Troy Davis (home, living in, office)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Ask the innocent guy on death row what he thinks.

Some prisoners are known to be absolutely guilty. There are mountains of clear and convincing evidence, the actions in question were completely caught on camera, etc.

Those people would not seem to meet your above criteria. People are certainly fallible, but come on.

I certainly agree with you in the general case, but there are cases which are extraordinary in nature, where the person was caught redhanded and where the crime is violent and abhorrent beyond all comprehension.

What about them?

I personally have no respect or compassion for such people. Sorry.

People like Troy Davis shouldn't even be in prison in the first place, based on what I've read, so this conversation has nothing to do with him, or with people in a similar situation. Just wanted to clarify.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Ask the innocent guy on death row what he thinks.

Can you get beyond that mantra? For Davis and others who were convicted 20 years ago, there may be some doubt. I don't know enough about the Davis case. For those who are convicted today, where there is concrete scientific or other physical evidence of guilt, what is the problem?

Again....you seem to ignore my example of Brian Nichols. Why on earth would he not be a candidate for the death penalty? Killed a judge and a federal agent, and we have half the Fulton County Sheriff's office see him do it, plus video tape of him doing it. Why would you be against putting him to death?

[tropolis]

he's a dead man, they denied clemency.

i just dont know. they are privy to knowledge we the public don't have. he's had numerous appeals that have been heard and denied. witnesses recanting is a somewhat common thing from what ive read, and doesn't actually do much to change the case.

seeing the board being both of black and white members makes me feel more at ease, and the lead guy james donald is black.

i would feel differently if this was an all white board who came down with this sentence.

at this point you just have to hope he did it. if he didn't do it, hopefully he'll be redeemed in death.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Can you get beyond that mantra? For Davis and others who were convicted 20 years ago, there may be some doubt. I don't know enough about the Davis case. For those who are convicted today, where there is concrete scientific or other physical evidence of guilt, what is the problem?

Again....you seem to ignore my example of Brian Nichols. Why on earth would he not be a candidate for the death penalty? Killed a judge and a federal agent, and we have half the Fulton County Sheriff's office see him do it, plus video tape of him doing it. Why would you be against putting him to death?

Neil, it's not a mantra. Regardless of scientific research tools, video cameras and the like, judges and juries can still reach a wrong conclusion. I will continue to advocate that we, as a society, should not be in the business of executing folks.

[tropolis]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Neil, it's not a mantra. Regardless of scientific research tools, video cameras and the like, judges and juries can still reach a wrong conclusion. I will continue to advocate that we, as a society, should not be in the business of executing folks.

too little too late, whats done is done.

like i said, i just hope they made the right call, because if he did commit the murder he shouldv'e been killed years ago.

i believe in an eye for an eye. you kill someone, you dont deserve to be on earth anymore.

the reason why i wont throw that stone at davis is i dont know if he did it or not.

but the georgia board ruled he did.

i will hope that they made the right call.

[axemanjoe]

This case seems to be more about the death penalty than it is about Davis' guilt. All his supporters are calling for his execution to be halted. If he did not commit the crime he was convicted of why are they not calling for him to be totally exonerated. I would hate to think that race is a factor for many of his supporters, but the obvious cannot be overlooked.

After reading up on the facts in this case it is apparent that Davis was implicated in the murder of Officer Mark MacPhail. He fled that area to avoid capture. There was even pressure to get him into custody from local drug dealers as their business was negatively affected by his being on the lose. One would be inclined to convict him on his lifestyle, that being "runnin with the boys in the hood," which is not in any way a justification for a conviction of the murder, but he made a choice. He was involved in the Officer's murder, there is no question regarding that fact.

I am not in favor of killing anyone for any reason. I am for justice, but I cannot reconcile the thought of killing a person. However, in my business it can certainly prove to be a matter of business. I made the choice to be in this business so I'll take a life when it is necesary. Having said that, back to my point about Davis' supporters. They all seem to be on a crusade, not one which calls for a declaration of his exoneration. They all seem to favor life without parole. That seems redundant.

