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Troy Davis Appeal Denied by GA Court - No Surprise to Neal Family
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by duo | April 16, 2009 at 07:13 pm
591 views | 2 Recommendations | 14 comments
GEORGIA DEATH ROW inmate Troy Davis has been denied an appeal again. Davis has had three stays of execution. His case is based on witness testimony alone, and seven of the nine witnesses against Davis have either recanted their testimony against him or have offered testimony that was disturbingly inconsistent with their initial accounts. Only two witnesses maintain their original testimony that Troy Davis is a murderer, and there is reasonable doubt regarding their testimony. Davis has gained worldwide support for his quest for a new trial, which was today again denied.
See more at the link below, which offers access to the court's decision and a statement issued by Amnesty International:
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http://www.wsav.com/sav/news/local/article/troy_davis_appeal_denied/11433/
Published: April 16, 2009
ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis in the killing of a Savannah police officer.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which earlier heard arguments in the case, denied a claim by Davis that executing him for the 1989 murder of Officer Mark MacPhail would violate his constitutional rights.
The 11th Circuit stayed Davis’ execution last October to hear arguments on his claim that he was innocent of the killing. Several witnesses have recanted their testimony.
A majority of the judges found that in view of all the testimony and other evidence, they did not think Davis could establish that a jury would not have found him guilty.
[Amnesty International issued a statement on this development, an except from which states:]
“Today’s decision is an affront to basic human rights and demonstrates that legal technicalities have become a dangerous excuse to undermine justice,” said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. “Yet again the courts are placing procedural obstacles over the critical issue of innocence, and, by extension, the value of human life. The bar for admitting evidence has been raised to such a level that no one arguing his innocence would be able jump that hurdle.”
(For acess to the full AP article and link to the court's decision along with Amnesty International's statement in total, please use the link above.)
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The ACLU online carries this statement by a federal judge at http://blog.aclu.org/
Veteran Federal Judge Says Death Penalty Still Arbitrary and Too Costly
Reflecting on his 30 years as judge hearing death penalty cases on the U.S., Judge Boyce M. Martin, Jr. of the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit wrote in an opinion released today (PDF) that capital punishment in this country remains "arbitrary, biased, and so fundamentally flawed at its very core that it is beyond repair."
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MARY'S COMMENTARY
Hopefully everyone will look at the Troy Davis case for what it is - evidence that we need to repeal the death penalty all across America. The likelihood of innocent people getting executed is too great. If the justice system is so convinced, unlike most other people, that Troy Davis shot Officer MacPhail, why not have a new trial and allow the evidence to speak for itself?
I do not think that courts in Georgia care a whit about guilt or innocence, right and wrong. They make judicial decisions based on a completely difference criterion that has ZERO to do with the law and justice. I do not base this assessment on the Troy Davis matter, but from my own dealings with courts in this state. When the judges know that you would win before a jury and they don't want you to win for whatever reason, the judges simply refuse to allow your case to go to jury trial. That is the Georgia way.
The same thing happened in our case against The Cochran Firm for its fraud against my family after the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal in Shelby Co. Jail in Memphis. The Cochran Firm contracted as our wrongful death attorneys, then it worked with the jail and held our lawsuit against the jail INACTIVE FOR 10.5 MONTHS while writing us lying letters about the case going forward, while they did zero. What jury would have trouble deciding in our favor? None. So Judge Batten of USDC did not allow it to go to jury, because he knew any jury would give us the case - ANY JURY.
The first judge, Judge Shoob, in Georgia Superior Court, dismissed our case by claiming The Cochran Firm did not exist in Georgia - with the law firm open for business every day not three blocks from her courtroom and advertising on television, MARTA (public transportation), and all over the Internet. See the information here:
www.nowpublic.com/world/cochran-firm-fraud-continues-unchecked-
Troy Davis is to be pitied. His lawyers researched laws and drafted pleadings and probably did a fine job arguing in Troy's defense, but they failed to realize that it would not matter if Troy could produce irrefutable proof that he was on the moon when the officer was killed. If Georgia has decided to execute this man, the judges would not pay one bit of attention to proof that Troy Davis was on the moon when the officer died. None. Truth matters none in Georgia courts. None. The more proof one has, the less likely one is to get before a jury if they do not want you to win.
