On September 21, 2011, after an appeals process that lasted close to 22 years, Troy Davis was executed in Georgia. The last few months leading up to his execution, Davis had become a household name with his plight for freedom becoming a media, social, and political frenzy alleging racism and the unfairness of the legal system as Davis, who is black, was convicted of the murder of a white police officer. My problem with this whole ordeal is that the majority of Davis’ supporters, while having good intentions, lacked no real knowledge of the legal system, and frankly I’m getting tired of folks asking my opinion on the matter and most of the inane commentary I have seen on the issue so I’ve decided to add my $19.11….
INSIDE INFORMATION....Since being licensed by the State Bar of Texas in 2009, the majority of my practice has been in Criminal Defense which is kind of tricky with some of my personal thoughts regarding criminals and the death penalty. Personally, I believe in the biblical code of Hammurabi (an eye for an eye…) and fail to grasp how a person would rather spend the rest of their life in jail as opposed to ending it all swiftly. From what I’ve heard, life in prison isn’t really life at all. I do , however, realize that a death sentence or life imprisonment is unfair for a crime one did not commit, so spare me that rhetoric.
Which brings me back to Troy Davis, a man who was convicted based upon nothing but eyewitness testimony, no gun, no DNA, only what other people “claim” they saw and a “possible” ballistics match. This is hardly enough to sentence someone to death in my opinion, but that’s about as far as I’ll take this as a political fight. I have often told people that in spite of the fact that the legal system is not perfect, it is far better than what goes on in most of the world and that I have to believe in it or my profession is a joke and a waste of time and energy. Why do you think attorneys practice, because we attempt to perfect an ever-changing field. After reading close to 500 pages from both sides of the spectrum I’ll give you all my opinion regarding the case.
From the initial evidence presented at trial, the state did put on a case well enough to sustain a conviction. Whether it was strong enough for a death sentence is debatable from both ends, but I feel as though they did their job and had I been on that jury then I would have convicted him as well. Then as quickly as 3 yrs after the initial trial come allegations of coercion by the investigators, recantations, and a plethora of “new evidence” that has been said to exonerate Davis. Therein lies the problem that most attorneys know come with recantations; if a person has already admitted to lying under oath it’s hard to ever trust them again. Most cross-examinations conducted with witnesses who recant often have the following question asked; “So were you lying then, or are you lying now?” Either way the damage to the testimony is irreversible and usually all of it becomes stricken from the record. So of the nine testifying witnesses, seven recanted, and even if they’re testimony was stricken as untrustworthy, that still leaves two eyewitnesses with unchanged stories. But, from court-records that I’ve read (reading is fundamental people, and LEXIS is a powerful tool), what the media labels as a recantation has little probative value in declaring Davis innocent as certain elements still stick in favor of the state’s case.
This brings me to my next issue, which is standard of proof. In order to get a new trial, you have to prove misconduct that would have resulted in a different outcome at the trial court level had it not been introduced. Which calls into question something all of you newly appointed, non-barred, JD-lacking “lawyers” (since yall have all this expertise) should be familiar with; standard of proof. A mere allegation of misconduct is simply not enough to have a meritorious claim. Think Denzel in “Training Day” (It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove). And since all the witnesses who allege they were forced into a statement or signed a statement without reading it have no proof supporting that claim, they are dismissed as inadmissible hearsay. I have two problems with this; first of all, while I undoubtedly believe that police misconduct would be hard to uncover, think of the damage to the legal system if we let people just throw out accusations with no proof otherwise. To some it may be a bit contradictory given the nature of this case, but I stated earlier that I believe that the evidence presented was convincing enough to get a conviction, not enough to kill the man, but again that’s just my opinion. Secondly, did I or did I not say that reading is fundamental. Why in the hell would you sign something that you didn’t read? Your signature is what makes the document valid, so I can’t envision why you wouldn’t read it before signing it. Now for the witness who couldn’t read, I would suggest you had someone read it to you, and if you didn’t trust those people, then have several people read it to you. So I agree with the courts logic that this standard had not been met. As far as the actual innocence claim made at the appellate level, there is no exonerating evidence presented here, only enough to cause doubt, doubt that should have been raised at the trial court level. But no one sees it that way, no one ever does. You got forced into a statement cause you just wanted to be left alone, or because you were nervous about your own legal troubles, or you were scared that something would happen to you or your family, or you just don’t trust police. Yeah, I’ve heard all those before, and at the end of the day, no one ever blames these people. Well, I do, and I will continue to do so.
So for all of you that signed the petition to get Troy Davis clemency, bought the “I am Troy Davis” shirt, and posted on FB and twitter regarding his “murder,” just know that Troy Davis was not murdered, it was a suicide because those same ones who may have been influenced or were afraid to come forward but are all Troy Davis are the ones responsible for his death. Please stop jumping on the bandwagon of Mr. Davis, Duane Buck and every other black man who is facing a death sentence, because ultimately if you weren’t there, then you don’t know what happened. True racism still exists in society, but everything is not racially motivated. Furthermore, if you don’t have a legal education, then you wouldn’t understand the rhetoric upon which these cases are judged. Go read a book or something. I’ve prayed for Mr. Davis and have made peace with the fact that he is either in Heaven reaping the rewards of being wrongfully accused and paying the ultimate price for it, or in hell for stringing you all along with him, only God knows the true outcome. Stop complaining when the outcome isn’t in your favor, do your best to fix the system, cooperate in investigations, and ALWAYS tell the truth. If you fail to do that, then you are to blame for everything as well…may Troy Davis rest in peace!
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