Georgia death-row convict Davis gets new hearing November 21, 2008 ยท Print This Article <javascript:window.print()>
A federal appeals court has agreed to take up the case of a Georgia man on death row for allegedly killing a police officer despite strong doubts about his guilt, legal sources said Thursday. Troy Davis, 40, is to get a new hearing on December 9, said the court, which has postponed his scheduled execution for the murder nearly 20 years ago of a white policeman. The federal appeals court can either confirm the death sentence or send the case back to a lower court. Davis, who is African-American, has maintained his innocence and several witnesses at his 1991 trial have since recanted. His lawyers have taken his case all the way to the Supreme Court. In September, the high court halted Davis's execution two hours before he was scheduled to die as it considered his request for a new trial. But last month, the court refused to consider the constitutionality of executing a person when there is new, substantial evidence to show he was not guilty of the crime, thus opening the way for the state to reschedule his execution. Nine people who testified in Davis's 1991 trial have recanted, saying they were pressured by police in the aftermath of the shooting. The murder weapon was never recovered and there was no DNA recovered at the scene. -- "Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change." - Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Black Focus Inc." group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Black-Focus-Inc?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
