This morning, the U.S. District
Court judge who heard two days of evidence in the Troy Davis case as
ordered by the Supreme Court ruled
that Davis' team had not demonstrated his actual innocence or his
entitlement to a new trial. This is probably the end of the line for
Davis, as Judge William T. Moore sent a copy of his order directly to
the Supreme Court, who now can dismiss Davis' direct habeas corpus
petition and allow his execution to proceed.
Though it will be small solace to the many who believe Davis is innocent and that our state has no business executing someone we are not absolutely certain is guilty of murder, Davis did get an evidentiary hearing and an opportunity to present the testimony of the recanting witnesses in open court. Unfortunately, the judge to whom such evidence was presented concluded that “[u]ltimately, while Mr. Davis’ new evidence casts some additional, minimal doubt on his conviction, it is largely smoke and mirrors...The vast majority of the evidence at trial remains intact, and the new evidence is largely not credible or lacking in probative value.’’ The evidence needed to be clear and convincing that Davis was innocent and should not have been convicted of the crime of murder by any reasonable jury, and that wasn't what was presented to Judge Moore.
And now, this sad tale will probably come to a very sad but inevitable close at the hands of the state of Georgia.
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