We need a Hail Mary

Troy Davis is probably going to die tomorrow.

Yes, he was convicted by a jury and sentenced to die for murdering a police officer. Yes, he got his one federal habeas appeal, and a state appeal for a new trial that went all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court before being denied earlier this year. Yes, he got a hearing before the state Board of Pardons and Paroles on Sept. 12th, and they turned down his request for clemency. Yes, today they turned it down again, claiming they have examined affidavits from the witnesses and they were not swayed.

Just wanted to get out of the way all of the usual arguments for why ordinary people like you and I shouldn't get in the way of "justice" in this case by actually asking whether this conviction is accurate, whether Davis is really guilty, and whether a man on death row deserves to die simply because no court has yet stopped the process. (You know what they say about all that is necessary for the triumph of evil...)

Troy Davis may very well be innocent of the crime for which he was convicted, and yet he is probably going to die tomorrow at the hands of the state of Georgia. The odds of the Board of Pardons and Paroles reversing their earlier denial of clemency are slim. We all know that George W. Bush is unlikely to grant a pardon given his bloodthirsty reign as Texas governor. Clarence Thomas is the Supreme Court justice who can grant a stay of execution to allow the full court to decide whether to hear Davis' appeal--but he hasn't done that yet and it seems unlikely that he will. These are the only remaining options to stop the execution, and they all appear far too dim.

Not wanting to belabor the facts that I and others have posted about so many times before, I will remind you only that 7 of the 9 witnesses against Davis have recanted their testimony placing him at the scene of the crime, with 1 of the remaining 2 witnesses being the person others have fingered as the real shooter. No court has ever heard the testimony of the 7 recanting witnesses. No court has ever examined the newly developed evidence that Davis is actually innocent. Lest anyone try to convince you that Davis has "had his chance" to prove his innocence, these are the facts. The people who have strong evidence that Davis was fingered for a crime he did not commit have never been allowed to present their testimony in court.

It is terrifying to me to think that my state might kill an innocent man in error based upon legal technicalities. If it is terrifying to you too, there is not much that we can do to stop it. Except maybe to pray. I don't pray very often, but this seems like a good reason to start...and I don't know what else to do.

Previous posts on this subject:

Take Action
Troy Davis Update: Clemency Hearing Set
A date for a travesty
Heartbreaking and utterly uninspiring
GA Supreme Court to hear death penalty appeal
Time is Running Out
Actual Innocence