Exonerated Death Row Survivors Urge Georgia to Stop the Execution of Troy Davis

From Witness to Innocence:
Exonerated Death Row Survivors Urge Georgia to Stop the Execution of Troy Davis
 
Chairman James E. Donald                                                                                                           
Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE
Suite 458, Balcony Level, East Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334

Dear Chairperson Donald and Members of the Board:

We, the undersigned, are alive today because some individual or small group of individuals decided that our insistent and persistent proclamations of innocence warranted one more look before we were sent to our death by execution.  We are among the 138 individuals who have been legally exonerated and released from death rows in the United States since 1973.  We are alive because a few thoughtful persons – attorneys, journalists, judges, jurists, etc. – had lingering doubts about our cases that caused them to say “stop” at a critical moment and halt the march to the execution chamber.  When our innocence was ultimately revealed, when our lives were saved, and when our freedom was won, we thanked God and those individuals of conscience who took actions that allowed the truth to eventually come to light.

We are America’s exonerated death row survivors.  We are living proof that a system operated by human beings is capable of making an irreversible mistake.  And while we have had our wrongful convictions overturned and have been freed from death row, we know that we are extremely fortunate to have been able to establish our innocence.  We also know that many innocent people who have been executed or who face execution have not been so fortunate.  Not all those with innocence claims have had access to the kinds of physical evidence, like DNA, that our courts accept as most reliable.  However, we strongly believe that the examples of our cases are reason enough for those with power over life and death to choose life. We also believe that those in authority have a unique moral consideration when encountering individuals with cases where doubt still lingers about innocence or guilt.

One such case is the case of Troy Anthony Davis, whose 1991 conviction for killing Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail rested almost solely on witness testimony.  We know that today, 20 years later, witness evidence is considered much less reliable than it was then.  This has meant that, even though most of the witnesses who testified against him have now recanted, Troy Davis has been unable to convince the courts to overturn his conviction, or even his death sentence.

Troy Davis has been able to raise serious doubts about his guilt, however.  Several witnesses testified at the evidentiary hearing last summer that they had been coerced by police into making false statements against Troy Davis. This courtroom testimony reinforced previous statements in sworn affidavits.  Also at this hearing, one witness testified for the first time that he saw an alternative suspect, and not Troy Davis, commit the crime.   We don’t know if Troy Davis is in fact innocent, but, as people who were wrongfully sentenced to death (and in some cases scheduled for execution), we believe it is vitally important that no execution go forward when there are doubts about guilt.  It is absolutely essential to ensuring that the innocent are not executed.

When you issued a temporary stay for Troy Davis in 2007, you stated that the Board "will not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused."  This standard is a welcome development, and we urge you to apply it again now.  Doubts persist in the case of Troy Davis, and commuting his sentence will reassure the people of Georgia that you will never permit an innocent person to be put to death in their name.

Freddie Lee Pitts, an exonerated death row survivor who faced execution by the state of Florida for a crime he didn’t commit, once said, “You can release an innocent man from prison, but you can’t release him from the grave.”

Thank you for considering our request.

Respectfully,

Kirk Bloodsworth, Exonerated and freed from death row Maryland
Clarence Brandley, Exonerated and freed from death row in Texas
Dan Bright, Exonerated and freed from death row in Louisiana
Albert Burrell, Exonerated and freed from death row in Louisiana
Perry Cobb, Exonerated and freed from death row in Illinois
Gary Drinkard, Exonerated and freed from death row in Alabama
Nathson Fields, Exonerated and freed from death row in Illinois
Gary Gauger, Exonerated and freed from death row in Illinois
Michael Graham, Exonerated and freed from death row in Louisiana
Shujaa Graham, Exonerated and freed from death row in California
Paul House, Exonerated and freed from death row in Tennessee
Derrick Jamison, Exonerated and freed from death row in Ohio
Dale Johnston, Exonerated and freed from death row in Ohio
Ron Keine, Exonerated and freed from death row in New Mexico
Ron Kitchen, Exonerated and freed from death row in Illinois
Ray Krone, Exonerated and freed from death row in Arizona
Herman Lindsey, Exonerated and freed from death row in Florida
Juan Melendez, Exonerated and freed from death row in Florida
Randal Padgett, Exonerated and freed from death row in Alabama
Freddie Lee Pitts, Exonerated and freed from death row in Florida
Randy Steidl, Exonerated and freed from death row in Illinois
John Thompson, Exonerated and freed from death row in Louisiana
Delbert Tibbs, Exonerated and freed from death row in Florida
David Keaton, Exonerated and freed from death row in Florida
Greg Wilhoit, Exonerated and freed from death row in Oklahoma
Harold Wilson, Exonerated and freed from death row in Pennsylvania

