It has been known for decades that eyewitness testimony is "iffy." All of the eight men in Georgia whose exoneration the Innocence Project was instrumental in obtaining between 1999 and 2009 were black. Eyewitness misidentification was paramount in each of their convictions.
If Troy Davis had ever been granted a new trial, the prosecution would have had no case without the coerced witnesses. There was no forensic evidence that linked Davis to the crime -- no gun, no DNA, no fingerprints, no footprint, no piece of fabric from his clothing -- nothing.
The Savannah police might then have gone after the man who was the first to finger Troy, was at the scene, did own a gun, had fired it that night, and had told several people that he, not Troy, had shot MacPhail.
Shame on those in the justice system who knew that Davis was not the killer. Shame on the Appeals Court judges that found some reason under the law to deny Davis a new trial.
Shame on the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles that remained firmly convinced that the 1991 jury had gotten it right even in the face of thousands of people around the world, some well-known, who signed petitions and spoke up on behalf of Troy Davis.
Shame on the "justices" of the Supreme Court of the United States that at the last minute could not muster the courage or find the common decency to save a man's life.
Shame on all of us who allow the state to murder people and to allow it in a system that is far from flawless.
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