Troy Anthony Davis (October 9, 1968 – September 21, 2011)[1][2] was an American citizen convicted of the August 19, 1989, murder of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail. MacPhail was working as a security guard at a Burger King when he intervened to defend a man being assaulted in a nearby parking lot. During Davis' 1991 trial, witnesses testified they had seen Davis shoot MacPhail, and two others testified that Davis confessed to them. Although the murder weapon was not recovered, Ballistic evidence presented at trial tied bullets recovered at or near the scene to those at another shooting in which Davis was also charged. Davis was convicted of murder and various lesser charges, including the earlier shooting, and was sentenced to death in August 1991. Seven of nine eyewitnesses signed affidavits changing or recanting all or part of their testimony. The limited ability to appeal his conviction, due in part to the Antiter! rorism and Effective Death Penalty Act,[3] brought his plight to international attention.[3][4] Prosecutors argued that it was too late to present the recantations as evidence.[5] Davis maintained his innocence . Various appeals in state and federal courts followed his conviction. Davis and his lawyers argued that the racial composition of the jury (seven of the twelve were black, as is Davis) and poor advocacy from his lawyers had affected his right to a fair trial.[citation needed] Witnesses stated they had felt pressure by police to implicate Davis. Witnesses also implicated another witness, Sylvester "Redd" Coles, in the crime. The appeals were denied with state and federal courts declaring that Davis had not provided a "substantive claim" of innocence and that the recantations were unpersuasive. In July 2007, September 2008, and October 2008, execution dates were scheduled, but each execution was stayed shortly before it was to take place. Amnesty Internati! onal and other groups such as National Association for the Adv! ancement of Colored People took up Davis' cause. Prominent politicians and leaders, including former President Jimmy Carter, Al Sharpton, Pope Benedict XVI, Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, presidential candidate Bob Barr and former FBI Director and judge William S. Sessions called upon the courts to grant Davis a new trial or evidentiary hearing. In August 17, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States, over the dissenting votes of two justices, ordered a federal district court in Georgia to consider whether new evidence "that could not have been obtained at the time of trial clearly establishes [Davis'] innocence". The evidentiary hearing was held in June 2010, during which affidavits from several prosecution witnesses from the trial changing or recanting their previous testimony were presented; some affiants asserted they had been coerced by police. The State presented witnesses, including the police investigators and original prosecutors, denying any coercion. Other wit! nesses who had not testified at trial asserted that Coles had confessed to the killing, but this evidence was excluded as hearsay as Coles was not subpoenaed by the defense to rebut it. In an August 2010 decision, the conviction was upheld by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, which described defense efforts to upset the conviction as "largely smoke and mirrors". Subsequent appeals, including to the Supreme Court, were rejected, and a fourth execution date was set for September 21, 2011. Nearly one million people signed petitions urging the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant clemency.[6] Following a hearing, the Board denied him clemency.[7] On September 21, 2011, the Board refused to reconsider its decision,[8] and Davis was executed. Contents 1 Early life 2 Shootings and arrest 3 Trial and conviction 4 State proceedings 5 Federal appeals 6 First execution date 7 Second execution date 8 Third execution date 9 Federal hearing 10 Renewed! U.S. Supreme Court petition 11 Prosecutor rebuts publicity 12! Fourth execution date 13 Final words 14 References 15 External links Early life Davis was the eldest child of Korean War veteran Joseph Davis and hospital worker Virginia Davis.[9][10] The couple divorced when Davis was very young,[10] and Davis grew up with four siblings in the predominantly black, middle-class neighborhood of Cloverdale, Savannah.[10] He attended Windsor Forest High School, where one teacher described him as a poor student.[10] He dropped out in his junior year so he could drive his disabled younger sister to her rehabilitation.[9] Davis obtained his high-school equivalency diploma from Richard Arnold Education Center in 1987. A teacher noted that he attended school regularly but seemed to lack discipline.[9] Davis's nickname at the time was "Rah," or "Rough as Hell" , but some neighbors reported that it did not reflect his behavior; they described him as a "straight up fella" who acted as a big brother to local children.[10] In July 1988, Davis pled guilty to ca! rrying a concealed weapon; he was fined $250 as part of a plea agreement in which a charge of possession of a gun with altered serial numbers was dropped.[11] In August 1988, Davis began work as a drill technician at a plant manufacturing railroad crossing gates. His boss reported that Davis was a likable and good worker who appeared to have positive life goals. However, his job attendance was poor, and by Christmas 1988 he stopped coming to work.[9] Davis returned to the job twice in the following months, but neither time remained for long.[9] Davis was a coach in the Savannah Police Athletic League and had signed up for service in the United States Marine Corps.[3] Shootings and arrest On the evening of August 18, 1989, Davis briefly attended a pool party hosted by a friend in the Cloverdale neighborhood of Savannah, Georgia. As he left with his friend Darrell Collins, the occupants of a passing car yelled obscenities at them. A bullet was fired into the car and [12] Mich! ael Cooper, a passenger in the other car, was shot in the face! , allege dly by Davis.