One more hurdle cleared in the path to the long awaited execution of a cold blooded killer... The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected another appeal from cop-killer Troy Anthony Davis but held up his 30 day stay of execution until he appeals to the SCOTUS. The decision was 2-1 with the dissenting judge spouting the usual pablum about "what if he is innocent".
For those not familiar with the case of the murder of Mark Allen McPhail - On August 19, 1989, McPhail was working off duty at the bus station in Savannah when an altercation between a group of young men and a homeless man started. The homeless man, Larry Young, was being beaten and McPhail went to help. Troy Anthony Davis then shot McPhail. After McPhail went down to the pavement, this thug stood over the injured police officer and fired point blank into McPhail's face. Davis was convicted by a jury of his peers and sentenced to death. He has had the benefit of life in jail with visitors, etc while McPhail's family has waited for justice. For more detailed info on the case you can search my blog for McPhail or Davis.
I downloaded the court's ruling and read it thoroughly. Not being a lawyer, I was overwhelmed by the legalese and citations of prior cases but one thing was quite clear. This cop killer has had more than his share of reviews and rehearings and the time has come to end this farce forced upon us by Amnesty International and other opponents of the death penalty.
Here's a few interesting tidbits from the Court Ruling that puts a red light to those claims that Davis hasn't had a thorough review of his case with all the recantations of several witnesses.
From the 2008 review of the case from the Supreme Court of GA....
"...we have chosen to focus primarily on one of the required showings for an extraordinary motion for new trial, the requirement that the new evidence be 'so material that it would probably produce a different verdict..... At least one origianl witness has never recanted his in-court identification of Davis as the shooter which included a description of his clothing and the location he was in when he struck Larry Young..... Most of the witnesses to the crime who have allegedly recanted have merely stated that they now do not feel able to identify the shooter."
After the Supreme Court of GA's opinion came down the GA Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Davis's application for clemency....
"The Board explained that it had spent a year studying and considering the case; the Board gave Davis's attorneys an opportunity to present every witness they desired to support their allegation that there was doubt as to Davis's guilt, and the Board heard each of these witnesses and questioned them closely; the Board studied the voluminous trial transcript, the police investigation report and the initial statements of all the witnesses; the Board had certain physical evidence retested and Davis interviewed; and 'after an exhaustive review of all available information regarding the Troy Davis case and after considering all possible reasons for granting clemency, the Board.... determined that clemency is not warranted."
And lastly this little blurb about the State's evidence at the original trial...
"The prosecutor's case included the presentation of four eyewitnesses to the officer's shooting who unambiguously identified Davis as the shoorter. Further, the State's evidence showed that Davis was the one to strike Larry Young, a homeless man who, according to the evidence, was hit in the head by the same person who shot Officer MacPhail.
Interesting when you hear all the claims of not getting a review of this case and that this thug was a law abiding citizen who was targeted by the police in their quest for justice.
All in all this cop killer has had 20 years of appeals and hearings - ample enough time and "fresh ears" to review this case and decide that death is the appropriate punishment. Funny that this case didn't really hit the national airwaves until Amnesty International decided to use Troy Anthony Davis as a "victim" of the death penalty. Mark McPhail was given a death sentence the night this thug took his life and it's time for justice to be served.
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