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Troy Davis: GA Board Rejects Clemency

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 08:06:53 AM EST
Tags: Troy Davis (all tags)
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The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole has rejected clemency for Troy Davis.

His legal appeals are exhausted, so his latest last-ditch effort before the parole board appears to be his last chance to be spared execution.

No appeal to the Supreme Court allowed?

Good read: Andrew Cohen's The Death Penalty: Why We Fight for Equal Justice.

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    Troy Davis: GA Board Rejects Clemency | 21 comments (21 topical)

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    I have to go to Georgia in three weeks (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by Dadler on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 09:51:39 AM EST
    Now I really never want to set foot in the state again.  Unfortunately my father lives there.  

    Hope those on the clemency board get sh*t on by some birds today, or better yet, well, I won't go there.  But, I have to say, it takes some very soulless people to want to sit on that board, when they NEVER seem to be needed for anything but loading the state's gun.  

    And I have to say, while I obviously appreciate and comprehend the pain the family of the victim are going through (someone was murdered in our family when I was 12, and I remember that open casket funeral to this day, I ran out of it weeping, and no one was ever charged in the crime), but when that many witnesses recant, you have lost an essential part of your humanity to want this execution to continue.  That they don't even consider what it will do to them, or their son's memory, to kill a potentially innocent man (which has occurred more than once in this country in recent history, rest assured) is kind of astounding.  They have to believe all those witnesses are recanting for no other reason that to hurt the victim's family.  The irrationality is clear on all sides of this.

    For shame, for shame.

     

    I saw the victim's daughter on a (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by Anne on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 10:33:39 AM EST
    news report the other day, and I had to wonder if she ever asks herself whether the brief moment of satisfaction she thinks she will get when Davis is executed will be worth it if, in fact, Davis isn't guilty.

    I just kept thinking, "you're not going to feel as good about this as you think you are, even if Davis is guilty, and when you come to realize that the injustice of your father's innocent life being taken is no greater than the injustice of a possibly innocent man's life being taken to pay for it, it will be too late to right that wrong, and you will carry that burden for the rest of your life."  


    Parent

    It is hard to bend one's mind (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by MKS on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 11:20:11 AM EST
    arouund this.

    That the person to be executed may be innocent does not slow these people down?

    Maybe it would be a good idea (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Edger on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 04:05:35 PM EST
    if prosecutors like Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm should have to, as part of their job qualification, be required to first personally experience any sentence they want to request for a defendant.

    Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm is the man who requested the death warrant against Troy Davis, and he is in a unique position to petition the judge to withdraw the death warrant against Troy.

    Since Troy Davis's conviction, the facts of the case have changed dramatically. The evidence in the Troy Davis case has always been circumstantial due to a lack of relevant physical evidence and no murder weapon. The conviction was based almost wholly on witness testimony, and seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony or changed their story.

    In light of this knowledge, the evidence used to convict Troy Davis appears even weaker.

    Sign the petition to District Attorney Larry Chisolm today. Tell him an innocent life hangs in the balance, and he has your support in preventing Troy Davis' execution by coming forward to ask the Judge to withdraw the death warrant against Troy.

    Petition here: http://action.naacp.org/page/s/petition-larry-chisolm

    NUMBERS TO CALL:
    Georgia Pardons & Parole Board number: 404.656.5651 - you have to hit "0" on all 3 menu options. At least one operator hangs up immediately if you say Troy Davis. One at least is "noting objections."

    Chatham County's District Attorney's office by phone/fax: Telephone: 912-652-7308 Fax: 912-652-7328

    The NACCP may not be correct (none / 0) (#11)
    by jbindc on Wed Sep 21, 2011 at 12:53:10 PM EST
    According to a professor at John Marshall Law School and who has challenged the death penalty for decades:

    Q. Can the Chatham County district attorney ask the judge who signed the death warrant to withdraw it?

    Mike Mears said probably not. "I don't think there is a legal mechanism to ask a judge for a do over," he said.

    Also:

    Chisolm late Tuesday said the matter was "beyond our control."

    "The district attorney does not have the power or authority to withdraw an execution order," Chisolm said, adding there's no requirement for him to be a party to seek such an order.

    "Superior court judges can issue the order without the involvement of the DA," Chisolm said. "The DA's office does not have exclusive control over any phase of the process."

    So, this petition, while probably well intentioned, appears to be useless except for the media attention it's generating. Seems like they should focus their efforts on getting a judge to rescind the order - soemone who actually has the authority to do so.

    Parent

    As to when the U.S. Supreme Court can (none / 0) (#1)
    by Peter G on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 09:34:54 AM EST
    intervene ... the Supreme Court can grant a stay only when there is a challenge to the validity of the sentence (or the underlying conviction) pending in some federal court (including the Supreme Court itself), or in a state court that could lead to a federal appeal.  In the Davis case, I think there is no such court appeal - of any kind - pending or available anymore.

    The Supreme Court (none / 0) (#12)
    by jbindc on Wed Sep 21, 2011 at 01:31:08 PM EST
    Granted Davis a rare opportunity last year to prove his innocence, but his defen