Ga. Man Gets Final-Hour Execution Reprieve

Convicted Cop Killer Spared By U.S. Supreme Court As Questions Linger About His Guilt

(AP)  The U.S. Supreme Court gave a reprieve to a Georgia inmate less than two hours before he was to be executed Tuesday for the 1989 slaying of an off-duty police officer.

Supporters of 39-year-old Troy Davis have called for a new trial as seven of the nine witnesses who helped put him on death row recanted their testimony. Protesters had arrived by the busload to protest the execution, carrying signs with slogans like "Justice for Troy Davis" and wearing blue T-shirts emblazoned with "I am Troy Davis." A crowd of about 50 erupted in cheers when the stay, granted around 5:20 p.m., was announced.

The Rev. Al Sharpton had accompanied members of Davis' family to the protest, including Davis' mother, Virginia.

Prosecutors have labeled the witness statements "suspect," and courts had previously refused requests for a new trial.

The execution had been scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT.

The stay will remain in effect while the court considers Davis' appeal. Davis wants the high court to order a judge to hear from the witnesses who recanted their testimony and others who say another man confessed to the crime.

Influential advocates, including former President Jimmy Carter and South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, insist that there's enough doubt about his guilt to merit a new trial.

A divided Georgia Supreme Court has twice rejected his request for a new trial, and had rejected his appeal to delay the execution Monday afternoon. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles also turned down his bid for clemency.

Davis was convicted of the murder of 27-year-old officer Mark MacPhail, who was working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station.

MacPhail had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men.

Witnesses identified Davis as the shooter, and at the 1991 trial, prosecutors said he wore a "smirk on his face" as he fired the gun.

But Davis' lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of mistaken identity. Besides those who have recanted their testimony, three others who did not testify have said Sylvester "Red" Coles — who testified against Davis at his trial — confessed to the killing.

Coles refused to talk about the case when contacted by The Associated Press during a 2007 Chatham County court appearance and has no listed phone number.

Prosecutors have contended in court hearings the case is closed. They also say some of the witness affidavits simply repeat what a trial jury has already heard, while others are irrelevant because they come from witnesses who never testified.

Meanwhile, a man was set to be executed Tuesday in Florida barring a last-minute intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. Richard "Ric Ric" Henyard, 34, was convicted of the 1993 shooting deaths of two sisters — 7-year-old Jamilya Lewis and Jasmine Lewis, 3.

Their mother, Dorothy Lewis, survived after she was raped and shot several times during a carjacking. Both girls, with their mother when they were seized by Henyard and an accomplice, were shot in the head when they cried out for her.

[bks59]

a question for the pro-death penalty folks, when the sentence is carried out, does the executioner then become a murder?

[jacsm1217]

Are the seven people who lied at his trial going to be sentenced?

[libluv2cnsor]

Turns out, Davis would have DEFAULTED on a FANNY-MAE loan if he was executed. We can''''t have that!


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Posted by mydiatribe at 08:14 AM : Sep 25, 2008
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he probably has a defaulted loan on a $60,000. land rover to accent the lawn in his ghetto shack.

and of course its the bank that held the gun to his head to get the said loan..

[mydiatribe]

Turns out, Davis would have DEFAULTED on a FANNY-MAE loan if he was executed. We can''t have that!

[parrots121]

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so let me understand your flow of thought..

so did guy is no way shape or form PART of a party committing a crime? which is agrevated assult on another person?..soooo was he walking home from church??...was he coming home from work...WHY WAS HE THERE...
Posted by libluv2cnsor at 04:38 PM : Sep 24, 2008

And all this in your mind Justifies a DEATH CONVICTION ?? ...... I knew Repugs were Dumb but dang !

[libluv2cnsor]

The point is that there is mounting doubt as to his guilt. There is however no doubt as to yours, and you WILL one day be judged.


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Posted by tapsettle at 07:57 AM : Sep 24, 2008
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so let me understand your flow of thought..

so did guy is no way shape or form PART of a party committing a crime? which is agrevated assult on another person?..soooo was he walking home from church??...was he coming home from work...WHY WAS HE THERE...

[libluv2cnsor]

Posted by howzilla at 03:41 AM : Sep 24, 2008
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like i said..criminals get sympathy from other criminals..

so what else do you smoke out there in kansas?

