Troy Anthony Davis Not Found Innocent
U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. said Troy Anthony Davis failed to prove his innocence.
Moore had been deliberating since a June hearing, the only one of its kind in 50 years that was ordered by the U. S. Supreme Court. Seven of the nine witnesses against Troy Davis had recanted their testimony, and one of the witnesses was said to have confessed to the killing of Savannah, Georgia police officer Mark MacPhail.
Davis, who has been on death row now for 19 years, has only one final appeal left before he could be executed.
The problem in the hearing from the beginning was trying to prove Davis innocent. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but after conviction in a murder case it becomes extremely difficult to correct an error of justice. This is largely due to a Newt Gingrich-championed law, the so-called Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) of 1996.
The defense had hoped they could at least get a new trial. Legal experts could not determine how the law should be applied; another example of how America's laws have become so complex and confusing that not even legal experts can figure them out.
Moore did suggest in a footnote that Davis appeal directly to the U. S. Supreme Court.
LINKS
To see all our entries on Troy Anthony Davis, click on http://loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=troy+anthony+davis
For more details on the judge's decision, see http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/judge-rejects-troy-davis-598327.html
To see more on Troy Anthony Davis, visit http://www.troyanthonydavis.org/
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