Tonight on Atlanta Radio: Update on Troy Davis' Death Row Appeal

Mondays, 6pm - 7pm EST ----- WRFG-Atlanta 89.3 FM
http://www.wrfg.org/features/shows/shows-desc.asp?showid=36
 

Join us tonight for an update on the case of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, whom many now believe to be innocent of the crime for which he is on death row, i.e. the killing of Savannah police officer Mark McPhail.  Davis has been spared from execution three times, as his attorneys continued to struggle within the legal system over the years to present new evidence, primarily the changed or recanted testimony of 7 out of the 9 witnesses who testified at Davis' original trial and the possibility that the real killer was among the original nine witnesses.  Last year, the Supreme Court finally ordered a rare hearing of the new evidence and in June of this year, U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. heard two days of testimony from witnesses.  Last Tuesday, August 24th, however, Judge Moore ruled against Troy Davis once again.  We will speak tonight with E. RED, rap artist and boyhood friend of Troy Davis, as well as with Sara Totonchi, Executive Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Kathryn Hamoudah, Chairperson of Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Sara Totonchi joined the Southern Center for Human Rights in 2001 as the Public Policy Director and was promoted to Executive Director this past January, 2010. She represents SCHR at the Georgia General Assembly on a full range of criminal justice and public safety issues. She collaborates with attorneys to galvanize public support of SCHR's litigation through strategic media outreach.  Totonchi has led coalition efforts and legislative advocacy for criminal justice reform with concerned citizens including family members of people in prison, attorneys, faith-based communities, survivors of crime and mental health advocates.

Kathryn Hamoudah is the Chairperson of Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, our statewide anti-death penalty coalition. She serves as Amnesty International's Southern Regional Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator and is employed as the Public Policy Associate at the Southern Center for Human Rights. In addition, she is an organizer for a local Palestine Solidarity organization. Previously, she worked at the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities.

E. Red is a rap artist who grew up in Savannah, Georgia, alongside Troy Davis.  He remembers learning about Davis' arrest and has been an advocate for his innocence ever since.  E. RED now lives in Atlanta with his family.  A multi-talented artist fueled by a deep passion for his music, he wears many hats in the industry, doing everything from production and songwriting to arranging and engineering. With more than 10 years in the game, his lyrics are hardcore and direct and his songs have serious subject matter. Frustrated by many different labels trying to stifle his creative abilities and turn him into someone else, E. RED decided to start his own label, Port City Muzic, in order to put out the music that he loves. He endeavors to play a role in the development of other artists as well.  E. RED has had the opportunity to work with some veterans in the game, such as K.T. and Fred G., formerly of ATL’s own Hard Boys and Kujo Goodie. He has also worked with producers DJ Brad of the Legion of Doom, Flame “Fame” Miller, and Tom Slick of Collipark Music.

Tune in and join the conversation!  You can also listen on the web by going to our home page (http://www.wrfg.org/) and clicking on the "Listen Live" icon on the righthand side of the page.  For more information about Just Peace, check out http://www.wrfg.org/features/shows/shows-desc.asp?showid=36.
 

TROY DAVIS’ APPEAL FOR A NEW TRIAL DENIED

On August 24, federal judge William Moore denied Troy Davis' petition for a new trial.

Moore was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to hold a hearing on Troy's claim of innocence in the murder that sent him to death row. In June, Troy and his lawyers presented convincing evidence of that innocence at the two-day hearing in Savannah, Ga. Yet Judge Moore was unmoved by the testimony ruled and against Troy's petition.

