Another Stay of Execution for Troy Davis - New Trial Please?

Today, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court gave a last-minute reprieve to a Troy Davis, a Georgia man set to be executed Monday for the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer although there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime.  The federal appeals court ordered defense attorneys and prosecutors to draft briefs that address whether Davis can meet "stringent requirements" to pursue the next round of appeals.

Since Mr. Davis’ conviction, seven of the nine witnesses who gave evidence at his trial in 1991 have recanted or changed their testimony, some of whom allege that they were coerced by police to give false testimony against the condemned man.  Witness testimony was the backbone of the prosecution's case in the absence of a murder weapon, fingerprints and DNA evidence.  Since the murder trial, evidence has arisen to suggest that one of the two remaining witnesses may be the actual murderer.

This is the third time Mr. Davis’s execution has been stayed, yet he is continually denied the chance during the reprieve to prove his innocence.  Many people pray that this man is finally granted a new trial - the opportunity for Mr. Davis and the State to present their evidence before an impartial judge and jury to make a final determination regarding guilt or innocence.  No one should suffer on death row year after year, much less be executed, without irrefutable evidence of guilt.  No family should be put through the pain and suffering of saying final goodbyes to their loved one time after time, for a crime that has not been proved.

Congratulations are due for Amnesty International and all the people who work for justice in this case.  Objections to executing Mr. Davis reverberate around the globe.  Officer McPhial's family and Troy Davis deserve for this matter to be heard in court before an impartial judge and a jury of Mr. Davis's peers. 

Enough with the stays of execution during which time no resolution is reached because no new trial is granted!

Please do the right thing.  Grant Troy Davis a new trial.  It is not so hard to be just in life.  It is a simple matter of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Just be fair.  No more lynching.  After nearly two decades on Georgia’s Death Row, please grant this American his simple request for “a fair day in a just court.”

The only good thing that has ensued from Mr. Davis having spent 16 years on death row when his guilt remains unproved is this:  Many people who were completely in favor of the death penalty are now reevaluating their positons.  Mr. Davis's case makes it patently obvious how easy it is for citizens to be convicted and executed for crimes that are not proved due to their lack of funds to launch an adequate defense, especially men of color.