Innocence Blog

Speaking Up for Troy Davis

Posted: September 16, 2011 5:54 pm

The Innocence Project sent a letter today calling on the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Troy Davis’ death sentence to life due to serious questions about his guilt.

Davis was convicted of shooting a Savannah police officer in 1989. Since his trial, seven of the nine eyewitnesses who identified him as the shooter have recanted their testimony. Strong evidence now points to another man as the true perpetrator.  The board meets Monday to review Davis’ petition for commutation.

Today’s letter analyzes the unreliable eyewitness evidence in Davis’ case and compares it with cases in which DNA evidence has overturned wrongful convictions. It reads, in part:

Troy Davis cannot count on DNA evidence to exonerate him, nor can he count on the courts to grant reprieve. Given the significant doubts that remain about Troy Davis’ guilt in the murder of Officer MacPhail, we strongly urge the Board of Pardons and Paroles to exercise its ultimate power as a “fail safe” to commute Troy Davis’ death penalty and prevent the imposition of the death penalty in a case that lacks any physical evidence and rests on eyewitness identifications that have every indicia of unreliability.

Also today, supporters of Troy Davis are gathering at rallies around the world to call on the Board of Pardons & Paroles to commute his sentence so evidence from the case can be reviewed.

And yesterday, a group of organizations and activists delivered s a petition with more than 660,000 signatures calling on the Board of Pardons and Paroles to stop Davis’ execution. Thousands of Innocence Project supporters have joined the effort by sending emails directly to the board. Watch a video of the petition delivery below and send your own letter here.

Tags: Troy Davis