Thursday, September 15, 2011
Crime Bob Barr: Don't execute Troy Davis
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 11:38 AM
While Barr makes clear that he remains an advocate of capital punishment, he argues that there is "considerable doubt surrounding the guilt" of Davis, who was convicted of the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.
Barr makes clear that he doesn't necessarily believe Davis is innocent, only that his guilt has not been proven to a degree that satisfies the demands of justice:
Nine so-called eyewitnesses testified in the trial, and it was on the basis of their testimony that Davis was sentenced to death. Seven of those witnesses, however, have since recanted or materially changed their stories. The jury, for instance, relied on two people who did not witness the crime but who testified that Davis had confessed to the shooting; both have since said they were lying.
Barr also takes issue with the federal judge who granted Davis a new evidentiary hearing — but imposed a topsy-turvy legal standard in which Davis was saddled with the impossible task of proving his own innocence.
Anyway, take a read to see how a law-and-order conservative politico views the Davis case.
NOTE: This post originally named the wrong day for Davis' execution.
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