Do you think the U.S. Supreme Court should have stepped in with a stay of execution?

I am not against capital punishment. I truly believe that there are some people that should die because they have taken the life or lives of others. But in this situation, I don't think killing Mr. Davis is the answer. Now being a Christian, I feel this should happen. Go ahead and give Mr. Davis an appeal. If this time, he is found guilty, Give him Life in Prison. (But here is the kicker) Since the victim can not talk or relate to his father, do not allow Mr.Davis to relate to his family ever again. This means No phone calls, or visits from friends or relatives no exceptions. No mail of any sort. No news papers or magazines or any sort of media that the family might relay any sort of message to him. If the victim can't relay with their Loved one, Mr. Davis should not be able to relay to his loved ones. He is doing good to just get off with his life.

I am saddened to see our country we live in unwilling to admit we (the justice system) may have made a mistake. Since it appears now questionable with Mr. Davis' accusers who originally said he was gulity, there should be enough merrit to take another look at this case.

As for the family of officer, even though it is difficult for them, there should be a desire to be absolutely sure they are getting closure with the correct killer being punished. Since this has been 19 years ago, the children of the victim, were just that at the time of this tragic incident. There comments should not be considered or viewed.

I personally don't believe in capital punishment.

I am so sick of people who believe by commiting the same crime to an offender but legally commiting it, makes it okay. Whom ever the mother of this boy is should be ashamed of herself and him. He is sadden that he didn't have the opportunity to watch our LESS than perfect justice system legally take a life. You are NO different than the person whom committed the crime. What more can we expect, WE ARE IN THE SOUTH! There is sorrow, that an innocent person was taken from us and not by Gods own design. However, grieve and move on. Don't hang on hopes of justice by commiting the same crime (death penalty) which has been proven to be A FAILURE. The bible say, "THY SHALL NOT KILL." It didn't say, "Kill only if you use a needle with an audience looking on." That has been an old WHITE FOLK hobby for years. To sit and watch death, like they are watching a flick. Brings a scene to mind from "THE GREEN MILE" No one gives a d*** if the person is innocent or not. It is not the choice of society to decide the fate of criminals when it comes to life or death. It should have always been left to a higher power. Death won't bring your loved one back. What part of that don't you get????? That hate in your heart, you will answer for when you stand before God. Yes, if someone as close as my mother was murdered, It is my belief that; at some point they will have sorrow and repent for their sin. If they live to that point, I know they will have to live with themselves and what they did until they die. It is my belief that , God will sentence them to a far worse death or punishment than me watching them being put peacefully to sleep by a poisoness needle any day. Food For Thought... If he did it, let him live his miserable days out in prison. That is hell enough and torment enough. Hell, we have crime behind bars. With the system we have, he is guaranteed to have his day. What you people think prison is a vacation? Come on people think..

Any time there is reasonable doubt, the death penalty should not be implemented.

Innocence matters. We should take the time we need to make sure the right person is being punished for Officer MacPhail's death. Regardless of our personal views on the death penalty, we should all be able to agree that INNOCENCE MATTERS!

Whether or not you believe in the death penalty, given the evidence of Troy's innocence the Supreme Court has a duty to intervene. Or, more accurately, to prevent state-supported murder.

Capital punishment makes me sick, anyways, but this case is the epitome of everything wrong with our judical system. Here, a man who is most probably innocent is set to die because of a procedural hitch in the law - how amazing that the evidence of innocence has not been presented before a court of law -SHAME ON THE STATE OF GEORGIA. I can only hope that some day we will get rid of the death penalty so we don't have to torture people this way - and I'm talking about not only Troy Davis, but his family, and especially the family of the poor police officer who was killed - they, no WE, deserve better than this.

The Supreme Court should take this case. Mr. Davis has been prevented from presenting his evidence in Court including a multitude of witnesses who have recanted at their own peril. Innocence does matter. The Supreme Court should decide whether it is okay to kill someone when there is resounding evidence of innocence and that evidence has not been able to be presented in Court due to the fallacy that innocence doesn't exist. Times have changed enough that scientific evidence has revealed that innocent people are convicted and have been given a day in Court. The same should be true of other types of evidence that need a hearing. MOST cases do not involve DNA. Regardless of how someone feels about the death penalty, no one wants to see an innocent person executed.

