The End Of Troy Davis

Sept 21st, 2011
by F. Grey Parker


UPDATE 10:15pm CST - Troy Davis was executed at 11:08pm EDT

9:45pm CST via ABC:

"The U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay of execution for Troy Davis after a delay to weigh arguments."



There was no physical evidence in his case. He was convicted on the basis of eyewitness testimony only for the killing of an off-duty police officer. 7 of the 9 witnesses against him have recanted. There are multiple allegations of police intimidation in the investigative phase. What's more, there is another suspect. It is more likely that this other suspect committed the crime.

The fight to prevent this miscarriage of justice has not merely been the latest cause celebre of committed opponents of capital punishment. For example, here is former F.B.I. direstor William Sessions:

"What quickly will become apparent is that serious questions about Davis’ guilt, highlighted by witness recantations, allegations of police coercion and a lack of relevant physical evidence, continue to plague his conviction. Last summer, an extraordinary hearing ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to answer these questions instead left us with more doubt.

At Davis’ evidentiary hearing, witnesses called by Davis recanted trial testimony and made allegations of police pressure. Others testified that an alternative suspect had confessed to them that he committed the crime. One eyewitness testified, for the first time, that he saw this other suspect, a relative of his, commit the crime. Police witnesses for the state of Georgia alternatively asserted that the original trial testimony was the true version of events and that it was elicited without coercion."

For more background, here is last week's (very belated) CNN report:


More than a million informed Americans have acted on Mr. Davis' behalf. To no avail. Yesterday, the Georgia Board on Pardons and Paroles basically said "who cares."

And now, this.

Kevin Cooper: Killing An Innocent Man

Dec 13th, 2010

Not Guilty!

In an Op-Ed by Nicholas Kristof from last week's NYTimes, it was reported that The State of California may well be preparing to execute a provably innocent human being:

"That's the view of five federal judges in a case involving Kevin Cooper, a black man in California who faces lethal injection next year for supposedly murdering a white family. The judges argue compellingly that he was framed by police.

Mr. Cooper's impending execution is so outrageous that it has produced a mutinyamong these federal circuit court judges, distinguished jurists just one notch below the United States Supreme Court. But the judicial process has run out for Mr. Cooper. Now it's up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to decide whether to commute Mr. Cooper's sentence before leaving office."

Please be sure to read the full Op-Ed and the blistering dissent of the Ninth Circuit Court's refusal to rehear the case. The forensics alone point to collusion and conspiracy to frame Mr. Cooper.

Contact Gov Schwarzenegger here: 916-445-2841

Click HERE to sign the petition for Mr. Cooper.