Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a new evidentiary hearing for Troy Anthony Davis, a man convicted of killing Georgian policeman Mark Allen MacPhail in 1991.Davis maintains his innocence, and as of today, no physical evidence nor murder weapon has been found to support his death sentence. The case against him is based solely on inconsistent witness testimonies. Since the original trial, "all but two of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony," according to Amnesty International. Many of these individuals have signed affidavits stating that they were "pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis". One of the two remaining witnesses against Davis is the defense's principle alternate suspect, Sylvester "Red" Coles, against whom nine individuals have signed implicating affidavits.
Because of the questionable evidence against Troy Davis, and due to the organization's strong stance against capital punishment, Amnesty International has rallied around Troy Davis and his family in the past years. Thanks to global activism, Davis has been issued three stays of execution. He will now have another chance to prove his innocence. In today's press release, director of AIUSA's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign Laura Moye said, "For years Amnesty International has maintained that this man's compelling case of innocence needs to see the light of day. Finally it will."
Troy Davis's situation is just one of many death penalty cases fought by Amnesty International. According to the organization, "The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights... a system riddled with economic and racial bias and tainted by human error." Since 1973, over 130 people have been released from death rows throughout the country due to evidence of their wrongful convictions, with 10 releases in 2003 alone. A recent legislative audit in Kansas found that "the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case." Amnesty International calls for the abolition of capital punishment worldwide and states that "two-thirds of the countries in the world – 137 – have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice."
For more information on Troy Davis, check out Amnesty International.
To take action and stop the execution of Jason Getsy in Ohio, click here.