Troy was convicted largely on the basis of eyewitness testimony--no DNA connected him to the crime. During the hearing in June, most of the same witnesses from the original trial came forward to say that they were mistaken in originally identifying Troy. Other witnesses said that another man, Sylvester Coles, committed the crime.

But Moore rejected the testimony, claiming that the testimony of the seven witnesses who recanted was "too general to provide anything more than smoke and mirrors," and the witnesses who say they heard Coles admit to the murder weren't "credible."

Troy's sister Martina Correia, who has been spearheading the fight for her brother, points out that there is a double standard about what is "credible." The recanted testimony and the testimony against Coles is considered not credible now, but when many of these same witnesses testified against Troy years ago, their stories were considered credible. Why then? Why not now?

Many people who attended the hearing had the complete opposite reaction to Judge Moore. Lawrence Hayes, a former death row prisoner and board member of the CEDP, reports:

Representing the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, on June Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010, I traveled to Savannah, Ga., to attend the Troy Davis Innocence Hearing. My original expectation was on the day of the hearing I would hear several witnesses take the witness stand, recant their testimony and, that process over, await the decision of the hearing judge. But the truth is, what I witnessed on the day of the hearing was simply extraordinary. The combined testimony of the defense witnesses removed any shadow of doubt that Troy Anthony Davis is innocent of the crime for which he stands convicted and, at the very least, is entitled to a new trial.

"When I was first approached by the police, I told them I could barely recognize the shooter," Atwan Williams, said on the stand. "I was scared and nervous." Atwan also signed a statement alleging Troy's guilt. The problem is Atwan can't read. He couldn't even read the typed statement he signed 20 years ago when the defense counsel handed it to him at the hearing.

"When the police arrived, I told them I could barely recognize the shooter," said Williams. "I was scared, nervous, I was just trying to take off." Asked if he had read back the deposition he gave to police, Williams replied: "No sir, I can't read."

Then there was the testimony of Jeffrey Sapp, who stated that when he was questioned, he had several angry Savannah police officers surrounding him. As for his original testimony against Troy, he stated, "I was saying the same thing they told me to say."

Kevin McQueen told the court he had been given a lighter sentence in return for simply making up the details of a confession he claimed Davis had given him. "I was mad at him," he said.

All the recantation witnesses' testimonies were direct, clear, unshakable and, most important, believable. For me, it was the character and presentation of these witnesses that made the credibility of the next line of witnesses plausible. These witnesses provided eyewitness and circumstantial evidence that points to another man (Sylvester "Red" Coles) as the likely killer of the police officer--the crime for which Troy Davis has been sitting on Georgia's death row for the past 20 years.

The fact that these recantations aren't seen as persuasive is mind-boggling. The people who recanted their testimony could face perjury charges and possible jail time for coming forward. But they came forward nonetheless because they wanted to tell the truth. Why was this not given any weight?

It seems that Southern-style justice is alive and well in Georgia. A Black man might be sitting in the White House, but that doesn't mean a black man will be treated fairly in our court system--and this ruling is proof of it.

TAKE ACTION FOR TROY

But this fight is not over. Troy's lawyers are busy working on his legal strategy; social justice activists need to come together and raise our voices about this outrage. Troy is in serious danger of receiving a new execution date.

The New York chapter has leafletings about Troy scheduled for this weekend:

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28--11 AM-1 PM
125th Street & Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29
Downtown Brooklyn, time/place TBD

Other chapters should think of similar activities in the coming days.

We will keep folks posted as more develops. Please send in short announcements and reports of any activities you are organizing around Troy.

Here is the CEDP fact sheet on Troy Davis.


 

U.S. Supreme Court Orders Hearing for Troy Davis

The Innocence Project is reporting that in a highly unusual step, the U.S. Supreme Court today ordered a new hearing in the case of Troy Davis, who has been on Georgia’s death row for nearly two decades for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Ruling on a habeas corpus petition from Davis, the court ordered a federal judge to “receive testimony and findings of fact as to whether evidence that could not have been obtained at the time of trial clearly establishes [Davis’] innocence.”

Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

But Justice John Paul Stevens cited prior court precedent that said it would be “an atrocious violation of our Constitution and the principles upon which it is based” to execute an innocent man.