Support for new trials for convicted persons with substantial new evidence, like Troy Davis, and opposition to the death penalty are two of the 25 justice concerns that will be addressed at the first annual HUMAN RIGHTS FOR PRISONERS MARCH in Atlanta, Georgia on May 16. See information about that event at this link:
Human Rights for Prisoners March Planned for May 16 in Atlanta
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/human-rights-prisoners-march-planned-mid-may-atlanta
Background information, videos, and photographs regarding the Troy Davis case and his numerous close calls with execution are available at this link, including a heart-wrenching appeal for a new trial from this condemned man: http://my.nowpublic.com/search?fulltext=1&type=story&keys=troy+davis+mary+neal
Other justice articles by this writer are available by clicking the dogs icon or using this link: http://nowPublic.com/duo
Your viewpoint is invited in the rich text comments area below. The comments area also carries information from Amnesty International on how the public can assist Mr. Davis.
Mary Neal
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
http://care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death. ~ Psalm 102
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Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States
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at 19:28 on April 16th, 2009
I don't know as much about this story as I wish I did but, based on what I do know, this would seem to be a gross miscarriage of justice.
I can't understand the death penalty under any circumstances, but that anyone who "believes in the death penalty" could even think about executing someone who very well may be innocent is an abomination and a mockery of justice, IMHO.
at 20:16 on April 16th, 2009
Thank you for your comment. A majority of Americans favored the death penalty when a poll was taken last year, however the number of supporters is fast declining as people learn how very easy it is to execute innocent men and women. To date, 233 people have been exonerated through DNA evidence, many of whom had spent decades of their lives in prison for crimes they did not do. Troy Davis, unfortunately, has no DNA evidence. Even if he did, he may not be allowed to do post-conviction DNA testing. Six states do not provide for post-conviction DNA testing even for condemned persons. Some other states do allow it, but for death row inmates only. People in those states who are sentenced to life without parole do not get to prove their innocence.
.There is much disparity in this nation's justice system. Please see some other justice issues and possible causes at this link:
Human Rights for Prisoners March Planned for May 16 in Atlanta
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/human-rights-prisoners-march-planned-mid-may-atlanta
We will pray for Troy Davis, his family and supporters, and for us all.
Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
at 07:19 on April 17th, 2009
Thank you for all this information. I have been working with AI on tis for quite some time. He is being treated, and has been for years, very unfairly. In my heart, I know he is innocent.
He is entitled to at least another trial. And given the years he has served, and sentenced to death, he should be allowed to go free. How can the court not hear the witnesses who admitted to lying.
I continue to pray for him, all his supporteers, and that a fair judge will hear our cries.
at 19:59 on May 30th, 2009
I appreciate your reading and commenting on this news article. So many people are praying and signing petitions, marching and writing to their representatives on behalf of Troy Davis - on behalf of JUSTICE. We may not know the details of the officer's murder, but it looks like even the authorities do not believe they have a good case against Troy Davis, or why not allow a re-trial? Is being victorious over the cries of the people more important to our leaders than being just? Our system of justice is very flawed, especially in Georgia. I had a judge say a law firm did not exist that was spitting distance from her judge's chambers. At least my life did not depend on her being righteous. Troy's life, on the other hand, does depend on those in authority caring about being fair and true to their oaths of office. I hope someone comes through for him. They still have Jim Crow proms in some Georgia towns:
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/jim-crow-crowned-prom-king-georgia-watch-out-troy-davis
Thanks again for writing. I know you and Amnesty International will continue to do all that you can for Troy Davis and other issues that need you.
Blessings!
at 11:55 on April 17th, 2009
Thanks again, NowPublic. We made Front Page with this tragic news at Care2. Hopefully everyone will look at the Troy Davis case for what it is - evidence that we need to repeal the death penalty all across America. The likelihood of innocent people getting executed is too great. If the justice system is so convinced, unlike most other people, that Troy Davis shot Officer MacPhial, why not have a new trial and allow the evidence to speak for itself?
I don't think that courts in Georgia care a whit about guilt or innocence, right and wrong. They make judicial decisions based on a completely difference criterion that has ZERO to do with the law and justice. I do not base this assessment on the Troy Davis matter, but from my own dealings with courts in this state. When the judges know that you would win before a jury and they don't want you to win for whatever reason, the judges simply refuse to allow your case to go to jury trial. That is the Georgia way.
