Troy Davis

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Demonstration in Paris on July 12, 2008

Troy Anthony Davis (born October 9, 1968 , † September 21, 2011 in Jackson , Georgia ) was a US citizen convicted of all instances of murder and sentenced to death . He was executed in 2011.

background

The African American was sentenced to death in 1991 after the murder of white police officer Mark MacPhail, which he was charged with, and executed 20 years later . Davis protested his innocence until shortly before his death, the execution of the sentence was postponed three times. In August 2009, the Supreme Court hired a federal court to try the case again. Although seven of the 34 witnesses withdrew their testimony, the court upheld the death sentence in August 2010. In addition, other witnesses appeared who named another suspect . Most recently, Davis failed with a final appeal to the Supreme Court in March 2011. The case received major media coverage over doubts about Davis's guilt and sparked international protests.

Childhood and youth

Troy Davis was the eldest child of Joseph Davis, a war veteran of the Korean War , and hospital worker Virginia Davis. The couple divorced when Troy was little. He grew up with four siblings in a predominantly African-American middle class area in the Cloverdale district of Savannah, Georgia . One of his teachers described his academic performance as "below average". Troy dropped out in 11th grade, among other things to drive his disabled little sister to therapy. In a second attempt, he graduated from high school in 1987 . A teacher at that school later testified in court that while Troy attended classes regularly, he lacked "discipline". His nickname at the time was "Rah" and stood for "Rough as Hell" (coarse as hell). Some neighbors said that this description did not do justice to his being as a straightforward guy and his role as “big brother” for many children in the neighborhood.

In July 1988, Davis went to court for hiding a gun. He was fined $ 250. A month later he started working for a company that made railroad barriers . His supervisor described him as a friendly, good employee, but Davis turned up less and less and from the beginning of 1989 no longer appeared in the company. He was a trainer in a police sports club and applied to be a marine.

Murder, prosecution and conviction

On the evening of August 18, 1989, Davis, then 21, was leaving a pool party in Cloverdale with a friend . The passengers of a passing car insulted the two with profanity, whereupon one of the car occupants was hit in the face by a bullet, fired according to testimony by Troy Davis ( ... “a young, tall, African-American male wearing a white batman shirt, a black hat , and shorts ”, a description that fitted Davis to a t. ) A little later Davis and his friend met on New Year's Eve“ Redd ”Coles, who was arguing with the homeless Larry Young over a beer in front of a Burger King fast-food restaurant. Davis came up and hit him in the head with his handgun. The then 27-year-old policeman Mark MacPhail, who at the time was working off-duty as a security guard for Burger King, stepped in and was, according to the conviction of all court authorities, shot by Davis. One shot hit him in the heart, another in the face. He hadn't drawn his service weapon.

Davis was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 of the August 18, 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail, the car shots and other misdemeanors. The conviction was based on testimony from eyewitnesses and ballistic examinations of the projectiles and cartridge cases found at both crime scenes. Davis had always denied all allegations. Although he admitted to being at the scene, he claimed that Coles beat the homeless man and murdered police officer Mark MacPhail, which the court found against the statements of neutral witnesses such as B. that of the homeless or the "Airman", was judged as not credible.

Since then, seven of a total of 34 witnesses (often incorrectly named as nine witnesses in the media) have changed their statements in part and in some cases have accused the police of having forced them to give false statements. The witness who reported Davis was allegedly suspected of having committed the murder himself, although this is not supported by sources.

The New York Times first mentioned the case on September 19, 2008, when the execution was due for the first time, under the heading "What's the Rush?"

“Killing someone whose guilt has not been proven is always perverse, but an extra dose of perversion lies in the August 19, 1989 case, when police officer Mark Allen MacPhail was murdered. […] Nine [sic] witnesses have testified against Mr. Davis since the trial began in 1991, but seven of them have since changed their version of the story. "

- New York Times : Bob Herbert, Comment, Sep 19, 2008

Readmission requests

Davis requested several times that his trial be retried and that new, exculpatory evidence be noted. A date for the execution of Troy Davis has been set several times, but postponed again at the last minute. Davis most recently filed a habeas corpus application with the federal appeals court for the eleventh district in October 2008 . This application was denied on April 16, 2009 for procedural reasons. On August 17, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Troy Davis had a right to a hearing because of the doubts raised .

