Death Sentence: New Execution Date Set In The Troy Davis Case

National Public Radio (NPR) and the Atlanta Journal Constitution recently reported that the execution date was set for Troy Davis. His execution date is Wednesday, September 21, 2011. Since his original death sentence more than twenty years ago, this is the fourth time Troy Davis has had an execution date. This execution date is different because Mr. Davis appears to have exhausted his legal appeals.  With that said, Troy Davis either will be pardoned by Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles or he will be executed.

The Troy Davis case is one  of the most well-known death penalty cases in this nation’s history because it highlights the flaws in our criminal justice system and the lethal consequences of said problems in the criminal justice system. This death penalty case has drawn both national and international attention to the problems with the imposition of capital punishment in a nation where there are flaws in the criminal justice system. Over 20 years ago, Troy Davis, an African American man, was convicted of killing a white police officer in Savannah, Georgia. Troy Davis was sentenced to death for this crime.

Since Mr. Davis’ conviction, the criminal case against him has simply fallen part thus creating significant questions about his guilt in the murder of police officer. Specifically, the problems with the criminal case are as follows: seven (7) of the nine (9) witnesses have recanted their statements; new witnesses have come forward identifying another man as the murderer; and the alleged murder weapon has not been found. With that said, there is simply too much doubt to execute Troy Davis on September 21, 2011. Yet, the state of Georgia is set to do just that on Wednesday, September 21^st, 2011. The death  sentence and assignment of an execution date in the Davis case are clear acts undertaken by an extremely flawed criminal justice system. Many around the world argue that the  imposition of the death penalty is inconsistent with fundamental values of a democratic system. The ACLU argues that the state should not arrogate unto itself the right to kill human beings, especially when it kills with premeditation and ceremony, under color of law, in our names, and when it does so in an arbitrary and discriminatory fashion.

Our nation has struggled with the question of the appropriateness of capital punishment as a criminal sanction for decades. According to the Death Penalty Information
Center, there are thirty-four (34) states with the death penalty and sixteen (16) without this criminal sanction. Opponents to capital punishment assert that the criminal justice system is riddled with injustice and error under these conditions the death penalty must be halted. Some argue that there is a wealth of evidence that proves the ineffectiveness of the death penalty in achieving its states goals.

According to recent opinion polls[i], the majority of American voters (61%) prefer other criminal sanctions for murder convictions as opposed to the death penalty and some in law enforcement question its effectiveness. A 2009 poll commissioned by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) found police chiefs ranked the death penalty last
among the strategies employed to reduce violent crimes[ii] and viewed it as the least efficient use of taxpayers’ money.[iii] Opponents of the death penalty, both in the United States and around the world, assert that not only is it costly, it is also immoral, ineffective, and discriminatory. They assert that the death penalty is often used disproportionately against the poor and people of color. Human beings and systems created by humans are fallible. With that said, the risk of executing innocent persons can never be completely eliminated from the criminal justice system as evidence by the annual number of death row inmate exonerations.

How many death row inmates have been exonerated on average per year? “From 1973-1999, there was an average of 3.1 death row inmate exonerations per year. This has caused many in the legal community to assert that our criminal justice system is riddled with errors.” [iv] Annually, the number of death prisoner exonerations has increased. [v]
On average, there has been an average of five (5) exonerations per year from
2000-2007.[vi]

We are reminded about the high costs associated with putting a person on death row by many members of the legal community as well as death row opponents. The costs associated with death penalty cases include but are not limited to: criminal investigation related costs; lengthy trials and appeals; and most importantly, the possible execution
of an innocent person. These factors have led many states to reconsider the validity of capital punishment.

