TheLoop21.com

By: Michael E. Ross (Add to your loop)
Thu, 06/18/2009 - 00:00

A protest for Troy Davis. The court is still debating his future.

It’s come to this: Just days before the expiration of its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to review the original habeas corpus petition of Georgia inmate Troy Anthony Davis on June 25 and issue an order concerning his death-penalty case on either Friday, June 26, or Monday, June 29, according to a joint statement from Amnesty International and the NAACP. 

The country’s accustomed to getting big, sometimes momentous decisions from the Supremes in the run-up to their summer vacation; we’re equally accustomed to seeing wide-scale media coverage on those decisions (and sometimes hearing little or nothing about them before they’re announced). But despite a relative absence of coverage in mainstream media, critical mass of awareness of the Davis case may be about to explode.

Some background: Davis sits on death row in Jackson, Ga., awaiting either his execution, or his exoneration, for the murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail in August 1989. He was tried and convicted in 1991, with no physical evidence, fingerprints or DNA linking him to the crime. And since that trial, seven out of nine key prosecution witnesses have recanted their testimony. Some said they were pressured by police officers to testify against Davis.

The legal back and forth has persisted, with appeals requested, won and denied. The U.S. Supreme Court had the case before but last Oct. 14, in a one-line decision presented with no elaboration, declined to hear Davis' case. The state of Georgia set a new execution date for Oct. 27; Davis’ lawyers won an emergency stay of execution.

On April 16, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Davis' bid for a new trial. In a 2-1 vote, the court cited technicalities as reasons for the rejection and extended Davis' stay of execution for 30 days to give him more time to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. That stay ended on May 15. Before a new execution date could be set, Davis filed a petition for habeas corpus with the U.S. Supreme Court on May 19, asking the court to remand the case back to a federal judge for a hearing on his claims of innocence.

Now, Amnesty International, in partnership with the NAACP, is sponsoring a “Week of Witness,” beginning Friday, hoping to build awareness and public reaction in the run-up to the court’s habeus review.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported May 29 that Georgia Rep. John Lewis, an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, “has considered asking for a presidential pardon for Davis, but has not yet spoken to President Barack Obama about intervening in the case.” Lewis also said he planned to speak with House Judiciary Chairman Rep.