I believe that innocence matters.

The facts here speak for themselves. This case is a tragic miscarriage of justice! Based on the evidence (studied from all the briefs) Troy Davis was convicted with very little, inconsistant evidence from unreliable witnesses. PERIOD! Moreover, 7 of these 9 witnesses have more to lose now than they did back then almost 20 years ago and have since said they LIED or were coherced. No Gun! No Evidence! Because there is so much doubt here, This man should not be killed! The Supreme Court had every right to intervene. This case has become so political in a county that appears blood thristy for Troy Davis. All investigations ceased when Troy Davis willingly walked into the police station in 1989. Sadly, there are reliable and credible witnesses who were not investigated, and so many things done wrong by his first FREE lawyer who admitted that he could not properly defend Troy. His defense team was a joke back then and he was not properly represented. I have never met Troy. I don't even live in Georgia. But this case is a damn shame! At the very least, if the powers that be don't want to believe in his innocence which they should, they should agree that the reasonable doubt is TOO COMPELLING TO KILL THIS MAN! There is a reason the Supreme Court is who they are. They will HONESTLY review the case and I am SO THANKFUL they gave him a stay of execution while this case is reviewed. They have a responsibility to the Constitution, America, and Justice! Troy is innocent and if they are not in the midst of this political execution that appears to be happening in Savannah, they will see that this man is conviceted and sentenced to be killed for a murder he did not committ.

No physical evidence! 7 out of 9 witnesses recant their statements! no murder weapon found! Does this sound like a "guilty" case or a man that needs a proper trial? Innocence Matters always has and always will. Please support Troy Davis and his family who have fought so hard for the past 17 years to prove his innocence. Justice will not be done if the wrong person is executed !

Having met Troy Davis, and his sister Martina, and also having done extensive research for the cover story I wrote on this case, all you have to do is look up case after case in the screwed up judicial system in southern states to know that this case is among many where justice has been denied. I was ambivalent about the death penalty but am now firmly against it, because of this case.
Who can give Troy Davis 20 years of his life back? 7 out of 9 witness recant is unprecedented in 100 years.
This is case that would be the biggest blot on the US Justice system if Troy Davis is not exonerated. Why would the Pope, Jimmy Carter and many others like them step forward to condemn this, if hey werent sure. Public figures have to watch their image.

It will also not bring closure for the MacPhail family if the real killer is not brought to justice. He is going around telling people he did it, and no one does anything about it.
One thing that we must all remember is this- when we fight for justice for others we also protect our own, When we stay silent, we make our selves vulnerable to the same injustices that we let slide by.

Kavita Chhibber
www.kavitachhibber.com

If we insist on being the only western democracy that still uses the death penalty, we better be damn sure there is absolutely NO DOUBT that we are using it correctly. The use of the death penalty adds to our unfavorable reputation around the world as it is, the possibility that we are executing innocent Americans makes it all the worse.
Innocence does matter, but innocent or guilty, our standing in the world matters just as much.

I don't know whether Mr. Davis is innocent or not and I guess that is the point. If we are committed to execution as a form of justice, then we must be 100% sure of guilt.

If the justice system proceeds with this execution, they are letting us know that they are willing to kill an innocent man to avoid taking a good hard look at themselves. This case is fraught with uncertainty and exposes flaws in the system that you would think folks concerned with justice would want to correct. Do those who have the power to make this right really have so little regard for justice and truth? Or do they have so little faith in their own system that they know a hard look at it will reveal it to be a house of cards? I thought it was only criminals who kill to cover up their own mistakes. I hope and pray that this execution is stopped and that Troy is given a real day in court, or better yet, freed without the insult of another trial since we have already stolen 19 years of his life based on a trial that was a mockery of justice.

