Georgia puts convict to death despite protest

US News • September 2011 • Views: 1,205

Despite his claims of innocence and a roster of high-powered supporters, Troy Davis was executed late Wednesday night for the 1989 murder of an off-duty Savannah, Ga., police officer.

Strapped to a gurney in the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison about four hours after his scheduled 7 p.m. execution, Davis, 42, lifted his head and used some of his last words to deny his guilt to the family of the victim, Mark MacPhail.

The incident that night 22 years ago was not his fault, he said, according to media witnesses. He said he did not even have a gun.

“I personally did not kill your son, father and brother,” he said. “I am innocent.”

He was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m., and a coroner’s van hauled away his body.

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4 comments

(I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Thu, Sep 22, 2011 3:13:12am

via BoingBoing

“This case has really revealed to the world that we cannot continue with this system,” Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox said just now. “I think people know in their hearts that this is shameful.”

Terry Moran, who covers the Supreme Court for ABC News: “Another man confessed. Seven eyewitnesses recanted. Police accused of coercing witnesses. No DNA. No murder weapon. Justice?”

Former FBI Director William S. Sessions on this case: “When it comes to the sentence of death, there should be no room for doubt.”

[…]

The execution began at 10:53pm. Troy Davis was reported dead at 11:08PM ET. Media witnesses say that he refused a final meal; he refused a final prayer; he did not take an anti-convulsive, anti-anxiety, hypnotic drug called Ativan that was offered to him to ease the procedure. As is customary with prisoner executions in the United States, his death certificate will be marked “homicide.”

The final words of Troy Davis at his execution, according to media witnesses:

The incident that took place that night was not my fault. I did not have a gun. [Addressing the victim’s family] I did not personally kill your son, father, brother; I am innocent. Look deeper in this case, so you can find the truth. To the people who are about to take my life: May God have mercy on your soul. May God bless your soul.

RogueOne Thu, Sep 22, 2011 3:21:08am

For those with the time, this post is from last year but it includes links to the PDF’s (172 pages) of Judge Moores review last year:

Troy Davis Loses; Federal Judge Moore Takes 172 Pages to Tell Us Why
(Posted on August 27, 2010)
deathpenaltyblog.com

(PDF)
gasd.uscourts.gov

gasd.uscourts.gov

Decatur Deb Thu, Sep 22, 2011 3:27:00am

Don’t doubt that he was guilty by hanging with the bunch of punks that set the cop’s murder into motion. That’s doubly true for the Klan POS in Texas. I just don’t like the systematic abuses that come with the DP.