It’s not the only argument against the cruelty of the death penalty by a long way, but a very powerful one is the fact that there is the ever-present danger that there’ll be a miscarriage of justice and a completely innocent person will be executed.
This is a distinct possibility with Troy Davis, a 40-year-old man facing execution on 23 September in the US state of Georgia for the murder of a policeman in 1989. Davis has always adamantly denied the killing. To say that there are doubts about the safety of his conviction would be a massive understatement.
A few examples. Did the case against him consist solely of witness testimony? Yes. Did some of this involve notoriously unreliable “jailhouse informant” testimony? Yes. Did this later get withdrawn by the prisoner who says that he only said what he said because he was under pressure by the police? Yes. Was there crucial eye-witness evidence from people who later admitted that they hadn’t seen Davis kill the police officer? Yes. Did a string of witnesses admit to signing damning statements that they hadn’t even read? Yes. And … wait for it … did one witness later admit that he signed a statement that he not only hadn’t read but couldn’t have read … because he CAN’T READ? Shockingly, yes.
Please send an appeal to Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles asking that Davis’ death sentence be commuted. These appeals DO WORK – so please send one as soon as possible. Thanks.
Source: Amnesty Blogs
This is a distinct possibility with Troy Davis, a 40-year-old man facing execution on 23 September in the US state of Georgia for the murder of a policeman in 1989. Davis has always adamantly denied the killing. To say that there are doubts about the safety of his conviction would be a massive understatement.
A few examples. Did the case against him consist solely of witness testimony? Yes. Did some of this involve notoriously unreliable “jailhouse informant” testimony? Yes. Did this later get withdrawn by the prisoner who says that he only said what he said because he was under pressure by the police? Yes. Was there crucial eye-witness evidence from people who later admitted that they hadn’t seen Davis kill the police officer? Yes. Did a string of witnesses admit to signing damning statements that they hadn’t even read? Yes. And … wait for it … did one witness later admit that he signed a statement that he not only hadn’t read but couldn’t have read … because he CAN’T READ? Shockingly, yes.
Please send an appeal to Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles asking that Davis’ death sentence be commuted. These appeals DO WORK – so please send one as soon as possible. Thanks.
Source: Amnesty Blogs
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