Last Summer, I have taught a seminar on the death penalty in the United States at the English Department here in Heidelberg, Germany, and one of the two cases my students presented at the final public event was the case of Troy Davis. The audience was first captivated, then shocked that this man was even in jail! That he would come to within 2 hours of his execution only 9 weeks later seemed unthinkable at the time. The U.S. Supreme Court should, under any circumstances, hear this case and throw the conviction out. In that case, it's extremely hard to imagine that the Savannah D.A.'s office would prosecute Davis again. As so many good people on this website - and elsewhere - have said, innocence matters! Allowing someone like Troy Davis to be executed would be outrageous and absurd, and an extremely ugly blot on the U.S.'s international reputation as well. In support of my comments here, I will post the presentation of my students on Troy Davis on my website, www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de. With best greetings from Germany - Dr. Michael Schiffmann

Comon US citizen , i cant see the different of the US court and a Iraq or a Iran courth , is this the system you like to be simmular white ?? peace from Europe

I am one of the German students at the University of Heidelberg who participated in Dr. Schiffmann's workshop on the death penalty last semester, and I remember Troy Davis' case as the one that immediately struck me as the most clear in terms of doubts about his guilt. Considering the case and the many unanswered questions it raises - about the night of the crime, the justice system, and the death penalty itself - I was absolutely sure that the US of A would grant clemency to Troy Davis. Unfortunately, as we engaged the questions surrounding capital punishment in the US, it became clear that Davis is not the only one whose life is in balance despite serious claims of innocence, although his case probably provides one of the stongest examples of what can go wrong. I truly hope that Troy Davis (and that way also officer MacPhail) will be granted justice. It would be but a first step towards a more just application of law, albeit a very important one - and I hope that finally, the United States are going to abolish the death penalty instead of mistaking it for justice to kill a human being, innocent or not.

After all that I have read about the case of Troy Davis I can only hope that the Supreme Court will step in and help him to find justice. After all the false testimonies it sees so obvious that he did not commit that crime. He is in my thoughts and prayers just as so many other innocent people still on death rows. Alone in Texas there are several. Amonst many, there is Max Soffar, who has tried since 28 years to prove he is innocent and where also another person has said that he committed that crime. The 130 exonerated persons so far speak only for those that were lucky. There were some that were not so lucky. The death penalty is a punishment that should not be applied anymore. Alone those 130 persons are reason enough and the many more that will join them hopefully. I hope and pray that Troy Davis and also Max Soffar and all the others will be amongst them.

I want to ask a question.This is only an example. If someone comes into my home and takes my family's life (when I wasn't home to see it) would it be okay for me to ask my neighbors who all they saw out that day and accuse one of them?I mean if 15 of my neighbors name the same 6 people who passed my house within the time of death, and 9 of those 15 say they saw 1 person running down the street with what looked like a knife in his back pocket.Would it be safe to say he did it. And when I confronted him he said ,''I'm sorry for your lost but I just moved in this neighborhood two days ago. And since I'm familiar with this area yet I jog with my hunting knife.'' By him admitting ti have a knife I lookat that as comfirmation and later plan to come into his home and kill him.I take my time to plan things out but in the meantime there's rumors of someone bragging that they actually commited the crime and warning the other neighbord to keep quite or they'd be next.But after they get word that I plan to kill the new neighbor 11 of them come to me and confess the fact that they'd lied knowing I would be upset but just had to face me because they couldn't dit back and watch me murder the wrong person.Although if it was their family they'd do the same due to the uncontrolable hurt.But I said , ''NO you said you saw him. And he even admitted he was in the area with a knife''. And still prepare to kill him that night. My questions to you are :
1. Is that justice ? If the government can do it why can't I , I pay them?
2. Does it matter that my neighbors had the guts to come to me knowing that I'd be angery with them, but willing to face me (a mad man) t right their wrong?(Haven't we all told our parents, job etc. what they wanted to hear from fear of punishment or firing but at some point felt bad and confessed.With the hopes that they'd not only forgive us but give us a chane to make it right? )
3.Could we honestly kill a person off of hear say?
You are an American you tell me.

Sure the supreme Court did right by avoiding Troy to be assassinated by the State of Georgia, and this case shows the arbitrary of death penalty and how you can put a family and the world in despair knowing that instead of saving human beings justice kills them!!

Sure the supreme Court did right by avoiding Troy to be assassinated by the State of Georgia, and this case shows the arbitrary of death penalty and how you can put a family and the world in despair knowing that instead of saving human beings justice kills them!!

execution is murder.
if you want to learn something about the judical system of the world and about our society, read a book:
Discipline and Punishment: The birth of Prison. by Michel Foucault.
Thats what you should know!
Stop death penalty!