Hearing in June 2010

The hearing in Savannah, during which the Troy Davis case was reopened, took place in June 2010. Troy Davis and his legal counsel were tasked with proving that he would not have been convicted by any jury with a reasonable jury. The case was 20 years ago and no DNA traces or fingerprints were found at the time, but other physical evidence in the form of projectiles and cartridge cases. The defense consisted of calling the witnesses who testified against Troy's original conviction. Of 34 witnesses, seven changed parts of their testimony in writing or gave evidence in court. Two of the witnesses stated that they had been compelled to testify by police at the time of Troy's arrest. They had been arrested at the time and had allegedly threatened to be charged with murder. This was judged by the court as not credible due to contradictions in the statements. Two other witnesses submitted changes to their testimony in writing but were not called on by the defense, although they were available to testify in court. As a result, there was no way to cross-examine the witnesses, which cast into serious doubt the credibility of their written changes in testimony in the eyes of the court.

Many of the changes to the statements were contradictory or only concerned insignificant details. So had z. For example, when a witness and friend of Davis was first questioned, he said he saw Davis hit the homeless man in the head with a gun. In his new testimony, he said he only saw Davis hit the homeless man and not whether he had a gun in his hand, but this is evidenced by the nature of the homeless person's injury.

One of the witnesses who did not change her testimony was a US Air Force officer at the time of the crime and clearly identified Davis ("You don't forget someone that stands over and shoots someone."). The main witness Sylvester Coles, who first reported Davis to the police as a perpetrator, was allegedly himself suspected. Sylvester Coles was not summoned by the defense, though there was a possibility, a fact which the trial judge, William Theodore Moore , accused the defense of which he believed distorted the facts. The defense, however, argued that they had no way of bringing Coles to trial against his will and that there was no point in giving evidence to someone who had no interest in proving Troy Davis' innocence.

Three months after the hearing closed, Judge Moore of the Southern Georgia Federal District Court pronounced his verdict:

“While the state's case may not be ironclad, most reasonable jurors would again vote to convict Mr Davis of Officer MacPhail's murder. A federal court simply cannot interpose itself and set aside the jury verdict in this case absent a truly persuasive showing of innocence. "

“The case is not entirely watertight, but most of the jury would convict Mr. Davis again of the murder of Officer MacPhail. A federal court cannot presume to disregard the judgment of a jury unless the innocence of the accused has been proven beyond doubt. "

Reactions to the June 2010 judgment

In a publication dated August 27, 2010, Amnesty International wrote :

"If a state's case against a condemned prisoner is not 'ironclad', should not that fact trouble those pursuing his execution?"

"If the case against a convict is not 'watertight,' shouldn't that fact concern those who are demanding that person's execution?"

In addition, a statement by the judge was mentioned in which he admitted that the new knowledge gained from the hearing raised further doubts about the legality of the conviction, but not to the extent that the jury's judgment was overturned. The task of Troy Davis at this hearing was namely to prove by "clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable jury member would have convicted him in the light of the new evidence for the murder of Officer Mark Allen MacPhail." Davis is not these high standards righteous, therefore he is "not innocent".

Human rights organizations expressed concern about this shift in the burden of proof . Judge Moore described the called witnesses as "implausible". Amnesty International and other Troy Davis supporters, including his sister Martina Correira, asked how Judge Moore could call "untrustworthy" witnesses who were believed to be credible when Troy was convicted at the re-hearing.

campaign

Protest against the announced execution in 2011

Numerous organizations fighting the death penalty, which have supported Troy Davis in the past, called on the public to continue to fight for justice. The principle of the rule of law " In dubio pro reo " is not taken into account. Troy Davis' most prominent supporters include former US President Jimmy Carter , Pope Benedict XVI. , Bishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa, EU Foreign Affairs Representative Catherine Ashton , rock band REM , actress Mia Farrow , Amnesty International and Democracy Now . Former FBI director William S. Sessions also campaigned for the death sentence to be commuted to life in prison. Nearly a million people around the world signed a petition demanding a pardon for Davis.

execution

In January 2011, the Troy Davis defense team called the United States Supreme Court again. On March 28, 2011, he decided that all remaining legal remedies would be rejected. On September 20, 2011, the state of Georgia rejected Troy Davis's pardon . He was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 21, 2011 . Shortly after the scheduled execution date, however, execution was suspended until the Supreme Court ruled. The court refused to suspend the execution. He was executed in the evening hours of September 21st. His death was determined at 11:08 pm local time.