[13] Davis and Collins continued on, and later met Sylvester "Redd" Coles, who was arguing with a homeless man, Larry Young, over a beer near a Burger King restaurant in the nearby Yamacraw neighborhood.[12][14]. Off-duty policeman Mark MacPhail was working as a security guard there and was shot when he attempted to intervene in the pistol whipping of Mr. Young.[15] MacPhail, age 27, the son of a U.S. Army colonel, was married and father to a 2-year old daughter and an infant son. He had joined the Savannah Police Department in 1986 following six years of military service as an Army Ranger. MacPhail had worked for three years as a regular patrol officer and in the summer of 1989 had applied to train as a mounted policeman.[16] At about 1:15 am, seeking to help Young who was being attacked in a nearby parking lot, MacPhail was killed. He had been shot twice, once through the heart and once in the face, without drawing his gun.[12][14][17][18] No physical evi! dence from the crime was retrieved, apart from the bullets and shell casings, which were determined to have come from a .38-caliber pistol. Witnesses to the shooting agreed that a man in a white shirt had struck Young and then shot MacPhail.[12] On the evening of August 19, Redd Coles went to the police. He told them that he had seen Davis with a .38-caliber gun, and that Davis had assaulted Young.[12][19] The same evening, Davis drove to Atlanta with his sister.[12][19] In the early morning of August 20, 1989, the Savannah police, suspecting Davis and seeking a murder weapon, converged on the Davis home. Having sealed off the area, the police searched the house, and a pair of shorts belonging to Davis were found in a dryer and confiscated.[20] Police issued a reward for information leading to Davis's arrest.[21] Davis's family began negotiating with police, motivated by concerns about his safety; local drug dealers were making death threats because the police dragnet seeki! ng Davis had interrupted their business.[19][22] On August 23,! 1989, D avis was driven back to Savannah by members of his family, where he surrendered to police, and he was charged with MacPhail's murder.[19] Hundreds of mourners, including county, state and federal law enforcement officials, had attended MacPhail's funeral at Trinity Lutheran Church in Savannah the day before.[23] Trial and conviction On November 15, 1989, a grand jury indicted Davis for murder, assaulting Larry Young with a pistol, shooting Michael Cooper, obstructing MacPhail in performance of his duty and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.[24] Davis pled not guilty in April 1990.[18] In a hearing in November 1990, the judge barred forensic evidence from the shorts that had been retrieved during the police search of the Davis home. The judge ruled that Davis's mother did "not freely and voluntarily grant the police the right to search her home".[20] She had testified that police officers had threatened to break down her door unless she let them into he! r home. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the exclusion of the evidence in May 1991, saying that the police should have obtained a search warrant.[24] At the trial in August 1991, the district attorney sought the death penalty. According to the prosecution, Davis had shot Michael Cooper, then met up with Redd Coles at a pool hall, pistol-whipped the homeless man Larry Young, and then killed Mark MacPhail.[13] Trial witnesses Harriet Murray, Redd Coles, Dorothy Ferrell and Antoine Williams testified that Davis, wearing a white shirt, had struck Young and then shot MacPhail.[25][26][27] Coles admitted arguing with Young but stated that Davis had hit him with a pistol.[28] On cross-examination, Coles admitted that he also had a .38 pistol, but stated that he had given it to another man earlier that night.[25] A neighbor of the Davis family, Jeffrey Sap
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A Chatham County judge on Tuesday signed a death warrant for Troy Anthony Davi! s, who was convicted of killing a Savannah police officer in 1! 989.
troy davis case wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Troy Anthony Davis (born October 9, 1968) was convicted of the August 19, 1989, murder of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail. Read the rest
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Troy Davis is a problem-solver, a thinker, a social entrepreneur and a consultant. Troy inherited his parents' passion for human rights and environmental concerns. Read the rest
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Troy Davis is on death row for the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, GA. Put another way (as the T-shirt in support of Troy states) "I am Troy Davis. Read the rest
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Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in 1991. Nearly two decades later, Davis remains on death row — even though the case Read the rest
troy davis wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Troy Davis (born September 14, 1975 in Miami, Florida) is a Canadian Football League Davis is the brother of Darre! n Davis, who played running back at Iowa Read the rest
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Georgia Death Row prisoner Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Troy Davis' sister, Kimberly, has started an online petition to save her brother's life. Read the rest
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Memphis Amiga CNet BBS History. A history and museum of artifacts from the era of Memphis CNet BBSes. Contact Information. 1996-2011 - Troy Davis - 85,111 Read the rest
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Troy's execution date has been set for Wednesday 21 September 2011 at 7pm. Troy Davis' lawyers filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court arguing that: Read the rest