The Troy Davis Murder

[Nbadan]

Witness intimidation..

Darrell Collins, who had made an August 1989 police statement that he had seen Davis shoot at people in a car in Cloverdale and approaching MacPhail, recanted his statement under cross-examination by the defense, saying that he made the statement after threats by police with prison if he did not cooperate. He said in court that he had not seen Davis in possession of a gun or fire one

Wiki

[Nbadan]

A confession by a prosecution witness

The evidentiary hearing was held in June 2010, during which affidavits from several prosecution witnesses from the trial changing or recanting their previous testimony were presented. Some of the affidavits implicated one of the original prosecution witnesses, Sylvester "Redd" Coles, in the crime, and other affiants asserted they had been coerced by police. The State presented witnesses, including the police investigators and original prosecutors, denying coercion. Evidence that Coles had confessed to the killing was excluded as hearsay because Coles was not subpoenaed by the defense to rebut it.

[Yonivore]

Cole was the other thug, right?

[Nbadan]

Yes, Davis was no saint, but probably not a killer either, he was implicated by Coles, the likely shooter...

On the evening of August 19, Redd Coles went to the police. He told them that he had seen Davis with a .38-caliber gun, and that Davis had assaulted Young.[12][19] The same evening, Davis drove to Atlanta with his sister.[12][19] In the early morning of August 20, 1989, the Savannah police, suspecting Davis and seeking a murder weapon, converged on the Davis home. Having sealed off the area, the police searched the house, and a pair of shorts belonging to Davis were found in a dryer and confiscated.[20] Police issued a reward for information leading to Davis's arrest.[21] Davis's family began negotiating with police, motivated by concerns about his safety; local drug dealers were making death threats because the police dragnet seeking Davis had interrupted their business.[19][22] On August 23, 1989, Davis was driven back to Savannah by members of his family, where he surrendered to police

[Yonivore]

The prosecution had 34 witnesses.

There were two thugs that mugged the homeless guy. One was wearing a white shirt and one was wearing a yellow shirt.

Some of the 34 witnesses, who personally know Davis, said Davis was the guy in the white shirt that night. That testimony hasn't been recanted.

Some of the 34 witnesses, who witnessed the crime said the thug in the white shirt was the one that pistol-whipped the homeless guy and shot the police officer. That testimony hasn't been recanted.

None of the 34 witnesses, who witnessed the crime said the thug in the yellow shirt committed the crime. That testimony (or lack thereof) hasn't changed.

So, 7 of 34 witnesses recanted. That leaves 27 who didn't.

You can build quite a narrative over 22 years and, with celebrities and the media on your side, Nbadan can be convinced of things that simply aren't true.

[Yonivore]

And another thing.

Only 2 of the 7 recantations actually changed anything of importance and those affidavits were discounted because Davis (through his attorney) refused to allow the affiants to testify at the post-trial hearing, even though one was at the courthouse, ready to appear.

The court warned Davis his refusal to call his only two genuinely recanting witnesses would make their affidavits worthless. Davis still refused to call them -- suggesting their lawyer-drafted affidavits, recanting on previous testimony, would not have held up under cross-examination.

[Yonivore]

One final thought.

You posted the pictures of two killers and asked what was the difference; as if to say it made a difference Davis is black.

All 34 prosecution witnesses that sent Davis to the death chamber are black.

[Crookshanks]

Davis was another Mumia - a cop killer who caught the attention and sympathy of hollywood celebrities. Doesn't change the facts that both were cop killers and both of them should be dead.

[Nbadan]

Or, he was really innocent.....Davis didn't want to be set free...he just wanted a chance to proof he didn't kill anyone.....

...God Have mercy on our souls if he was innocent...

[ElNono]

I'm personally against the death penalty in general, unless it's an absolutely clear cut case (like that white supremacist that was executed the same day).

It just takes one fellow (and there's been more than one) that was exonerated due to new testing methods (like DNA) to realize that huge mistakes do happen, in something where mistakes should never happen.

It has nothing to do with whether this guy was guilty or not (I personally think he was). But I think there was enough doubt to at the very least lock him in for life and see if during that period some new information developed.

[admiralsnackbar]

One more thing.

Davis never argued he wasn't at the scene just that he wasn't the one, of the two thugs mugging the homeless guy, that pulled the trigger on the off-duty officer.

One of the two committed the murder. Nothing points to the other guy and, all Davis has is stuff trying to point away from him. He couldn't get rid of all the evidence.

So much for the shadow of my doubt.

Kill him again, I say.

[johnsmith]

I find it funny that Dan has never mentioned this case in the history of his posting on spurstalk, but now it's very important to him.

[hitmanyr2k]

Not everyone is getting the Troy Davis treatment....

