“…And Justice For All?”
You woke up this morning and your regular routine began. You may have made some coffee and taken a shower before heading to work. Perhaps you overslept and rushed to meet the bus. It does not seem like an out of the ordinary kind of day. You may see or speak to those who mean the most to you throughout the course of your day, and you think nothing of it. You are young, and while there are challenges in your path, you have faith and family to get you through. Suddenly, you find yourself caught up in a situation that you have no control over and no real involvement in. This situation lands you in jail through entirely circumstantial evidence and the statements of another man who is the only other suspect in the case. A man has been shot, another pistol-whipped and lastly, a cop has been murdered. Nine witnesses are found who say that you are the one you responsible. No physical evidence is ever found to convict you, including the gun. This does not matter. A cop is dead and someone needs to take the fall. This is Georgia, boy, and you’re just a poor black man in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’ll do.
Meet Troy Anthony Davis. On Septemeber 23, the state of Georgia plans to execute this man, after sixteen years on Death Row. Sixteen years in which Davis has maintained his innocence and fought tooth and nail to prove it. His case is complicated, but the injustice is stark and clear. Here is a quicky summary of the key details:
Troy Anthony Davis has been on death row in Georgia for more than 16 years for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia – despite strong evidence suggesting he is innocent.
–There was no physical evidence against Troy Davis.
–The weapon used in the crime was never found.
–The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony.
–Seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony. —Many of these witnesses have stated that they were pressured or coerced by police.
–One of the two witnesses who has not recanted or contradicted testimony is Sylvester Coles, the principal alternative suspect. Mr. Coles has admitted to carrying a .38 caliber pistol the night of the shooting, the same gun used in the crimes for which Troy Davis will be executed.
–Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.
Troy Davis has never had a hearing in federal court on the reliability of the witness testimony used against him.
“By far the most frequent cause of erroneous convictions in our catalogue of 350
cases was error by witnesses; more than half of the cases (193) involved errors of this
sort. Sometimes such errors occurred in conjunction with other errors, but often they
were the primary or even the sole cause of the wrongful conviction. In one-third of
the cases (117), the erroneous witness testimony was in fact perjured.” -Hugo Bedau and Michael L. Radelet, Miscarriages of justice in potentially capital cases, Stanford Law Review
You can read more about the case and the shockingly obvious misuse of power, the courts and the media involved here
You can also sign a petition and send a letter to the powers that be in Georgia, to grant Davis a stay of execution and a re-trial. Link to Petition
If people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sister Helen Prejean, Congress Woman Sheila Jackson, and the POPE have found a moment to send letters and advocate on his behalf, I am sure you can take moment today to help save an innocent man’s life. Do it. If you are not compelled by this post, read the report by Amensty International above. It is shocking. I ask you to do this, not only for Troy Anthony Davis, but for his family. Troy’s family has suffered unbelieveable amounts of pain over the last sixteen years, as they have fought side by side with their brother to find justice. “…with Liberty & Justice for all.” As Troy Davis asks, “Where is justice for me?”
My heart breaks for this man and I feel that I must do something. I have a voice and today, I use it to speak for Troy, a man I have never met. A man who I believe deserves the opportunity to be heard. He asks for nothing more than a fair trial. I ask for nothing more than a moment of your time to plead with the state of Georgia to hear him.
May you each find a moment today to breathe this air, hug those you love, savor your freedom and do something kind for someone else. Sign the petition. Do it now.
Thank you to Mike Hraba for opening my eyes to this situation. Visit Troy’s Website for more information.
Peace.
I heart Amber Milner so much I want to explode.
Thank you for this… thank you so much.
This guy is amazing… always filled with so much hope that it will all get figured out. He doesn’t even blame anyone… he simply wants it to get better.
PLEASE HELP!
Michael
Comment by michael — September 16, 2008 @ 9:51 am
http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/deathpenalty/
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
http://www.abanet.org/irr/hr/fall97/deathpen.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/12/national/12DEAT.html?ex=1221710400&en=bae7a5a493a4c9b9&ei=5070
111 innocent, exonerated people executed.
50% of inmates in Illinois’ on death row are innocent and freed.
I think this put a serious flaw in capital punishment…..
there isn’t an argument for it at this point.
Comment by mhraba — September 16, 2008 @ 10:39 am
Thanks so much Amber, your words ring true and we appreciate all the support and your passion for Troy’s stories and all the similar stories out there.
Comment by Lauren — September 16, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
Thank you so much Amber for putting this together.
I saw Troy this weekend and he has hope that justice will be served.
