reporter Liliana Segura reports that, “The Supreme Court's decision this morning -- in which the judges refused to consider whether executing a potentially innocent person violates the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment -- could mean that Davis will be executed as soon as two weeks from now. He is out of legal avenues, and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied clemency. There is no execution date scheduled yet; the Georgia DA must seek a new death warrant first.”

Additional information on this case including information on how to take part in communication efforts to get the State of Georgia to drop its petition for a death warrant in this case is available here and here .

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