PEOPLES MOVEMENT
It is my hope that someday these causes will be eliminated that a better society is established for all.
Another World Is Possible.
PLEASE COME TO ONE CENTRE STREET TODAY AT 7PM - JOE & BRANDON ARE TWO MXGM MEMBERS WHO ALSO PARTICIPATE IN COPWATCH SO WE NEED TO BE THERE FOR THEM IF AT ALL POSSIBLE - THEY SHOULD BE GETTING ARRAIGNED AROUND THIS TIME AND WE NEED TO SHOW OUR SUPPORT FOR THEM AND SHOW THAT WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT TROY DAVIS’ UNJUST EXECUTION Joe will be arraigned at Midtown Community Court sometime after lunch, Brandon will be arraigned at 100 Centre street also “after lunch,” and I believe that Augustine and Freddy are also being arraigned at 100 Centre street, room 130, not sure of the time At approximately seven in the evening on Thursday Sept 22nd, a group protesting the execution of Troy Davis at Union Square Park began a march towards Liberty Square, formerly known as Zuccotti park. The group joined up with another and marched on Wall Street. At least six protesters were arrested. They are being held at the first precinct. As of now we only have four names: Joseph Jordan; Brandon King; Augustine Castro; Freddy Bastone.
Video of the flashmob protest one day after the execution of Troy Davis, a man believed to be innocent of the crimes charged against him. Protesters were harassed by NYPD, pushed and shoved, and one protester was peeled away from the crowd, shoved the floor, and arrested. Is Mayor Michael Bloomberg sanctioning this kind of behaviour by the NYPD ? What is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s opinion about the NYPD’s use of weapons and vehicles against passionate citizen assembly in protest of the death penalty ?
The Georgia Department of Corrections has set the execution of Troy Anthony Davis for 7 p.m. on Sept. 21.
AJC File Troy Anthony Davis was sentenced to death for the 1989 slaying of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.Related
- Troy Davis files new appeal with U.S. Supreme Court
- Troy Davis’ appeal dismissed
- Judge rejects Troy Davis appeal
- Setback for Troy Davis defense
- Judge must decide whether Troy Davis proved innocence in cop killing
- Witnesses back off testimony against Troy Davis
- Then and now: Witnesses change their stories
- Photos from the case
- Rally for slain officer Mark Allen MacPhail
- Timeline of the Troy Anthony Davis case
The agency set the time and date a day after a Chatham County judge signed a death warrant for Davis, who was convicted of killing an off-duty Savannah police officer in 1989. Also Wednesday, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles said it will hear, for the second time, Davis’ bid for clemency. The board set its hearing for Sept. 19.
Because Davis’ appeals are exhausted, the parole board appears to be his last chance to be spared from execution. In September 2008, the board denied an earlier request by Davis for clemency.
Davis, 41, was convicted of killing Officer Mark Allen MacPhail as MacPhail ran to the aid of a homeless man being pistol-whipped outside a Burger King.
The case has attracted international attention because a number of key prosecution witnesses either recanted or backed off their trial testimony. Other witnesses have come forward and said another man at the scene told them he was the actual killer.
Amnesty International, the human rights organization, called on the parole board to commute Davis’ death sentence, saying doubts about Davis’ guilt have never been erased.
“The board stayed Davis’ execution in 2007, stating that capital punishment was not an option when doubts about guilt remained,” said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. “Since then two more execution dates have come and gone, and there is still little clarity, much less proof, that Davis committed any crime. Amnesty International respectfully asks the Board to commute Davis’ sentence to life and prevent Georgia from making a catastrophic mistake.”
In August, a federal judge emphatically rejected Davis’ claims that he was wrongly convicted. In a 172-page order, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. said Davis failed to prove his innocence during an extraordinary hearing in June ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
MacPhail, 27 and a father of two, was gunned down before he could draw his weapon. After the killing, Sylvester “Redd” Coles went to the police with his lawyer and told them he and Davis were at the scene. At trial, he testified he was fleeing the scene when shots were fired, leaving Davis as the culprit. Coles denied being the triggerman.
At the June hearing, Davis’ lawyers wanted to call witnesses who had given sworn statements that Coles had told them after the trial he was the actual killer. But Moore did not allow these witnesses to testify because Davis’ lawyers did not subpoena Coles to testify. If they had, the judge said, he could have tested the validity of Coles’ alleged confessions.
If Coles had in fact confessed to these witnesses, Moore suggested there could be an explanation —“he believed that his reputation as a dangerous individual would be enhanced if he took credit for murdering Officer MacPhail.” Davis failed to prove the alleged confessions were truthful, Moore noted.
Of the seven witnesses Davis’ legal team say recanted their trial testimony, “only one is a meaningful, credible recantation.” The value of this recantation — given by a jailhouse snitch who testified Davis told him he killed MacPhail — is diminished because it was already clear the witness testified falsely at trial, the judge said.
Moore answered one question posed to him by the U.S. Supreme Court. He found that executing an innocent person would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
“However, Mr. Davis is not innocent,” the U.S. district judge wrote in August.
Chatham County Superior Court Judge Penny Freesemann signed the death warrant Tuesday.
Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis finally got the opportunity to present new evidence that he says points to his innocence in the shooting of a Savannah policeman 21 years ago. After hearing two days of evidence and closing arguments, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. did not issue an immediate decision in the case.Davis was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of off-duty policeman Mark Allen MacPhail.
Judge Moore gave the defense and the prosecution until July 7 to file legal briefs in the case. He said he would issue his ruling as quickly as possible thereafter.
The hearing held this week was rare, because death penalty appeals are usually focused on legal technicalities and interpretations of law. In a surprise ruling last August, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Davis’ request to be heard on the issue of his innocence.
Coles Not Called as a Witness
The high court ruled that Judge Moore must decide whether new evidence “clearly establishes” Davis’ innocence.
Attorneys for Davis contend that another man, Sylvester “Redd” Coles, was the actual shooter of MacPhail. They wanted to call several witnesses to the stand to tell Judge Moore that Coles told them that he shot the police officer.
Judge Moore told Davis’ attorneys that they should have called Coles himself to the stand to testify, rather than the hearsay witnesses.
“Here’s one of the most critical witnesses to Davis’ defense,” Moore said. “Mr. Coles is available to testify and you don’t call him. Mr. Coles should have been called by you.”
Huge Blow to the Defense
The ruling was a huge blow against the defense. They were left with witnesses who said they lied on the stand during Davis’ 1991 trial, claiming they were coerced by police into pointing the finger at Davis.
The prosecution, on the other hand, called the original investigation detectives to the stand who said they never put pressure on anyone to convict Davis.
The lead detective on the case, Lt. Gregory Ramsey, told Judge Moore that he carried out a “very meticulous and careful” investigation into the shooting of MacPhail, who was off duty and went to aid a homeless man he saw being pistol whipped next to a Burger King parking lot.
“I was in no rush just to pick the first guy we got our hands on,” Ramsey testified. “I wanted the right guy. I’d rather the right guy get away a hundred times than charge the wrong person.”
See Also:
Judge Must Decide Whether Troy Davis Proved Innocence in Cop KillingBackground:
The Appeals of Troy Davis
