Troy Davis must "prove his innocence" after a wrongful conviction


By Les Blough, Editor. Axis of Logic.
Axis of Logic
Monday, Aug 17, 2009
Just look at what it takes for someone to present evidence of his 
innocence after being sentenced to death for a murder. The state 
sentenced Troy Davis to death after being accused of shooting an off 
duty, white policeman, moonlighting as a security guard at a Burger 
King restaurant in 1989. Troy was 19 years old at the time. They did 
it without any physical evidence linking him to the crime. The state 
convicted Troy based on the testimony of nine witnesses, seven of 
whom now say their court testimony was wrong.

What about the other 2 witnesses? Well, one of them who wants to 
testify against Troy is one of the state's prime suspects for this 
murder. Moreover, it is common knowledge that eye witness testimony 
is about the weakest evidence admitted in any court. People think 
they see things, especially in moments of urgency or excitement, that 
are often not real. Others are simply not able to reconstruct their 
memory from the initial encounter.

In The Problem With Eyewitness Testimony, a Stanford University Law 
School study states:

"Once witnesses state facts in a particular way or identify a 
particular person as the perpetrator, they are unwilling or even 
unable—due to the reconstruction of their memory—to reconsider their 
initial understanding. When a witness identifies a person in a line-
up, he is likely to identify that same person in later line-ups, even 
when the person identified is not the perpetrator. Although juries 
and decision-makers place great reliance on eyewitness 
identification, they are often unaware of the danger of false memories."

Moreover, how many times have people admitted, "They all look the 
same", when looking at a member of a different race? In Troy Davis' 
case, seven of the nine witnesses have now recanted their testimony.

So what does the state prosecutor have? Nothing. They have:

No physical evidence linking Troy with the crime. Physical evidence 
(e.g. a murder weapon) is considered by most to be the strongest 
evidence that can be presented in a case of capital crime.
2 witnesses who are apparently, still willing to testify, one of them 
a suspect in the killing. Will Troy's death save this witness' life?
7 witnesses who helped convict Troy recanting their testimony, saying 
that they were pressured by police to incriminate Davis.
A court proceeding fraught with errors, based on false testimony and 
bad conviction 20 years ago.
No confession by Troy Davis. Troy has always maintained his innocence.
No DNA or fingerprints linking Troy to the crime.
Still, incredibly, the Supreme court only says his execution will be 
only be delayed until he proves his own innocence. Wait a minute. 
Back up here. So now we have to prove our own innocence when charged 
with a crime? Guilty until proven innocent is the new standard for 
the State to kill a man in U.S. death chambers. How does one prove a 
negative? What level of proof does Troy have to present to the court? 
Steven Bright, Yale University Law School professor stated,

"The Supreme Court here says the evidence has to be so good, it not 
just proves but proves clearly that he's innocent. So he has a high 
burden to meet and anyone would have difficulty meeting that burden."

In this case, it is obvious to this writer that the burden for 
proving one's innocence is greater than the state's burden of proof 
for one's guilt. Denying a delay of execution by the U.S. Supreme 
Court in Troy's case would have required such an obvious miscarriage 
of justice that they simply could not turn their backs this time. 
According to the CNN story below it took the following conditions for 
Troy Davis to even get a delay in his execution and an opportunity to 
have an evidentiary hearing for the possibility of a new trial:

No physical evidence that he committed the crime.
Seven of nine witnesses who testified against Troy - now recanting 
their story. [Note: Spencer Lawton who was district attorney when 
Troy was convicted discounted the witnesses who recanted their 
testimony, calling them "suspect" without any support for his 
"suspicions".]
A petition with 60,000 signatures supporting Troy Davis. [Note: 
Associated Press relays an NAACP report that 11,000 of the 60,000 
signatures came from Georgia's Savannah and Chatham counties. AP then 
felt it necessary to race-bait and politicize Troy's life and death 
struggle, describing these counties: "... where black voters were key 
to Chisolm’s election as the county’s first African-American district 
attorney last fall. Davis is also black." Is the fact that they are 
African American the reason former D.A., Spencer Lawton thinks they 
are "suspicious"? Is Black testimony of lesser value than white?
The support of luminaries like Susan Sarandon and Harry Belafonte and 
the well known musical group, the Indigo Girls.
The support of world leaders like President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop 
Desmond Tutu; U.S. lawmakers Bob Barr, Carol Moseley Braun and John 
Lewis.
3 people who did not testify at his trial, saying that another man 
confessed to the killing. (not mentioned in the article below)
Justice Clarence Thomas voted to deny Troy Davis the right to prove 
his innocence.

Justice Antonin Scalia called Troy Davis' fight for his life a 
"fool's errand".
Meanwhile, as Troy tries to prove his innocence, two Supreme Court 
judges, the notorious Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are very 
upset about this delay. They are calling Troy's attempt to prove his 
innocence a "fool's errand". Scalia smugly, confidently wrote, 
"Petitioner's claim is a sure loser," despite the state's flawed 
conviction 20 years ago. It's obvious that Thomas and Scalia are both 
hell-bent to kill - ready to commit the same crime for which they are 
crying out for another man's blood.

If it takes this much to even get a delay of execution in the United 
States, what kind of "proof of innocence" is required to escape the 
state's lethal injection altogether? How many innocent people are 
being killed by the U.S. government with these kinds of convictions? 
How many of them have the international support that Troy Davis has?

Welcome to the U.S. Department of Justice at the highest level.

http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_56667.shtml