Savannah Talks Troy Anthony Davis No. 1: the Inmate on Death Row

August 7, 1:51 PMAfrican-American Art ExaminerAberjhani

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  Troy Anthony Davis (press release photo).

In addition to acclimating itself to the presence of the United States’ first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, the nation’s highest court when it reconvenes in September will also have to pick up on where it left off earlier this year regarding a number of high-profile cases, including that of the increasingly curious case of Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis.

Very few court cases in recent U.S history have generated the kind of intensified focus, lingering controversy, and international scrutiny as that of Davis, the 40-year-old African-American man currently sitting on death row at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison for the August 19, 1989 murder of the White American off-duty Savannah police officer, Mark Allen MacPhail. August 19, 2009, will mark the twentieth anniversary of MacPhail’s death and commemorate as well the number of years many people have expressed doubt about Davis’ guilt in the case.

The fact is Davis was indicted for the murder November 15, 1989, by the Superior Court of Chatham County for the murder of Mark MacPhail and convicted and sentenced to death on August 28, 1991. Since then, Davis has filed several for appeals—in 1994, 2001, and 2007–– to stay his execution and request a new trial. Each time, his request has been denied and he has barely avoided execution by a few days or weeks. While the Supreme Court halted Davis’ execution before going on recess for the summer, it delayed until reconvening any decision to hear Davis' appeal and possibly order a new trial.

The primary problem with Davis’ case—outside the fact of MacPhail’s tragic death —is that nothing about it is clear. Out of the nine non-police witnesses whose testimonies helped convict Davis, seven later recanted their testimonies and claimed they were either coerced into submitting false testimonies the first time, or did so without certainty regarding their statements. Moreover, a number of “new witnesses” have come forward to claim they saw another man, an apparent acquaintance of Davis’ known as Sylvester “Red” Coles, commit the murder.

Still, in the face of these recantations and new allegations, questions remain as to why Davis, reportedly, "fled" from the area of the murder and went to Atlanta the night it occurred, only to turn himself in to Atlanta authorities on August 23. Reportedly, the actual weapon used in the murder has never been found and no physical evidence has been linked to Davis. Supporters claim that evidence and affidavits acquired since the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Davis’ conviction and sentence on February 26, 1993, would prove he did not commit the murder and thus prevent the wrongful execution of an innocent man.

Please Note: This is the first in a series of articles examining the ongoing development and implications of the Troy Anthony Davis case. For Part Two Click Here
 

Aberjhani is the African American Art Examiner and author (or co-author) of eight books including The American Poet Who Went Home Again and ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love.