“Imagine a petitioner in Davis’s situation who possesses new evidence conclusively and definitively proving, beyond any scintilla of doubt, that he is an innocent man,” Stevens wrote. “The dissent’s reasoning would allow such a petitioner to be put to death nonetheless.”

Read the full story here. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 08/17/09)

Last year, the Innocence Project joined with the Innocence Network in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in federal court on Davis’ behalf, arguing that eyewitness identification – a major contributor to Davis’ conviction – is often unreliable and that the case should be subject to review on appeal. Download the Network brief here. (PDF)

Troy in the News:
Atlanta-Journal Constitution
Associated Press
SCOTUS Blog
C&C Blog

About to be killed by the state of Georgia

Indie rock group State Radio has joined forces with Amnesty International to produce a short, hard-hitting animated Web video about the plight of death row inmate Troy Davis. Davis has been on death row for 18 years and has received three stays of execution, twice coming within 24 hours of his death, despite a strong claim of innocence that has never been heard in a court of law. The case has captured the attention of people nationwide. The genesis of the Web video came when lead singer Chad Stokes, an Amnesty International member, wrote a song about Davis called “State of Georgia.” According to the band,

Troy Davis’ case is one example of a major malfunction within the justice system in this country. We believe that every person deserves the right to a fair trial, and because of scenarios like this, we believe the death penalty should be abolished nationwide.

With stark moving images that illustrate the song’s lyrics, the Web video demonstrates, in bold-face, the disturbing realities of the case: no murder weapon, no physical evidence tying Davis to the crime and witnesses who recanted their testimony, alleging police coercion. Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Authorities failed to produce a murder weapon or physical evidence tying Davis to the crime. Seven of the nine original state witnesses have recanted or changed their initial testimonies in sworn affidavits. One of the remaining witnesses is alleged to be the actual perpetrator. Since the launch of its February 2007 report, Where Is the Justice for Me?, Amnesty International has campaigned intensively for a new evidentiary hearing or trial, as well as clemency for Davis, collecting hundreds of thousands of clemency petition signatures and letters from prominent individuals around the world. Davis’ case is now pending before the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a similar move during the campaign to save Kenneth Foster, a few of us down here in Texas, started an online video campaign as part of the Save Kenneth Foster effort. We asked everyone who has a webcam to record a statement and upload it to YouTube saying why Texas Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles should stop the execution of Kenneth Foster on August 30, 2007. Later that week Gov. Rick Perry commuted Kenneth Foster's sentence.

Georgia Supreme Court to Troy Davis: Innocence doesn't matter

Capital Defense Weekly just reported that the Georgia Supreme Court denied a new trial for Troy Davis. According to Karl Keys, "In a sharp 4-3 decision the Georgia Supreme Court denies relief over a strong claim of innocence. The evidence of innocence, the majority holds, comes too late."

For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Davis’s extraordinary motion for new trial without first conducting a trial.. . .

Davis’s extraordinary motion for new trial relied primarily on affidavit testimony consisting of four types, recantations by trial witnesses, statements recounting alleged admissions of guilt by Coles, statements that Coles disposed of a handgun following the murder, and an alleged eyewitness account.

As the Chief Justice notes in dissent:

I believe that this case illustrates that this Court’s approach in extraordinary motions for new trials based on new evidence is overly rigid and fails to allow an adequate inquiry into the fundamental question, which is whether or not an innocent person might have been convicted or even, as in this case, might be put to death.

We have noted that recantations by trial witnesses are inherently suspect, because there is almost always more reason to credit trial testimony over later recantations. However, it is unwise and unnecessary to make a categorical rule that recantations may never be considered in support of an extraordinary motion for new trial. The majority cites case law stating that recantations may be considered only if the recanting witness’s trial testimony is shown to be the “purest fabrication.”3 To the extent that this phrase cautions that trial testimony should not be lightly disregarded, it has obvious merit. However, it should not be corrupted into a categorical rule that new evidence in the form of recanted testimony can never be considered, no matter how trustworthy it might appear. If recantation testimony, either alone or supported by other evidence, shows convincingly that prior trial testimony was false, it simply defies all logic and morality to hold that it must be disregarded categorically.

From Austin Texas: Happy Birthday Troy Davis!

More videos are posted at Troy Davis TV