The execution had been postponed three times. Members of the family of the policeman who was killed in 1989 were present at the execution of their own accord. It was the 52nd execution in the state of Georgia since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Troy Davis's last words were:

"I'd like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I'm not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight. For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls. "

“I would like to address the MacPhail family. You should know, despite the situation you are in, that I am not the one who killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent. The incident that night is not my fault. I didn't have a gun. All I ask is that you take a closer look at the case and ultimately see the truth. I ask my family and friends to keep fighting the fight. May God have mercy on the souls of those who take my life. God bless your souls. "

Web links

Commons : Troy Davis  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Reasons for the judgment part 1 on gov server (PDF; 2.2 MB)
• Reasons for the judgment part 2 on gov server (PDF; 4.6 MB)
• Website for Troy Davis
• Amnesty International report
• Comment in the British Guardian
• Report in the US newspaper Nation
• Amy Goodman / Democracy Now via Troy Davis
• Visit report one day before the last scheduled execution
• Last letter from Troy Davis to his supporters

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DavisRuling ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
2. ^ Washington Post Troy Davis: guilty as charged
3. ^ NJ.com Convicted cop killer Troy Davis is executed in Georgia
4. ↑ DavisRuling 41 ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
5. ↑ http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46347
6. ↑ When in doubt for the death penalty , Zeit Online from 23 September 2011
7. ↑ The pardon is missing , Welt Online from September 23, 2011
8. ↑ Troy Davis executed despite international protests Zeit Online , September 22, 2011
9. ↑ digitaljournal.com
10. ↑ DavisRuling ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
11. ↑ DavisRuling 147 ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) "At the probable cause hearing, Mr. Young testified that the person in the yellow shirt was Mr. Coles, and that he was assaulted by someone other than Mr. Coles, likely the person in the white shirt [Troy Davis]. " 
12. ↑ The use of a handgun as a striking weapon, see Pistol whipping
13. ↑ DavisRuling 167 ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) "Four witnesses stated that the person in the white shirt murdered Officer MacPhail [...], and four directly identified Mr. Davis as Officer MacPhail's murderer [...]." 
14. ↑ DavisRuling 161ff The Shell Casing ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
15. ↑ DavisRuling 41 ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) "The state presented thirty-four witnesses in its case-in-chief [...] Mr. Davis called five witnesses and testified on his own behalf." 
16. ↑ humanevents.com "After a two-week trial with 34 witnesses for the state and six witnesses for the defense, the jury of seven blacks and five whites took less than two hours to convict Davis of Officer Mark MacPhail's murder, as well as various other crimes. "
17. ↑ DavisRuling 149ff Summary ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) "Not all recantations are created equal; a witness may recant only a portion of their testimony or the witness may recant in a manner that is not credible. ..." 
18. ↑ The New York Times goes on: “One of these witnesses, Dorothy Ferrell, later stated that she was paroled when she testified against Davis and that she feared she would go back to jail if she met Mr. Davis not named as a murderer. In an affidavit, she stated, "I told the superintendent that Troy Davis shot when I really didn't know who shot the officer." Another witness, Darrell Collins, a teenager at the time of the murder, said if he did not make a false statement, the police would have threatened to report him for involvement in the murder and he would never get out of prison. "I didn't want to go to jail because I hadn't done anything wrong," he said. "
19. ↑ DavisRuling ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
20. ↑ DavisRuling 161ff The Shell Casing ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
21. ↑ DavisRuling 164ff Summary ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) "Specifically, the eyewitness identifications of Mr. Coles as the shooter by Mr. Gordon and Mr. Washington are not Credibly." 
22. ↑ DavisRuling 149ff Summary ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) "Two more recantations were intentionally and suspiciously offered in affidavit form rather as live testimony, blocking any meaningful cross-examination by the state or credibility determination by this Court." 
23. ↑ DavisRuling ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
24. ↑ DavisRuling ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.7 MB) 
25. ↑ humanevents.com Among the witnesses who did not recant a word of their testimony against Davis were three members of the Air Force, who saw the shooting from their van in the Burger King drive-in lane. The airman who saw events clearly enough to positively identify Davis as the shooter explained on cross-examination, "You don't forget someone that stands over and shoots someone."
26. ↑ ^{a b} amnesty.org: Document - USA: Less than 'ironclad', less than safe. Federal court ruling may clear way for Georgia to set new execution date for Troy Davis (accessed September 20, 2011)
27. ↑ Should Davis be executed? No . Ajc.com, September 15, 2011
28. ^ The Last Hours of Troy Davis stern.de, September 22, 2011
29. ↑ Democracy Now! March 29, 2011
30. ↑ Freedom Now! March 30, 2011
31. ↑ ajc.com: Troy Anthony Davis' execution set for Sept. 21  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
32. ↑ No Mercy For Troy Davis, Spiegel Online, September 20, 2011
33. ^ Colleen Curry: Troy Davis Execution Delayed . ABC News, September 21, 2011.
34. ^ Yahoo News
35. ^ Ed Pilkington: Troy Davis execution goes ahead despite serious doubts about his guilt. , GUARDIAN dated September 22, 2011 , accessed September 22, 2011
36. ↑ www.clarkprosecutor.org , accessed September 23, 2011