Georgia Supreme Court denies new trial for death row inmate

Troy Davis has been on Georgia’s death row for 17 years for the murder of an off-duty police officer that he has consistently maintained he didn’t commit. Since his conviction, seven of the nine eyewitnesses who testified at his trial that he was the shooter have recanted their statements, saying they were unable to identify the shooter. Some of them have said they were pressured by police officers before the trial to identify Davis.

Yesterday, the state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against granting Davis a new trial based on the witness recantations and other evidence suggesting his innocence. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, which granted him a stay last year when he came within 24 hours of execution, will make another ruling on his sentence, but said in a statement yesterday that it will not decide “in the near future” because of a de facto nationwide moratorium on executions.

Amnesty International has collected more than 60,000 signatures calling for a new trial for Davis.

Visit Amnesty’s website today to send a letter to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles about this case

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The Innocence Project is not involved in Davis’ case, but the 214 wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence have shown that eyewitness identification evidence is often wrong. More than three-quarters of the 214 wrongful convictions were caused, at least in part, by misidentification. The Innocence Project is a member of the Innocence Network, which filed an amicus brief with the Georgia Supreme Court in Davis’ case.

Download the brief here

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Read more about Davis’ case.

Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Condemned cop killer denied new trial

(03/18/08)

New York Times:

Court rebuffs Georgian on death row

(03/18/08)