Witnesses Say Case Against Troy Davis Based on Lies

Source: Amnesty International

Posted: June 24, 2010 10:31 AM
Witnesses Say Case Against Troy Davis Based on Lies

By Laura Kagel, Georgia Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Amnesty International USA

Savannah was tranquil and warm in the early hours when people started lining up to get passes for the evidentiary hearing in the Troy Davis case. The police seemed prepared for some major disruptions, but a courteous atmosphere prevailed everywhere.

Across from the courthouse Amnesty International was a presence, along with the NAACP, under the dense foliage of Wright Square. Inside the pleasantly air-conditioned courtroom the public seemed full of anticipation and the sight of box after box of court documents entering the chamber was a sudden visual reminder of the gravity of the event. Just before the proceedings began, Troy entered the courtroom in the company of corrections department employees. He looked straight ahead and then took a seat at the end of the row of defense lawyers and facing the witness stand. His legal team began calling witnesses straight off, because the judge had requested that they skip opening arguments.

The testimony of the witnesses called by the defense team really underscored the fragility of the state's case against Troy Davis. It was amazing to hear their stories. Over the course of the morning, the witnesses affirmed that their testimony implicating Davis was built on lies and often explained their recantations in moving ways, recounting the pressure they felt to point the finger at Troy.

Antoine Williams, who said he could not read the statement he allegedly made to the police because he can't read, talked about being haunted with nightmares about it. Kevin McQueen testified that he implicated Troy because he was mad at him. When asked what he hoped to gain by his testimony today, he stated simply, "peace of mind." When pressed about his earlier - now recanted - testimony, McQueen said adamantly, "The man did not tell me he shot anyone. Period."







Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amnesty-international/witnesses-say-case-agains_b_623944.html

Witnesses Now Say They Lied In 1991 Trial That Sent Troy Davis to Death Row
Testimony Came On First Day of Historic Hearing to Decide if Troy Davis Killed Cop in 1991

Post a Comment By EAMON McNIFF
June 24, 2010

A man who dodged his date with the executioner three times, once by a mere 90 minutes, returns to a Savannah, Ga., courtroom today where so far four witnesses have recanted testimony that put him on death row 19 years ago.

Troy Anthony Davis, now 40, was convicted in 1991 of murdering Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.

According to court documents, the conviction was based on the testimony of nine witnesses who identified Davis as the man who shot MacPhail in 1989. There was no physical evidence introduced in the trial and the murder weapon was never found.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/witnesses-helped-convict-man-death-row-now-recant/story?id=10995816