Troy Davis wins hearing!!

[wcrapkin]

Nothing disgusts me more than people who fail to realize that the law is never open to debate and is required to be strictly and rigidly enforced. Troy Davis has won his hearing but the burden of proof is on him. It is his job to prove his innocence, his innocence to the federal judge, not reasonable doubt but innocence. He has no DNA evidence to present to the federal judge. All he has is recantations which ultimately are historically unpersuasive. The case reminds me of the Officer Ceriale cop-killing case in Chicago. A gang-banger Jonathan Tolliver killed Ceriale and was fingered by a number of eyewitnesses who testified against him at the grand jury.

At trial the eyewitnesses all recanted spinning fairy tales that the Chicago PD coerced them into testifying against Tolliver. The state attorneys office called the witnesses as hostile witnesses, read the grand jury transcripts, and the Chicago police officers testified that there was no bullying and no coercion. The jury convicted and Tolliver is serving a life sentence with no parole ever. Unless Davis is lucky and draws a liberal federal judge appointed by Clinton or Carter I predict that these recantations will result in the hearing ending with the same result every other court that has heard the case has. Unfortunately this means he has another couple of years to live, but in the end I believe the result will be the same.

[Details]

Nothing disgusts me more than people who fail to realize that the law is never open to debate and is required to be strictly and rigidly enforced. ...I don't know this case - but the law is always open to debate, and should always be enforced with common sense and flexibility, not blind adherence to the rules even when they do not fit a situation. We have juries because the law is supposed to be open to debate - a major role of the jury is to nullify a law inappropriately applied, to add the flexibility that is needed for laws to be justly applied, rather than rigidly enforced.

And part of that law is whatever it was that got Troy Davis a hearing.


If the witnesses are the reason for the conviction, and if they claim coercion, and that their original testimony was false - that's a very good reason for a hearing. The purpose of the justice system should be JUSTICE - making sure we've got the right guy is key.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Anthony_Davis
7 of 9 witnesses recant, 1 of the remaining is someone who was a suspect, and a plausible one, the other - years after the event, eyewitness identification is notoriously error prone. Sounds a good case for an appeal.

There isn't always DNA to convict, nor to acquit.

[KittyMom]

http://savannahnow.com/node/769599

UPDATE: Former police chief: Slain officer Mark Allen MacPhail 'was a man.'

MacPhail, 27, was working off-duty at the Greyhound Bus Terminal/Burger King on Oglethorpe Avenue early Aug. 19, 1989, when he was shot and killed by a gunman. The officer was rushing to help a homeless man under attack over a beer.


This is who Troy Davis murdered. May he forever see the face of his victim each night as he closes his eyes and may his friends (who've lied to get him off) be haunted by their lies. Shame on them all.

[Details]

http://savannahnow.com/node/769599

UPDATE: Former police chief: Slain officer Mark Allen MacPhail 'was a man.'

This is who Troy Davis murdered. May he forever see the face of his victim each night as he closes his eyes and may his friends (who've lied to get him off) be haunted by their lies. Shame on them all.He was a man - and no doubt a good man.

And that is why it is ESSENTIAL, critical, to find out who REALLY killed him. The case against Troy Davis sounds pretty flimsy to me - the only real witness against him is the guy who is a prime suspect, really sounds likely to be the real killer. That is something we have to be sure of.

[dref99]

... snipped for space

The jury convicted and Tolliver is serving a life sentence with no parole ever. Unless Davis is lucky and draws a liberal federal judge appointed by Clinton or Carter I predict that these recantations will result in the hearing ending with the same result every other court that has heard the case has. Unfortunately this means he has another couple of years to live, but in the end I believe the result will be the same. My bold.

This is a trials thread. There are enough political threads around for you to use to attack Presidents or their appointees that you don't happen to agree with.

I cannot imagine how an innocent person would feel if convicted of a crime and sentenced to death or life imprisonment - there have been so many examples of this over the years.

Worth thinking about, while demanding that the law not be open to debate. If the later was the case one would never need any higher/appeal courts at all.

jmo