Anatomy of a Frame-up: The Shocking Case of Troy Davis

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Anatomy of a Frame-up: The Shocking Case of Troy Davis

By Marlene Martin, International Socialist Review. Posted September 19, 2008.

Troy Davis faces execution on September 23rd. Will Georgia knowingly kill an innocent man?



Since this article was written, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Troy Davis clemency, giving the green light for his execution. Go here to help stop the execution.

AUGUST 18, 2008, marked a horrible milestone for Troy Davis. Nineteen years before, Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark Allen McPhail was shot and killed -- a crime for which Troy would be accused, convicted and sent to death row.

McPhail was shot and killed in the early morning hours in a Burger King parking lot. In short order, twenty-five fellow officers were assigned to the case and began to scour the neighborhood for the perpetrator. The media sensationalized the case of a 27-year-old white father of two shot in the line of duty. One officer told a reporter, "There is a desire among the police to have the suspect locked away before McPhail is buried."

A few days later, police had their man in custody -- 20-year-old Troy Davis. Two years later, Troy, who is African American, was convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that lasted ten days.

The case against Troy is more than flimsy -- it appears to be totally fabricated.

The key to his conviction was testimony from nine witnesses, seven of whom have now come forward to recant. Among the two who haven't taken back their testimony is Sylvester Coles, initially a suspect himself until he went to the police saying that Troy Davis was the killer. The other witness remembers only the color of the shooter's clothes, and that he was left-handed. Troy is right-handed. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/rights/99544/anatomy_of_a_frame-up%3A_the_shocking_case_of_troy_davis/