[wheettebott]

What did those seven witnesses actually say? None of them testified under subpoena.

[addyta.org]

According to this article http://www.ajc.com/news/then-and-now...es-556214.html

several did indeed testify at trial. You will find there comments there as well.

[Diwokfkq]

Here is another article from the AJC subtantiating witness accounts
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/witn...ny-555778.html

[pageup85]

So you can lock someone up for life without under reasonable doubt, but you need certainty to execute them? Sorry, don't buy it. Either they're guilty or not guilty. The standards have to be the same.

In point of fact, if you're falsely convicted of murder, you're better off getting a death sentence, since that will put more people, resources, and access behind your appeals. If Troy Davis had been given life (and especially if it wasn't life without), we'd never have heard of him, guilty or innocent.

Never once did I say that he should be locked up for life. Obviously, if I feel that he was innocent, and I do, then I'd also feel that he should be freed.

You know full well yourself, that for anyone who is placed on death row as the proscution suggests, that it is the job and burden of proof of the proscution that has to have and is supposed to have solid concrete evidence placing the suspect at the scene of the crime.

You say that if Troy was given life, that we'd never hear from him again? Well, Charles Manson was given LIP, but every now & then we hear of him trying to get out on parole. Fortunately, everytime it does, he's denied. He conspired to create and has created mass murder.

People can be falsely convicted of a crime and be given life as well. Case in point; Donnell Johnson, a resident of Boston, who was arrested, tried and convicted of a murder - one that he did not commit, but it was only because of mistaken identidy. He LOOKED like the real suspect, and that is all the Boston Police went by but he wasn't the actual suspect. The police had withheld vital info that could have set him free. He WAS eventually let go, but not before he was forced to serve five years in prison.

Youre right though. Troy DID have thousands of people ralleying behind him, but still, it didn't save him.

[ZZtop]

So what you are saying is that if it wasn't for the death sentence, Troy wold not have gotten thousands of people to mourn his death?


How lucky!

[Qutlsilh]

I'm not saying that either.

Whenever a person is convicted of a crime and sentensed, then regardless of the length of time imposed, it almost always generates scorn, ridicule and opposition coming from many of those who are supporting the accused and slamming the prosecution. And that could be an untold amount.

[HonestSean]

Ga. execution leaves debate over guilt unresolved

Anti-death penalty protester is helped off the ground after hearing about a delay of the e...

By GREG BLUESTEIN, AP
Thu Sep 22, 3:32 PM EDT

Georgia's execution of Troy Davis for the murder of an off-duty police officer has done little to resolve the debate over his guilt that captured the attention of thousands worldwide, including a former president and the pope.

Davis remained defiant even after he was strapped to a gurney Wednesday night in the state's death chamber, declaring his innocence and urging the victim's family to continue searching for the truth.

"I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight," Davis said in his final statement.

Demonstrators wept during a candlelight vigil outside the prison. High-profile figures, including former President Jimmy Carter, said there was too much doubt surrounding Davis' conviction and that his execution called the entire death penalty system into question.

Relatives of the slain officer, Mark MacPhail, said the execution marked an end to years of legal turmoil and rejected his claims of innocence.
"He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything," said the officer's mother, Anneliese MacPhail.
Davis had been convicted of MacPhail's 1989 killing. Prosecutors said Davis was pistol-whipping a homeless man after asking him for a beer when MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time, rushed over to help. Authorities said Davis had a smirk on his face when he shot the officer in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah.

Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter, but seven of nine key witnesses have recanted all or parts of their accounts. Some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Others have claimed a man who was with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer, though state and federal judges have repeatedly ruled against him.

No gun was ever found, but prosecutors say shell casings were linked to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted.
Davis' execution had been halted three times since 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court even gave Davis an unusual opportunity to "clearly establish" his innocence in a lower court last year. But a lower court judge ruled that defense attorneys didn't meet that standard — a higher bar than is set for prosecutors in proving guilt.

While the nation's top court didn't hear the case, they did set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must "clearly establish" Davis' innocence — a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt. After the hearing, a lower court judge ruled in prosecutors' favor, and the justices didn't take up the case.

On Wednesday night, his execution was again delayed as officials awaited word on whether the nation's high court would take up Davis' case. The justices ultimately declined without explaining the decision, clearing the way for Davis to be put to death shortly after 11 p.m.
Carter said he hoped the case led the nation to reject capital punishment.

"If one of our fellow citizens can be executed with so much doubt surrounding his guilt, then the death penalty system in our country is unjust and outdated," Carter said.

Other supporters included, Pope Benedict XVI, a former FBI director, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, several conservative figures and many celebrities.

Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf. Supporters staged vigils in the U.S. and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet. Some tried increasingly frenzied measures, urging prison workers to stay home and even posting a judge's phone number online. President Barack Obama, who could not have granted Davis clemency because it was a state case, deflected calls to get involved.
Dozens of protesters outside the White House called on the president to step in, and about 12 were arrested for disobeying police orders. Outside the U.S. Supreme Court and the Jackson prison where Davis was put to death, demonstrators chanted, "They say death row; we say hell no!" As many as 700 were outside the prison, though the crowd thinned as the night wore on and the outcome became clear.

