Blog Post #3

Today on amnestyusa.org I found an interesting article about a man named Troy Davis. Davis was accused in 1989 of killing a cop named Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia. MacPhail was an on duty security guard at a nearby Burger King, when according to several witnesses Davis & MacPhail got into an altercation & Davis shot MacPhail. While on trial 34 witnesses testified for the prosecution & Davis was convicted of murder.  Davis spent the next 22 years in jail on death row fighting for his life while maintaining his claim that he was an innocent man. While in jail Davis received support from many different groups, celebrities, & people. According to amnestyusa.org seven of the witnesses later came back to recount their statements that they saw Davis the night of the murders. In 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States ordered the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to consider whether new evidence could not have been obtained that establishes Davis’s innocence. Unfortunately all their efforts where in vain & Davis was sentenced to the death penalty even though there was no solid evidence, or reliable witnesses to tie him to the murder. Sadly Troy Davis was executed September 21, 2011 at 11:08p.m. Through the whole ordeal Davis maintained his innocent claim & thanked all his supporters who supported him. This story was interesting to me because it shows how the justice system goes. In my opinion they shouldn’t have executed him because they had no solid proof that he did indeed kill officer MacPhail. Our legal system was put together to help people but it seems that a lot of times where given the short end of the stick. Overall I think this article was a good learning experience, but gives insight on our judicial system.