Please send your support for Troy.
He is grateful to everyone for all they have done.
Please sign petitions, write letters, get the word out!
Thank you! gemma
Comment by Gemma Puglisi — September 16, 2008 @ 6:52 pm
Another thanks for good writing.
Comment by danell — September 17, 2008 @ 5:10 pm
Thanks Amber! Please show your support by writing letters. It’s not too late to save Troy!
Comment by Monica — September 18, 2008 @ 7:47 pm
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/23/davis.scheduled.execution/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
thanks for EVERYONE who helped and called and wrote in!!!
Thanks especially to Amber, whom I believe had a majour impact on the west coast getting involved. THANK YOU AMBER MILNER!
Comment by michael hraba — September 23, 2008 @ 3:02 pm
This information if applied to the Troy Davis case will free him. That is if his attorney[s] are working for him and not against him.
During this case, at anytime was Mr. Davis informed of his full rights under the constitution, was he ever informed of the facts stated in the decision below, which applies to Troy Davis.
This statement presented in the case of HERSHAL HALE, Defendant/Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff/Respondent. District Court Number CR-99-0132MJJ. In this case it is stated that…
At the onset, “flimsy criminal indictment.” cf. id., is in question marks to show that Defendant Hale’s supporting evidence of proof, in connection with the underlying fictitious, “flimsy criminal indictment,” rests upon the strength and the dignity of the Office of the Presidency of the United States of America, cf. id., because proof of “massive” flimsy criminal indictment[s,]” is furnished on this record by the President of the United States of America. See The Final Days, 1, 261-62 (citation omitted) (1974; 2006) (quoting Oval Office interview that the U.S. Department of Justice, by the President’s own admission, prosecutes “blind” “pawns” with flimsy criminal indictment[s].
Put cogently, the criminal indictment upon which the court haled the defendant into court is the very beginning, as discussed, supra, is a “flimsy criminal indictment.” Id. Thus, the Court was utterly devoid of subject-matter or in personam jurisdiction in this matter from the very beginning. See Midland Asphalt v. United States, 499 U.S. 794, 802, 109 S. Ct, 1494, 103 L. Ed. 2d 879 (1989) (“Only a defect so fundamental that it causes a grand jury to no longer be a grand jury, or the indictment to no longer be an indictment, gives rise to the constitutional right not to be tried.”).
The case of See Schlup v. Delo, supra, 513 U.S., at __, 130 L.Ed. 2d, at 834 protects Mr. Davis’s “newly discovered” and newly asserted” claim of “actual and factual innocence.” Id.
Pawn, v. To deliver personal property in pledge to another in pledge, or as security for a debt or sum borrowed.
Pawn, n. A bailment of goods to a creditor, as security for some debt or engagement; pledge; deposit of personal property made to a pawnbroker as security for a loan. That sort of bailment where goods or chattels are delivered to another as security to him for money borrowed of him by the bailor. Also the specific chattel delivered to the creditor as a pledge.
Is Mr. Davis a ward of the court? If so, how and when was he made a ward of the court? Did Mr. Davis enter into every situation, every signed document, willingly, knowingly, intentionally, voluntarily, intelligently. Was Mr. Davis ever advised of his rights as a member of the national citizenry of this country?
Has this court overridden any U.S. Supreme Court decisions? If yes, does it have the right to do so? Under what jurisdiction is this court operating?
Remember ~ The practice of Law CAN NOT be licensed by any state/State. Schware v. Board of Examiners, 353 U.S. 238, 239. The “certificate” from the State Supreme Court only authorizes: To practice Law, “in Courts” as a member of the State Judicial Branch of Government. A bar card holder can only represent “wards of the Court”. The state bar card is not a license; it is a Union Dues Card of a Professional Association. There is nothing in this decision that states attorneys are working for the good of the public, the national citizenry of this nation.
It is of the greatest importance that those of us who are actively seeking alternatives to lawyers and the legal system in the U.S., America, federal as well as for the national citizenry of this nation, as it currently exist, are active at putting the entire legal system itself on trial every time the doors of any court are open. Remember, the law is only to be an extension of what each person is allowed to do. “When the law can do what the individual cannot, without that individual being charged with a crime, then we are living in a state of un-lawful law.” ~ Frederic Bastiat
Accept it no more. Seek alternatives to lawyers, those alternatives are here, have been here, are not taught, are active, and truly work to make law as it should be, easily accessible and applicable to and for everyone, equally.
Comment by Fela — September 24, 2008 @ 4:54 pm