I feel very sorry for Mr MacPhail's mother and family. Yet if Troy Davis were executed now and later found to be innocent (as I believe he is), their distress would be even greater. All those who clamoured for his death just because they wanted to believe he was guilty would carry a heavy burden to the end of their days. The refusal even to hear him out in court is very bad press for Georgia.
It looks to me as if police and prosecutors were in a desperate hurry to come up with a culprit, and whether they got the right man was of secondary importance.
When there was some indication that another man (a police informer) might be the murderer, they made no attempt to investigate. Was it just because a change of culprit might make them look foolish, after going to all that trouble to coach their witnesses ? Surely it is better and braver to look foolish than to be ready, because it is expedient, to bear false witness against one's neighbour.

The Mcphail family has had to suffer long enough ! Yes, I feel sorry for the Davis Family , but I think they should get this punishment over with so both families can start the long over due healing process.

Are u sure M. Davis is a criminal ?
Not sure !
In Wall Street are many of murders... never punish !!!

Good luck American People
Good luck Troy Davis
God Bless you All
God can punish the Suprem Court !
dont forget !

in a new trial there would be reasonable doubt of wether troy davis commited the crime. it is outrageous that there is no formal way to find material justice.
next to this legal statement, i trully believe troy davis is innocent.

INNOCENCE MATTERS! To execute Mr. Davis when there is MORE than a reasonable doubt as to his guilt is a grave miscarriage of justice. I am saddened and completely shocked that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. What are they here for if not to ensure fair treatment to the U.S. citizens.

I am appalled that Mr. Davis is on death row. He may be innocent, and he is being denied legitimate opportunities to appeal his case. Innocence does matter. This event is a racial injustice and travesty of the kind that I thought I would never see in my lifetime. I thought this kind of racial cruelty was reserved for the history books in 1930 or 1960, not in 2008. My heart breaks about the injustice of this case.

I very much believe in the death penalty. Having said that I also believe that it has never been applied totally fairly, especially in the south. Justice is not nor has it ever been for everyone...... Just a select few!

The really sad thing is the massess that are willing and even eager for it to stay that way!

Every time we stand by and watch an injustice done it diminishes us...... Do we not in this great country of ours have enough to make up for???? And if we are intrested in making up for it when will we start? TODAY? TOMORROW? NEXT WEEK? NEXT MONTH? COME ON PEOPLE THE CLOCK IS TICKING!!!

It's anyway horrible to decide death of a person, but justice must look very well everything before to decide such a terrible thing, and this case looks like something very bad studied till now. I thinck about how feels somebody who decided such a death, and after that, mentions that it was a mistake... He makes a film with the story and earns money???? The fault of this man is to be born with black skin... only because of that his is not allowed to receive a normal treatment in justice court, c'est épouvantable!

Death penalty logic: it's supposed to be a deterrent, right? Then it makes it completely irrelevant that the sentenced guy might be guilty or innocent. The only thing that matters is that he gets executed, isn't it? Same thing about giving the murder victim's families closure. Innocence or guilt is only relative to what they are lead to believe, so truth can be set aside.

Well, can't quite put my finger on it, but I sense that there is definitely something wrong with this. How long before the state randomly picks a couple of bums, blacks and latinos each month, gives them the same (sub)standards of investigation and travesty of due process which Davis received, and executes them for the sake of deterrence and of giving a handful of unsolved murder victims' families their own closure? Clean, fast, efficient, cheap on the tax payer, and it could win one a governor or DA seat. Who would hesitate for one second?

But there is a downside to this noxious thinking, for the underlying message sent by the authorities is threefold: (1) it's alright to kill as long as you're the government or you don't get caught; (2) witnesses are reliable inasmuch as they support prosecution, and unreliable if or when they don't; (3) the benefit of the doubt goes to prosecution. Oooooops. Did anyone say "banana republic" over there?

OK, I tend to exaggerate. Somewhat. Only maybe not by THAT much this time.

Isn't the Troy Anthony Davis case really a 14th amendment case?

This is not an issue about the Death penalty!

Mr Davis did not receive a right to a proper legal defense after being wrongfully accused of murder. He was not given benefit of knowing the prosecution had made a deal with his accuser so the accuser would get a lesser penalty and get off without being tried for murder.