In 2009, New Mexico abolished the death penalty.[vii] This year, Illinois’ governor signed
a death penalty ban into law in March.[viii] Illinois is the sixteenth state to abolish the death penalty.[ix] In addition to ending capital punishment, Illinois’ governor also commuted the sentences of the fifteen (15) inmates on death row in that state[x]. Instead of death sentences, the inmates will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.[xi] Illinois’ ban on executions will take effect on July 1, 2011.[xii] According to the Bureau of Prisons, there are fifty-seven (57) people on death role in the federal penal system[xiii]. There are thousands more on death row in state prisons across the country[xiv]. Eighty percent of all executions occur in the southern portion of the United States[xv]. One of the most highly discussed death penalty cases in recent history is that of Troy Anthony Davis[xvi] in Savannah, Georgia. For more than a decade, this capital punishment case has captured the attention of countless people not only in the United States (e.g.
President Carter, former Congressman Bob Barr) but also people all around the
world (e.g. The Pope and Nobel Prize winner cleric Desmund Tutu).

For persons opposed to capital punishment or those seeking a moratorium, the Davis case undergirds their assertion that wrongful convictions occur and the death penalty must be halted at a minimum until the errors which occur in the criminal justice system have been remedied. Opponents to the death penalty assert that not only do wrongful convictions occur in this country but also innocent people have been sentenced to die[xvii] and some have been executed. With that said, should the death penalty be abolished nationwide?

The number of death row prisoner exonerations which occur on an annual basis as well as high profile death penalty cases such as Troy Davis where there is no physical
evidence linking him to the crime serve to remind us that serious questions still persist about the legitimacy of the death penalty as a criminal sanction. The topic of capital punishment often generates lively discussions about the appropriateness of government sanctioned taking of human lives. It is my hope that this post will generate thoughtful conversations about the death penalty and action to abolish it nationwide.

For further information about this pressing topic, an important resource is the Death Penalty Information Center’s website. If you are interested in working to abolish the death penalty, many resources can be found on the Amnesty International website including:
petitions, fact sheets, organizing materials, as well as helpful suggestions on how to get involved and take action to end the death penalty.

It is my hope that you will join me and countless others around the world seeking to ensure that justice is served in the Davis Case. It is important to act now to let the state of Georgia – and the world – know that you stand by Troy Davis in his fight for justice by joining the efforts undertaken by Amnesty and/or NAACP to halt this injustice. This is a matter of life and death, and time is running out.

Sources: National Public Radio (NPR). ACLU. Amnesty International. Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Council of the American Law Institute (ALI); Death Penalty Information Center; Politico (March 9, 2011); Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial, “Juries Know Better”, May 20, 2011; Amnesty International; NAACP; savannahnow.com/…/pope-makes-plea-spare-life-troy-davis; and the Innocence Project. Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art.

[i] A 2010 poll by Lake Research Partners and 2009 poll
commissioned by DPIC.

[ii] Death Penalty Information Center Website

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] As indicated on the Death Penalty Information  Center website, according to the Staff Report, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Constitutional Rights, printed in October 1993, with updates from DPIC, since 1973, over 130 people have been released from death row with evidence of  their innocence. From 1973-1999, there was an average 3.1 exonerations per  year. From 2000-2007, there has been an average of 5 exonerations per year.

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Death Penalty Information Center Website

[viii] Politico, March 9, 2011.

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Ibid.

[xi] Ibid.

[xii] Ibid.

[xiii] Bureau of Prisons’ website.

[xiv] According to the Death Penalty Information Center, as of January 1, 2010, there were 3,621 persons on death row in the United States.

[xv] Amnesty International

[xvi] Ibid. “Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in 1991. Nearly two decades later, Davis remains on death row — even though the case against him has fallen apart. On  March 28, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Troy Davis’ appeals and set the stage for him to possibly face a fourth execution date. The case
against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state’s non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavitsthat they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis. One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester “Red” Coles — the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is
new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed
affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.”—Amnesty International

[xvii] As indicated on the Death Penalty Information Center website, according to the Staff Report, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Constitutional Rights, printed in October 1993, with updates from DPIC, since 1973, over 130 people have been released from death
row with evidence of their innocence. From 1973-1999, there was an average 3.1
exonerations per year. From 2000-2007, there has been an average of 5
exonerations per year.