Clemency Denied for Troy Davis

From Amnesty International USA

In the face of an overwhelming public outcry the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles shockingly refused to grant clemency to Troy Davis last Friday.

Troy Davis is still scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia on September 23 at 7pm.

Mr. Davis' serious claims of innocence, which include the recantation of 7 out of 9 witnesses, have never been heard in court. Further, no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime.

Urge the board to reconsider its decision: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/lookup.asp?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=4496963

Amnesty International and the NAACP held a rally on Thursday night in Atlanta calling for clemency. Earlier in the day, Amnesty International and others delivered over 20,000 petitions, just a small fraction of the over 200,000 collected from all over the world.

We are all shocked and saddened by this latest blow. But together we can continue to press for justice for Troy Davis.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Background

Restrictions on Federal appeals have prevented Troy Anthony Davis from having a hearing in federal court on the reliability of the witness testimony used against him, despite the fact that most of the witnesses have since recanted, many alleging they were pressured or coerced by police. Troy Davis remains on Georgia death row, and may be scheduled for execution in the near future.

Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia; a murder he maintains he did not commit. There was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles – the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.