Judges rule Asheville men convicted of murder are innocent
http://www.citizen-times.com/article...xt|Frontpage|s

The panel ordered both men set free — almost 11 years after being jailed for a killing in which they had no part. Their decision marked only the second case in North Carolina in which convictions were overturned under a law that created the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission in 2006.

Kagonyera and Wilcoxson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Bowman’s slaying but later said they were under intense pressure from prosecutors, investigators, family members and their own attorneys for fear they could spend life in prison or be sentenced to death.

To think if these guys stood strong on their innocence with a "not guilty" plea and lost that case they could have been sitting on death row right now for no reason. All because of law enforcement holding back evidence that could have exonerated them from the start.

[Nbadan]

And another thing.

Only 2 of the 7 recantations actually changed anything of importance and those affidavits were discounted because Davis (through his attorney) refused to allow the affiants to testify at the post-trial hearing, even though one was at the courthouse, ready to appear.

The court warned Davis his refusal to call his only two genuinely recanting witnesses would make their affidavits worthless. Davis still refused to call them -- suggesting their lawyer-drafted affidavits, recanting on previous testimony, would not have held up under cross-examination.

Exactly, one of the reasons many people think Davis deserved more time to prove his case is because he was so poorly defended by a public defender in his trial and in his appeal process...there was no physical evidence that proved Davis was the trigger man...no shirt, no shorts, no gun no DNA...eye-witness testimony is among the poorest evidence you could have...witnesses can be and very often are wrong...death is a final sentence and should be applied only in cases where there is no doubt that the convict committed the murder or murders...in this case, I don't think that tough standard was met and that cheapens the whole death penalty process...

[Nbadan]

I find it funny that Dan has never mentioned this case in the history of his posting on spurstalk, but now it's very important to him.

Killing a possibly innocent man doesn't bother you?

No surprise there really.

[Yonivore]

Killing a possibly innocent man doesn't bother you?

No surprise there really.

There's no possibility Davis was innocent of this crime.

[The_Worlds_finest]

There's no possibility Davis was innocent of this crime.

which is why the supreme court put him to sleep like the dog he is....NEXT!

[The_Worlds_finest]

Why does it go clear over their heads that only 2 people could have shot the cop? davis or his other standup accomplice collins? 50/50% chance if the evidence pointed at collins then all these assclowns would be saying he "could be innocent"!

[johnsmith]

Killing a possibly innocent man doesn't bother you?

No surprise there really.

Possibly the weakest "spin" on my comment you've ever made.


What really bothers me Dan, is you coming on this website for just less than a decade and pretendting like the hot button issue of the day is really important to you. You haven't mentioned this case prior to NBC telling you to worry about it and you won't mention it again beyond this.

For being such an "outside the box" thinker, you sure worry about exactly what the media tells you to worry about.

[Yonivore]

What really bothers me Dan, is you coming on this website for just less than a decade and pretendting like the hot button issue of the day is really important to you.

C'mon, to be fair to Dan, isn't that all this forum is about?

There are very few, if any, threads started by original thought or due to personal experience.

[Stringer_Bell]

I dunno bros, seems to me that Davis was put to death without enough evidence IMO. Sure, we have the occassional Negro that captures attention from Hollywood or Amnesty International that makes everyone feel like a big injustice is done...so I get why some people still wanna kill the man out of spite for Hollywood and Non-governmental organizations.

All the dude asked for was life until he can prove his innocence, seems fair to me when there's so much doubt about whether he deserved death when other white people sit comfortably in jail having done much worse with far more evidence.

[Nbadan]

Amy Goodman's piece on Davis...

The chorus for clemency grew louder. Allen Ault, a former warden of Georgia’s death row prison who oversaw five executions there, sent a letter to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, co-signed by five other retired wardens or directors of state prisons. They wrote: “While most of the prisoners whose executions we participated in accepted responsibility for the crimes for which they were punished, some of us have also executed prisoners who maintained their innocence until the end. It is those cases that are most haunting to an executioner.”

...

The eyewitnesses to the execution stepped out. According to an Associated Press reporter who was there, these were Troy Davis’ final words: “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.”

The state of Georgia took Davis’ body to Atlanta for an autopsy, charging his family for the transportation. On Troy Davis’ death certificate, the cause of death is listed simply as “homicide.”

Truthdig

god have mercy on their souls indeed...

[Yonivore]

Amy Goodman's piece on Davis...

Truthdig

god have mercy on their souls indeed...

What does any of that have to do with his guilt?

Let's see, you have wardens bothered by murderers who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Nope, doesn't say anything Davis being innocent or guilty.

Hmmmm....Davis, himself, in his last words claiming to be innocent. That never happens! Oh wait, it does.

The charged his family for transportation to the medical examiners office. I'm sure Georgians have paid enough for his crimes. Let the family that raised that vermin pick up some of the tab.

He is guilty.