The same thing happened in our case against The Cochran Firm for its fraud against my family after the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal in Shelby Co. Jail in Memphis. The Cochran Firm contracted as our wrongful death attorneys, then it worked w/ the jail and held our lawsuit against the jail INACTIVE FOR 10.5 MONTHS while writing us lying letters about the case going forward, while they did zero. What jury would have trouble deciding in our favor? None. So Judge Batten of USDC did not allow it to go to jury, because he knew any jury would give us the case - ANY JURY.
The first judge, Judge Shoob, in Georgia Superior Court, dismissed our case by claiming The Cochran Firm did not exist in Georgia - with the law firm open for business every day not three blocks from her courtroom and advertising on television, MARTA (public transportation), and all over the Internet. See the information here:
www.nowpublic.com/world/cochran-firm-fraud-continues-unchecked-
Troy Davis is to be pitied. His lawyers researched laws and drafted pleadings and probably did a fine job arguing in Troy's defense, but they failed to realize that it would not matter if Troy could produce irrefutable proof that he was on the moon when the officer was killed. If Georgia has decided to execute this man, the judges would not pay one bit of attention to proof that Troy Davis was on the moon when the officer died. None. Truth matters none in Georgia courts. None. The more proof one has, the less likely one is to get before a jury if they do not want you to win.
Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
at 12:04 on April 17th, 2009
The death penalty rests on the apparent, not real, infallibility of the system. I, personally, am convinced that innocent people have been executed. The degree of hubris, of arrogance, of the justice system is high.
Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me, a book by social psychologists, is all about that mentality.
The hang-'em-high mentality exists all over the US and in jurisdictions dominated by both the left and the right. There is a kind of left and right that remains objective. The right that believes that we have to watch government power, and the left that thinks similarly, those places allow the defense the opportunity to really make their cases.
Usually, the law is given greater benefit of the doubt than should be the case where hysterical inquisitions are the order of the day. In those places, left or right, it is often impossible to get a fair trial.
at 12:26 on April 17th, 2009
Thank you for commenting, Roy. I believe left and right mentality exists among the citizenry in the U.S., but I doubt that it does among our representatives. I think there may be unity at the top. I simply do not see any disunity on major issues that face the nation. As you pointed out, the death penalty is one of those issues. One has only to consider national news and how elected officials vote to see that it looks smooth as jello when our representatives vote on issues of major importance.
Mary
at 21:24 on April 19th, 2009
Please let me thank you for this fine page, and add that even if one regards the state of the evidence as insufficient to establish Troy Davis's "actual innocence," it surely demonstrates that the verdict is "unsafe for execution." That's a concept suggested by Professor D. Michael Risinger for a case where the evidence might not be felt (at least yet) to call for the release of the prisoner or a new trial, but surely raises a substantial enough doubt about guilt as to stay the executioner's hand. I should make it clear that I'm opposed in principle to the death penalty, and that the drawn out capitals inflict a burden on everyone which could be avoided by a swift, certain, and most cost-effective sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole for the worst murders.
at 22:23 on April 19th, 2009
We appreciate your comments and your compliment, Margo. I am very personally hurt over Troy Davis not getting a new trial. Many other people who never met him feel the same way. There is something within human beings that makes us love justice and fair play. None of us were there the day Officer McPhail died, so we would like to hear the evidence before this man, who has already spent most of his youth on death row, gets marched down a hall, strapped down, and poisoned like a diseased dog. That is all we ask. Just like Troy Davis, we join him in pleading for a just day in a fair court. See his heart-wrenching plea in my Care2 Sharebook: http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/sharebook/513396753
Thanks for writing and offering some reason to hope that something could possibly be worked out for Troy: (1) unsafe for execution. I also heard last week about (2) another Supreme Court appeal, and he could also be saved by (3) a pardon from Georgia's governor or President Obama. So all hope is not lost for Mr. Davis. Possibly millions of people hope right along with him, his legal team, and family.
at 22:53 on April 19th, 2009
REGARDING TROY DAVIS, ALL HOPE IS NOT LOST. TROY DAVIS HAS 30 DAYS TO FILE AN APPEAL WITH THE U.S. SUPREME COURT. BELOW IS MY LETTER TO GOV. PERDUE, A VERSION OF WHICH WAS E-MAILED TO THE GOVERNOR USING THE LINK PROVIDED. FEEL FREE TO USE THE LANGUAGE OF THIS LETTER TO SEND YOUR OWN APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR. BENEATH THE SAMPLE LETTER IS AN EMAIL FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ASKING FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS EFFORT.
