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Is Georgia Ready to Execute an Innocent Man?

Sep 21, 2011

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by Lisa Rea

I read the papers this morning online searching for this story about Troy Davis. When I read the news that the Georgia Board of Pardons did not grant clemency and that Davis was set to be executed on Wednesday September 21 I swallowed hard.  I had not followed this case closely until recently. My work in the last 19 years has been focused on reforming the justice system through advocating for restorative justice. However, in recent years I have met innocent men who were on death row for crimes they did not commit. They are the lucky ones; they're alive to tell their stories. I have met even more victims of violent crime whose loved ones have been murdered around the United States who are increasingly raising their voices against the death penalty. Many of those same crime victims are strong advocates for restorative justice.

Is Georgia Ready to Execute an Innocent Man?

Troy Davis's case is one where doubts remain regarding his guilt. Seven out of nine witnesses have recanted their stories fingering Davis as the killer. Some of those witnesses apparently testified against Davis due to harassment by the prosecution or law enforcement. There is no DNA evidence available to test. Even ballistic evidence is questionable. Yet, Georgia is ready to execute this man unless another court intervenes.

In June of 2011 I moderated a crime victims roundtable on restorative justice at Campbell University School of Law in North Carolina. At that national restorative justice conference I met a man named Franky Carrillo. He sat in the audience of my roundtable. I looked out at the audience and thought I recognized his face. After the event I learned why. His story had been in the Los Angeles Times a couple of months before. Franky had been exonerated after some 20 years of incarceration in a California prison. He was now a free man. I was so excited to see him and rejoiced at his freedom and seeing him at this conference. How many more like Franky are there? How many more innocent people sit on death row in America? Is Troy Davis one of them?

I think it is hard not to conclude that he is one of those innocent men.  Since I work with crime victims around this country and globally I am saddened by the pain of the victims' family in this case. They seek an end to their pain, pain they have felt since their loved one was murdered. They seek peace. But as I have learned from so many victims and those who have been exonerated, one thing they will not get is peace if the wrong person is executed for a crime he did not commit. Those who speak out against this execution seek justice.  Restorative justice cannot be applied when an innocent man is imprisoned, and let alone executed if he is not the guilty party. There will be no restoration or healing of the victim. There will be no offender accountability if the wrong man is executed.  If reading this story makes you anxious and unsettled, it should.

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Is Georgia Ready to Execute an Innocent Man?

Posted by Bill Pelke at Sep 21, 2011 05:52 PM
Thank you Lisa for writing about Troy Davis. I have been aware of and followed this case since the early 1990's. His sister, Martina, has worked all these years to prove her brothers innocense. He is most likely innocent, but how does one prove it unless the real killer admits in court that he, not Troy, was the man who killed police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. A person should not be executed if there is a good possibility that they are innocent, no matter what the trial court decided years ago.

There is no restorative justice if the wrong man is executed. There is no justice at all. Thanks again Lisa for bringing Troy's case to our attention. If the state of Georgia has its way, Troy will be dead in about 8 hours. Shame on us.

Response

Posted by brian pearce at Oct 02, 2011 07:24 PM
There were far more than 9 witnesses, and while 7 of them changed their stories somewhat, they did not all "recant." Key witnesses stood by their account that they watched from a nearby bus while Davis pistol whipped a homeless man over a beer, shot the security guard who tried to intervene without drawing his weapon, and then went back to put one in his head execution style. A federal judge took testimony from the police and prosecutors involved and considered the affidavits of those who wished to amend their testimony so many years later (they were present in the courthouse but did not take the stand and therefore were never subject to cross-examination). The judge rejected much of the defense effort as "smoke and mirrors". It is one thing to oppose capital punishment, but I would look very closely before concluding that the Davis jury got it wrong.

Troy Davis execution & innocence

Posted by lisa rea at Oct 04, 2011 07:36 AM
Brian, glad you are reading the posts at restorative justice online. That says something to me. There are two sources of information on wrongful convictions that I trust: 1) the Innocence Project, and 2) Witness to Innocence. I don't know where you got the information you cited but unless we were in the courtroom we would not know all the facts in this case unless we read all the transcripts.

There was no DNA in this case linking Davis to the killing of the officer. There was also no credible ballistic evidence. Apparently at least one jury member said that she/he would not have supported the death sentence if she/he had that choice today.

As an advocate of restorative justice my greatest concern is justice: justice for those who are innocent and putting the needs of the victims first. That means when a conviction occurs the right offender is apprehended.
In this case there was enough doubt to stop the ultimate punishment especially when life without parole was an option.

Appreciate your comments, regardless.

Lisa Rea
Restorative Justice International
~a global community @ linkedin.com

Troy Davis

Posted by Ann-Patricia at Oct 08, 2011 04:42 PM
So glad this article has been posted so I could comment on this awful situation.Im an Australian,a survivor of a violent crime and opposed to the death penalty.Beside the problem of unsafe convictions there is another problem.I considered writing (through Amnesty International)on behalf of prisoners on death row,but the conflict is that I feel as if I am supporting this prisoners heinous crime because I oppose his death sentence. I dont support murder legal or otherwise.If the death row inmate was given life(as in Australia)I wouldnt be writing to reduce his or her sentence but because its the Death Penalty I feel there is no option.Thank you for allowing me to share my opinion.

Death penalty

Posted by Martin Wright at Oct 13, 2011 03:51 PM
Hardliners who want to water down the safeguards of the accused need to reflect that, apart from other considerations, a wrongful conviction leaves the real perpetrator at large, just as much as as a wrongful acquittal.

In the UK there have been several cases where people sentenced to life imprisonment for murder (who would have been hanged before 1965) have cleared their names after many years. This has convinced many sceptics that it was right to abolish the death penalty.

Troy Davis case & restorative justice

Posted by lisa rea at Oct 13, 2011 03:53 PM
Ann-Patricia, I really appreciate your comments here since you are a survivor of violent crime. I have met many victims/survivors like yourself who are opposed to the death penalty. Yet, as you say, that does not mean you are registering your support of the offender who is (legitimately) on death row serving a sentence. Like you, those victims are speaking out against the death penalty and many are then speaking in support of sentences of life without parole.

In Troy Davis' case there is enough doubt to determine that he was an innocent man and should not have been executed by the state of Georgia. Others in the U.S. on death row who are serving such sentences could have received a life without parole sentence. Studies are showing that juries are less likely to give out a death sentence when they learn that the life without parole is an option.

For victims like you restorative justice is so very important since it provides you with the option to meet your offender if you so choose. You may not choose to meet your offender today or ever but that option should be provided to you. Even if a violent offender is given a life without parole sentence he should be able to take responsibility for his actions. If you choose to meet that offender and he, too, agrees and takes responsibility for his crime then a victim offender meeting might be possible. This is an important public policy position that I believe will be embraced ultimately in the U.S. and actually around the globe.

My best to you this day.

Lisa Rea
Rea Consulting
Victims-Driven Restorative Justice
California

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