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will Troy Davis be Another unjust Example?
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B
arring a last minute stay of
execution by the Georgia
Board of Pardons and
Paroles in a last-ditch hearing
scheduled for September 19,
accused Savannah, Ga. cop-killer
Troy Anthony Davis will be exe-
cuted. If the execution goes forth,
two compelling questions can
never be answered. One is: Did
Georgia execute an innocent man?
The second is: If it did, will Davis
join the list of eight other inmates
compiled by the Death Penalty
Information Center that states
have executed in the last two
decades who like Davis might
have been innocent?
Dead men literally tell no tales,
and the guilt or possible innocence
of Davis and the other eight go to
the grave with them. The possible
innocence of Davis and the other
eight condemned and executed
prisoners is hardly a stretch. More
T HE L aST
w OrD
Earl Ofari
Hutchinson
Davis to the murder, and a score of
witnesses that originally implicat-
ed Davis as the shooter recanted
their testimony. The witnesses, as
in many cases where defendants
are convicted on the basis of eye-
witness testimony, later claimed
that they lied because they were
scared stiff by police coercion,
harassment and threats. Others cut
deals with police and prosecutors
to walk free or to get lighter sen-
tences for their own crimes. And
then others have long and dubious
reputations as jailhouse snitches
that prosecutor’s parade to the wit-
Will Davis join the list of eight other
inmates compiled by the Death
Penalty Information Center that states
have executed in the last two
decades who like Davis might have
been innocent?
than a dozen death row inmates
have been released in the past two
decades as a result of DNA evi-
dence. A legion of other death row
inmates have been released
because of prosecutor misconduct
that resulted in retrials and acquit-
tals, or pardons after mountainous
evidence was presented that cast
major doubt on their guilt. The
Davis case is a near textbook
example of a death penalty case
that reaches nowhere near the oft-
stated but much-abused constitu-
tional high bar of conviction,
namely beyond a reasonable
doubt.
The facts in his case are well-
known. There was no murder
weapon, physical evidence linking
ness stand to finger a defendant,
again in exchange for leniency.
The Innocence Project has noted
that overzealous and untruthful
prosecutors have suppressed, fab-
ricated, and destroyed evidence,
employed lying jailhouse snitches,
and untruthful witnesses. Many of
the cases have been riddled with
racial bias. The condemned killer
was black or Latino and their
alleged victim was White.
Troy Anthony Davis is black.
When defense attorneys appeal
these tainted convictions, the
courts almost always dismiss their
appeals on the grounds that the
prosecutor committed “harmless
errors” that didn’t affect the out-
come of the case. The Texas exe-
cution of Ruben Cantu in 1993 for
a murder he allegedly committed
as a teen was a classic case of how
a possibly innocent man can be
executed.
Davis has fought hard to prove
that he was indeed the victim of a
colossal frame-up. The best that
he’s been able to do is to push
back the date with the executioner.
ever officially said that an inno-
cent prisoner has been executed.
The Chatham County prosecutors
and the Georgia state Attorney
General that prosecuted and have
fought to execute Davis flatly say
that Davis is a cop killer who
deserves to die. But despite prose-
cutors vehement defense of them-
selves in these questionable cases
A legion of other death row inmates
have been released because of
prosecutor misconduct that resulted in
retrials and acquittals, or pardons after
mountainous evidence was presented
that cast major doubt on their guilt
He’s had several stays and even a
retrial. But it’s just bought time,
precious time. Davis, if it can be
called that, is lucky. His fight and
the possibility of his innocence
have made him a cause célèbre.
All prison reform groups, the
NAACP and notables from Jimmy
Carter to Pope Benedict have spo-
ken out against killing Davis.
Many other prisoners that do not
have the notoriety, draw press
attention and acclaim, and espe-
cially the money, and where there
are serious questions even doubts
about their guilt, languish on
America’s
death
rows.
That’s not likely to change. In
1996, when Congress passed, and
President Clinton signed legisla-
tion that toughened the death
penalty to combat terrorist acts, it
reduced appeals and made it hard-
er to get new trials. The year
before that Congress slashed mil-
lions in funds for post-conviction
public interest, legal interest
groups to help inmates such as
Davis file appeals.
In every doubtful case, prosecu-
tors hotly deny that any of the men
executed are innocent. Despite the
questionable executions, no prose-
cutor, or government official, has
some officials and judges have
strongly hinted and warned that it
is possible for an innocent person
to be executed. In 1997, the chair
of the House Judiciary Committee
praised the system of legal checks
and balances in place to insure that
the rights of condemned killers are
fully protected, but admitted that
there was no ironclad guarantee
that an innocent person could not
be put to death.
That’s little consolation for
Davis if indeed the Georgia Board
of Pardons and Paroles turn
thumbs down on his appeal for
clemency. If Davis keeps his date
this time with the executioner the
question will always linger
whether he was yet another horrif-
ic example of America possibly
executing an innocent man.
earl ofari hutchinson is an
author and political analyst. he is
a weekly co-host of the al
Sharpton Show on american
urban radio network. he is an
associate editor of new america
Media.
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