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LINK TO THE GOVERNOR'S EMAIL BOX: http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,78006749_94820188,00.html
Dear Governor Perdue:
I come to you on behalf of Troy Davis in the interest of justice. Please use the power of your office to either pardon Davis or help him to get a new trial. I am one of many people who feel it has not been proved that Davis is indeed Officer MacPhail's murderer. Please do not proceed with the irreversible act of execution without certainty of his guilt. Thank you for considering this request.
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From: "Amnesty International USA"
It's not the end of the road for Troy Davis, but the news is not good.
Yesterday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Troy Davis' bid for a new trial. In a 2-1 vote, the court cited technical reasons to reject Davis' petition for a hearing.
But all hope is not lost. Troy has 30 days to file another petition with the US Supreme Court.
Troy and his lawyers are doing everything they can to fight this decision from the inside. It is up to us to turn up the pressure on the outside. Even if you've taken action before, keep flooding Governor Perdue's office with emails demanding justice for Troy. And pass the action on to everyone you know. There is power in numbers and when you stand behind Troy Davis, you make the fight for justice even stronger!
We can't thank you enough.
In solidarity,
Sue, Brian, Jessie, and the rest of the Death Penalty Campaign team
P.S. Save the date — National Day of Solidarity for Troy Davis coming in May. We'll be in touch soon to let you know how you can support Troy in your own community.
at 10:47 on April 20th, 2009
From the following ACLU blog article: "The dissenting judge in Troy’s case stated, “[t]o execute Davis, in the face of a significant amount of proffered evidence that may establish his actual innocence, is unconscionable and unconstitutional.” We agree."
http://blog.aclu.org/2009/04/20/troy-davis-suffers-another-blow/
at 12:05 on April 21st, 2009
Thanks for that comment. That is a great letter for the governor - just that one statement from that organization followed by "We agree."
Do me a favor. I am so censored that I cannot use the red email button at the upper right margin of articles at NowPublic most times (see it at this article), and neither can I use the Internet boosting services. Share this article with your friends. Folks need to know about Georiga courts calling a law firm non-existent that is open three blocks from the judges' chambers. Maybe that knowledge will help Troy Davis. Evidence of such blatant judicial prejudice as is tolerated in this state should help someone. Enough censorship goes into prohibiting the dissemination of this information to make me believe it must be very worthwhile. See the documentary evidence at the website link below under the DOCUMENTS tab at http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com.
Compare the repeated denial of the existence of an Atlanta Cochran Firm office, which was used to dismiss our fraud case against that law firm, with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlcolpUzckU
Perhaps justice in court depends heavily on one's net worth. I found justice in Georgia courts is "arbitrary, biased, and fundamentally flawed," as Judge Martin said regarding capital punishment.
Mary Neal
at 01:22 on April 24th, 2009
A woman with a loving spirit placed this poem for Troy Davis on our thread about him at Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ~ http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=17280&pst=841012
APPEAL- For Troy Davis on death row, Georgia (USA) What can I say, the man will be killed, years ago the state began preparations, not the first time knew what to do took many a life before him, took doctors -- (until they refused) to measure the dose for lethal injection, took Governors (statesmen to explain the Why), took willing guards (many unwilling) in too many prisons -- to make a captive suitable for sacrifice What can I say that has not been said, argued in stately manners at rally, legal briefs in courtrooms before judges and executioners What can I say, the lethal authority of System makes facts into strangers, kills men in warfare and execution, starves families in ghetto-liberty What can I say, How often silence is like a death -- not Death: - Let the man live! - Halt his sacrifice!
~by Laurence H. Ebersole, 10/24/08
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at 13:42 on May 18th, 2009
Amnesty International announces a Global Day of Action for Troy Davis: Tuesday, May 19, 2009