The Georgia prosecuting Attorney did not take pains to determine where the "gun" used to kill him was, EVEN though the accuser had a FELONY record of abuse with a gun and has confessed that he had had a gun there which he had hid in the bushes before the offduty police officer arrived to question people! Where were Davis' constitutional rights protected?

Also, apparently as in some other states, in Georgia, on appeal, the appeals court cannot go back to review errors in the prosecution of the trial, but judges only review whether or not the trial judge correctly applied the law based on the jury's decision: that the jury may have been misled, or witnesses had perjured themselves, can never be reviewed by the appeals court...so where is a victim's 14th amendment right considered.

Troy Anthony Davis will be forever a symbol of this kind of miscarriage of justice. All citizens must work to restore Justice to ALL Americans, even those who cannot afford high price lawyers to come to their defense. That right to defense is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment isn't it?

I pray that Troy Davis will still receive human justice which he has been denied as a citizen who had never committed any crime.

if God allowed him to walk away from the death penalty two times......then it's only right that he should be a free man.

if God allowed him to walk away from the death penalty two times......then it's only right that he should be a free man.

I think that Mr.Davis is a brave man. He has sat long enough with someone else blame on his head! I think that the Supreme Court should step in and make sure that this man life is not taken from for good! They have done enough! The guy that claims he did it, well I think that he is a lil punk! He should be taken in to be questioned again and see if his story is still the same! Remember a man who lies never remember the lie that he told! He feels that he will be free once Mr.Davis is gone! He will have two things over his head Mr.Davis' and Mr.McPhail's lives!

I am saddened with the justice system I have had the pleasure of being with Troy and his family he & his family are beautiful people. How can the Supreme Court sleep knowing a man and human being could be executed my heart is heavy because vengence is my saith the lord and we have no right to judge. I pray for Troy and his family everyday. I am saddened that the MacPhail's family just wants someone killed to satify their greif instead of wanting to know the truth. In closing I pray to see Troy home with his family and Mr. Coleman pay for what Troy has been through all these years. Just think if they can convict Troy like with only witnesses and no evidence and possibly execute him we are just one witness and no evidence away from it happening to our loved ones just think about it. I AM AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY.

Troy's conviction is based solely on eye-witness testimony, no physical evidence links Troy to the crime, seven of the nine eye-witnesses have since recanted their testimony (saying cops pressured them to finger Troy), and of the remaining two who did not recant-one was originally the prime suspect in the case and the other said the perpetrator was left handed (Troy is right handed)...it is a disgrace to our justice system that the Supreme Court denied Troy an appeal.

The only thing thing that comforts me a little bit is that there are so many people in Georgia, too who are against the planned comitting of a murder by state.
The scheduled killing of Mr. Davis is a cold blooded rasistic murder, supported by an insane politicial and justice system.
For a citizien of a civilized country (Germany) like me it is very very hard to understand that such a babaric event should take place in a country that reached the moon and did so much struggle for freedom and other values.
All the responsible judges, the Georgia board of pardon and paroles are not a little bit more worth than all other thumbags and offenders who decide to kill innocent people!
Mr. Davis is a human beeing, damned !

Mr. Davis' sister spoke this morning on KPFA about her brother's case. I was compelled to write. I am against state sponsored killing (the death penalty) for all the usual reasons. This case reinforces the fact that the death penalty is carried out in a capricious manner and therefore is ineffective. There is no evidence whatsoever supporting Mr. Davis guilt. In fact, there is ample evidence to the contrary. Yet, according the tireless and comprehensive research his sister has obviously done, the legal actors in Georgia are more concerned with saving their own reputations and political positioning that in saving their souls by saving the life of an innocent man. Mr. Davis has already lost his youth to this racially and politically motivated system. I will pray for him and his family, and for the people that control the switch. I will pray for divine intervention. I will pray that anyone and everyone will stand against this travesty of justice and tragedy of humanity and Mr. Davis will finally receive the type of justice our country so readily flaunts, yet so easily distorts.

The Mcphail Family has had to suffer enough........ If Troy Davis hasn't proven his innocence by now, then hellooooooooooooo. Get this punishment out of the way so both sides can start the healing process.