For now, though, the nation's executions will carry on: Mere hours after Davis' execution, a judge signed a death warrant for another condemned inmate. And an Alabama inmate was set to be executed Thursday evening.

Davis remained upbeat and prayerful in his final hours, turning down an offer for a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters.
"Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister Martina Correia said before the execution. "They say, `I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak."

Officer MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said it was "a time for healing for all families."

"I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and our hurt," she said in a telephone interview from Jackson. "My prayers go out to them. I have been praying for them all these years. And I pray there will be some peace along the way for them."
___
Associated Press reporters Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga.; Kate Brumback and Marina Hutchinson in Jackson, Ga.; Eric Tucker and Erica Werner in Washington and Sohrab Monemi in Paris contributed to this report.
___
Follow Bluestein at http://www.twitter.com/bluestein.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[viagra_generic]

Daq, I was talkin' to BBMW....

[intisgunkas]

He wouldn't have had the legal support he had for his appeals, he wouldn't have gotting the appeals to be considered as seriously as they were.

So what you are saying is that if it wasn't for the death sentence, Troy wold not have gotten thousands of people to mourn his death?


How lucky!

[bxxasxxa]

Daq, I was talkin' to BBMW....

Also, the news report says that there was no DNA evidence and no gun was ever found that would have linked Davis to the murder. That to me, sounds like something is very fishy right there.

[sessoorale]

^
And BBMW was talking to me, not you.

[adsexpist]

Sorry, my bad.

[Searmoreibe]

I had a sick feeling in my stomach last night when I heard the execution went ahead. So many "witnesses" recanting their stories put more than enough reasonable doubt in my mind.

I'm almost always against the death penalty...certainly in cases like this. But it's hard for me to say "no matter what the crime". There are some serial killers, or cannibals who ate children they killed, or other such monsters, where I would not shed a tear or feign outrage at capital punishment. Albert Fish is one example that comes to mind. But for a case like this...no, never could I agree with the death penalty.

[Xewksghy]

The problem being, until justice is omniscient, you will always make mistakes.

That being the case, you need to have MANY checks and balances to make sure.

THAT being the case, it costs more money for anyone NOT wanting to die to be killed by the state.

So aside from a few psychos that just wanna die, keeping them alive for another 40-50 years is cheaper than involving X number of people for Y days in all this legal stuff.

The only difference being, if someone is up for a crime that would warrant the death penalty, there should be NO hearings for parole or otherwise. They are IN for life. The only recourse they should have is if there is a change in the evidence that was presented or involved in the case (as with Troy). THEN they get another chance.

My opinion.

[hhynmtrxcp]

Lawrence Brewer left the planet last night.

Can't say I have a problem with that.

[Cofeeman]

The problem being, until justice is omniscient, you will always make mistakes. Yes, yes, yes...we know that....and when I said "There are some serial killers, or cannibals who ate children they killed", I was referring to the cases where it is known for certain who committed hideous multiple murders. Do you understand what I am saying, Ninjahedge? That the evidence must be beyond ANY doubt, not just reasonable doubt, and that indeed sometimes that situation does exist.

[anfuckinggs]

I was referring to the cases where it is known for certain who committed hideous multiple murders.

Do Sadam Hussain, Osama Binladen, Jeffrey Daulmer & Timothy McVay ring a bell?

These four have certainly killed or had scores of innocent people brutally punished & killed.

Ok, they were terrorists (Daulmer wasn't, but yet & still, he was a very sick demented monster), but still, they were the cause for multiple murders.

Then there are cases where only one person is involved. Even children themselves have ruthlessly killed innocent people, such as the Columbine School massacre.

[Katoabralia]

Do Sadam Hussain, Osama Binladen, Jeffrey Daulmer & Timothy McVay ring a bell? Should I shed a tear for any of those sick bastards? I hope they rot in hell. They should have made Christmas ornaments with Osama's balls and hung them from the tree at Rock Center.

[Freeptube]

No.

Please don't get me wrong. Let me try to explain it a little better.

You stated above in your post that you were refering to the cases where it is known for certain who commited hideous multiple murders.
And I was refering to Binladen and some of the others as an example.

But you're right, you should NEVER shed a tear for any of them. I wouldn't. And I would never even think or say that you should.

But they ARE amoung the ones who snuffed out the lives of many innocent people.

[rionetrozasa]

There are too many criminals who so richly deserve execution that it makes sense to keep it around The above mentioned killer in the Jasper, TX dragging murder, is a good example.

In point of fact, I'd federalize the crime of murder, and make capital punishment manditory. All the crimes that have been considered "midemeanor homicide" (one drug dealer killing another over turf that are usually pled down to a 10 year sentance, for example), would get the the doer executed. I'd give the defendents access to the resources to defend themselves (competent lawyers, forensics, etc.). But if convicted, they'd get one appeal to a circuit, one shot at the supremes, and that's it.

How does it serve society to kill those who are convicted, no matter the crime?

Morally it makes no sense. And even less financially.