[libluv2cnsor]

libluv2spit - YOU are an idiot. YOU should be executed. YOU are the absolute stupidest person on Earth. Earth does not deserve you. Please kill yourself - now.


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Posted by howzilla at 03:41 AM : Sep 24, 2008
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HAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHH

so i SHOULD be executed??? wow..and we got this man in here who obviously committed a crime and you want him set free..*sigh bleeding heart liberals*

let me guess he is not guilty because he is black..

[madeupnews]

Put Clay Aiken in his cell with him for 2 days and make him listen to his music. He''ll kill himself in no time........problem solved.

[biomegaly]

I wonder how long he practiced in the distorted prison mirror to come up with that "I''m innocent, poor me" look? Hmm, he''s had an awful long time to practice Al.

[tapsettle]

Too bad this piece of trash didn''t give his innocent victim a reprieve. Witnesses memories can and do change over time. Sounds to me like they want to protect one of their own from meeting their rightful demise.
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Posted by Credibility2

The point is that there is mounting doubt as to his guilt. There is however no doubt as to yours, and you WILL one day be judged.

[credibility2]

Too bad this piece of trash didn''t give his innocent victim a reprieve. Witnesses memories can and do change over time. Sounds to me like they want to protect one of their own from meeting their rightful demise.

[myopinion1]

Ok, let me get this straight. This man was brutally murdered and taken from his family in 1989 and they are just NOW talking about mistaken identity and witnesses reneging on their accounts? An entire generation has been born and grew up while the murderer enjoys daily life. Al Sharpton and his crusade of racism is not welcome in this country and neither is he. He needs to crawl back to the jungle from whence he came.

[excoachken]

If THIS Supreme Court can see the problems with THIS execution, we all know that they''ve just prevented ANOTHER "night when the lights went out in Georgia."

[beader59]

Thank god for sound minds that realize that this case embodies the wisdom of relying on eye-witness testimony only. Our justice system must maintain civility and this case appears to need this. No evidence = not guilty in the eyes of justice. I don''t care one way or another about the death penalty, but it definitely should not be used when there is no evidence that a certain person committed a crime...again eye-witness testimony is not enough.

[hbevis]

In response to the post, I support the statement - "It is better to let 100 guilty men go free than imprison one innocent man."

If there is any doubt, than it should be investigated. There is a difference between doing something in the interest of justice and doing something in the interest of political expediency.

Posted by IrishWench at 10:50 PM : Sep 23, 2008

I agree. We have put to many men to death in the past that was not gulity.

[jshawty1]

You know no matter how you look at this situation, the real Americans stand for justice, and those who where born in their selves will always be what they are today.White people could never have delt with we have in this country, and for that we will always survive, no matter what law is unjustly applied. we came from the mountain, not the cave.

[tootall10142]

Iam neither pro death penalty or con. That is a system of punishment i have lost faith in since technology now sways the courts and juries.Many times a payment is secretly made to a family of a condemned man if they confess to a crime and relieve a death sentence.When the evidence is overwhelming and the verdict is guilty. I believe the sentence should be carried immediatley after the verdict the same hour.The appealls process does and has saved innocent people

[pensacola98]

If Sylvestor Cole admitted he was the killer, and was never permitted to testify, then why did the State of Georgia have a problem giving Troy Davis a new trial? What are the appellate courts doing there in Georgia? Even a conservative judge in the State Supreme Court would give a new trial if valid evidence was withheld from the trial or later discovered after the trial.

It is quite savage and apathetic to turn away from facts and truth and just permit wrongful executions to occur. Troy Davis does indeed sound cruel and savage himself, but we can''t execute him if he didn''''t commit the crime that justifies an execution. It appears Sylvester Cole deserves the execution for the killing of the off-duty police officer who was working as a security guard.

To my great relief, the Federal Supreme Court also believe that executions can''t be handed out to those not deserving them.

The appetite for death is clearly fed by hatred and prejudice. Anyone believing that casual executions should be mainstream, should watch Henry Fonda in the film "TWELVE ANGRY MEN". It may liberate some of those from anger that just goes out of control when critical thinking is needed. Even a reformed ex-con saw this film and learned the need to divorce himself from angry friends and troubled souls.

[hbevis]

What blatant racists on this site----pond scum!!

Posted by mensarino at 08:16 PM : Sep 23, 2008

AMEN, AMEN, AND AMEN..........