One of the judges who heard his last appeal indicated that many of the witnesses testified a long time ago, and that at the time they testified their memories were fresher. He also indicated that they all had time to think and now are victims of their own conscience, also that the jurors are having second thoughts. He said his court dealt with the facts as they were presented at the time of the trial and how the trial was conducted. The court found as it did, so for all intents and purposes, Davis has had his day in court, and then some.

I am still not sure that death penalties are in order at any time, but I am very much opposed to tax dollars supporting a person in prison when society would be better served if such a person's life were to be ended. It is still a repulsive thought, to me anyway, but it is even more repulsive to think that the people who have committed very heinous, nefarious crimes would be allowed to live very comfortably in an institution. I don't see the death penalty as a deterent. I've arrested a few individuals that are now in for life and a couple that are now on death row. I don't think for one second that they when they capered they were thinking of what kind of penalty they were going to receive if and when they got caught. With that in mind it gets down to "punishment" and "rehabilitation" and "redeeming value." I would think that protecting society from repeat offenses would be the paramount reason for any sentence. Then factor in punishment. But, we all have an opinion, just like we all have a particular body part.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by axemanjoe

This case seems to be more about the death penalty than it is about Davis' guilt. All his supporters are calling for his execution to be halted. If he did not commit the crime he was convicted of why are they not calling for him to be totally exonerated. I would hate to think that race is a factor for many of his supporters, but the obvious cannot be overlooked.

Exactly. Some posters and some in the public seem to be against the death penalty under any circumstance. I keep on mentioning Nichols because it illustrates that point. Not a shred of doubt about his guilt, but yet a jury refused to sentence him to death. If ever a case cried out and was tailor made for the death penalty, it was the Nichols case. If not him, then who?

I believe that had we captured Osama Bin Laden, there would have been some people who would have opposed the imposition of a death penalty. That kind of misguided naivete is what gets actually innocent people killed. I think even the empty suit in the White House realized that and ordered him terminated with extreme prejudice.

[Wnyku]

Guilty ? Let's check the facts .
based on Wikipedia :
Nine witnesses identified Davis as the killer, but from the time of trial in 1991, seven of them canceled their testimony. Ten others have indicated a different perpetrator, Sylvester Coles, who was at the crime scene at the time of its commission.

Do you still think that the man who was sentenced to death based on questionable evidence should be lost ? If yes so let's read more from Wiki :
At a time when he stayed Troy Davis on death row, more than 90 prisoners were freed from death row in the United States because of their innocence. In each of these matters during the trial demonstrated reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused. Over the past four years, three states - New Jersey, New Mexico and Illinois - have abolished the death penalty. The main arguments for its abolition were not possible to exclude errors and the likelihood of conviction of an innocent person.

That will be not execution , that will be murdery . Please remember ,that one day someone can say that he saw you doing something and you can be at exactly same situation .
They gonna murder a man even if there are reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused.

I m not against death penalty , I m against death penalty when there are reasonable doubts.
We saw already to many innocent people killed in prisons . They wanna murder another one .

[tropolis]

just because witnesses recanted doesn't mean anything.

it means they were flakes to begin with. they could be lying now, could've before.

im more interested in what the 2 who didnt change there stories said.

[axemanjoe]

Originally Posted by Wnyku

Guilty ? Let's check the facts .
based on Wikipedia :
Nine witnesses identified Davis as the killer, but from the time of trial in 1991, seven of them canceled their testimony. Ten others have indicated a different perpetrator, Sylvester Coles, who was at the crime scene at the time of its commission.

Do you still think that the man who was sentenced to death based on questionable evidence should be lost ? If yes so let's read more from Wiki :
At a time when he stayed Troy Davis on death row, more than 90 prisoners were freed from death row in the United States because of their innocence. In each of these matters during the trial demonstrated reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused. Over the past four years, three states - New Jersey, New Mexico and Illinois - have abolished the death penalty. The main arguments for its abolition were not possible to exclude errors and the likelihood of conviction of an innocent person.

That will be not execution , that will be murdery . Please remember ,that one day someone can say that he saw you doing something and you can be at exactly same situation .
They gonna murder a man even if there are reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused.

I m not against death penalty , I m against death penalty when there are reasonable doubts.
We saw already to many innocent people killed in prisons . They wanna murder another one .

Check the appeals court rulings, there was no compelling evidence to grant a new trial or grant a stay.