by A.R. Cruz

Created on: September 22, 2011

Accessing the Death Penalty

The Execution of Troy Davis has brought this discussion once again to the forefront of how the death penalty cases are conducted and processed in the US.  The specific case of Troy Davis calls into question if this defendant was proven beyond reasonable doubt that he committed this crime.  The testimonies of eyewitnesses were recanted and there was allegedly a confession by another person that committed the crime.  According to the media and supporters of Troy Davis, there was no physical evidence such as DNA.

Troy Davis was convicted solely on eyewitness testimony; which many of the eyewitnesses claim that the police coerced them into making these statements.  There are so many issues regarding this case that it seems inconceivable that a person could be convicted and placed on death row with no other evidence other than eyewitness testimony.  Eyewitness testimony has been proven to not be an accurate method to identify the correct person because of perceptions, or bad memory, and many times testimony can be influenced by authorities by showing photos of one suspect as in this particular case. 

In this day in age where there are many crime fighting CSI labs with advanced forensics available today that were not in 1991, I don’t understand how the state of Georgia could justify not taking another look into this case.  The efforts were always made by the defense, and the attorneys for one reason or another unfortunately could not win an appeal for Troy Davis.  The state of Georgia has rigid guidelines and even the Governor does not have the power to pardon prisoners.  As the attorney from the Innocence project described in order for the testimony of the eyewitness to be considered as false, the person has to be proven that they were not in the area of the crime.  The standard is difficult to overcome because if the eyewitnesses were in the area then their testimony even if they recanted would not be considered. The original testimony of the eyewitness would be considered only, not the recantation according to the state of Georgia’s guidelines.

The death penalty is warranted in some cases such as the case of the family tortured and murdered in Connecticut and the Byrd dragging death murder in Texas.

These cases were proven by testimony and in the Connecticut case the suspect was caught leaving the scene of the crime. In cases such as that of Troy Davis; even during his execution

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