Troy Davis has been on death row in Georgia for more than 18 years for the murder of a police officer he maintains he did not commit. I last wrote about his case almost three years ago. Davis has been scheduled for execution three times — each time receiving a stay — without ever having a hearing on evidence discovered since his trial that he may be innocent.
Given that all but three of the witnesses who testified against Davis at his trial have since recanted their testimony amid allegations that some of it had been made under police duress, and that a comprehensive report by Amnesty International showed that no physical evidence against Davis was ever found and no weapon was ever located, there are serious questions surrounding the reliability of his conviction and the state’s conduct in obtaining it.
Amnesty International has been working on Davis’ behalf for years. Last August the US Supreme Court gave Davis one last chance by finally granting him a hearing that is now scheduled for late June. AI is turning up the volume asking concerned citizens to ask Georgia authorities to ensure full justice for Troy Davis, meaning a fair examination of the exculpatory evidence that, to me, casts severe doubts on Davis’ guilt. The human rights group is also staging a giant photo mosaic picture of Davis to help underscore the arbitrary nature of his continued imprisonment.
Check out the mosaic, upload your pictures to the AmnestyUSA Flickr page, and send an urgent message to the Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles.