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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
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Condemned Ga. inmate has much support, little hope
(AP) ATLANTA — Yet another appeal denied, Troy Davis was left with little to do Tuesday but wait to be executed for a murder he insists he did not commit.
He lost his most realistic chance to avoid lethal injection on Tuesday, when Georgia's pardons board rejected his appeal for clemency. As his scheduled 7 p.m. Wednesday execution neared, his backers resorted to far-fetched measures: urging prison workers to strike or call in sick, asking prosecutors to block the execution — even considering a desperate appeal for White House intervention.
He has gotten support from hundreds of thousands of people, including a former FBI director, former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI, and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave him an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence last year. State and federal courts, however, repeatedly upheld his conviction for the 1989 killing of Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer who was working as a security guard in Savannah when he was shot dead rushing to help a homeless man who was being attacked.
Davis' attorneys say he was convicted based on flawed testimony that has been largely recanted by witnesses, but prosecutors and MacPhail's relatives say they have no doubt the right man is being punished.
"Justice was finally served for my father," said Mark MacPhail Jr., who was an infant when his father was gunned down. "The truth was finally heard."
As Davis' attorneys considered filing another appeal, his supporters planned vigils and rallies around the world. Nearly 1 million signed a petition seeking clemency, according to Amnesty International.
"We've been praying about it and with God on our side anything can happen," DeJaun Correia-Davis, the condemned man's 17-year-old nephew, told a rally of hundreds in front of the Georgia Capitol late Tuesday. "Let this be a case that not only highlights the death penalty but will hopefully be a big part in bringing it to an end."
Georgia initially planned to execute Davis in July 2007, but the pardons board granted him a stay less than 24 hours before he was to die. The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in a year later and halted the lethal injection just two hours before he was to be executed. And a federal appeals court halted another planned execution a few months later.
This time, state officials are confident this lethal injection will be carried out. Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency. Davis supporters are calling on Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm to block the execution. But the prosecutor said in a statement Tuesday he's powerless to withdraw an execution order for Davis issued by a state Superior Court judge.
"We appreciate the outpouring of interest in this case; however, this matter is beyond our control," Chisolm said.
Spencer Lawton, the prosecutor who secured Davis' conviction in 1991, said he has no doubt he is guilty.
"What we have had is a manufactured appearance of doubt which has taken on the quality of legitimate doubt itself. And all of it is exquisitely unfair," Lawton said.
MacPhail was shot to death Aug. 19, 1989, after coming to the aid of Larry Young, a homeless man who was pistol-whipped in a Burger King parking lot. Prosecutors say Davis was with another man who was demanding that Young give him a beer when Davis pulled out a handgun and bashed Young with it. When MacPhail arrived to help, prosecutors say Davis had a smirk on his face when he shot the officer to death.
Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter. Shell casings were linked to a shooting hours earlier that Davis was convicted of. There was no other physical evidence. No blood or DNA tied Davis to the crime and the weapon was never located.
Davis' attorneys say seven of nine key witnesses who testified at his trial have disputed all or parts of their testimony.
Quiana Glover, who did not testify at the original trial, said one of the witnesses who did not recant told her he was the real shooter. That man, who was with Davis that night, could not be reached for comment on Monday and Tuesday, and did not answer his door this week when a reporter visited.
"Justice should be served, but it should be served to the right man," said Glover, who urged the pardons board to grant clemency Monday. "There's no evidence against this young man."
As advocacy groups highlighted the case, a growing number of dignitaries became involved. A host of conservative figures are among those who have advocated on his behalf, including former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, ex-Justice Department official Larry Thompson and one-time FBI Director William Sessions.
Their concerns helped prod the U.S. Supreme Court to grant Davis a hearing in Savannah to prove his innocence, a nearly unprecedented move. Two witnesses at the June 2010 hearing testified that they falsely incriminated Davis at his trial, and two others told the judge that the man with Davis that night later said he shot MacPhail.
Prosecutors, though, argued that Davis' lawyers were simply rehashing old testimony that had already been rejected by a jury. And they said no trial court could ever consider the hearsay from the other witnesses who blamed the other man for the crime.
U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. sided with prosecutors and rejected Davis' request for a new trial. He said that while "new evidence casts some additional, minimal doubt on his conviction, it is largely smoke and mirrors."
On Tuesday, Davis was spending his last quiet hours with friends, family and supporters, said Wende Gozan Brown, an Amnesty International staffer who visited him.
"He said he's in good spirits, he's prayerful and he's at peace. But he said he will not stop fighting until he's taken his last breath. And he said Georgia is about to snuff out the life of an innocent man," she said.
His supporters are exploring other options. State Sen. Vincent Fort called on all but a skeleton staff of prison workers to strike on Wednesday.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it was considering asking President Barack Obama to intervene, a move that legal experts considered unlikely.
MacPhail's family, which urged the pardons board on Monday to reject Davis' clemency bid, said his execution will bring them peace.
"That's what we wanted, and that's what we got," said MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail. "We wanted to get it over with, and for him to get his punishment."
He lost his most realistic chance to avoid lethal injection on Tuesday, when Georgia's pardons board rejected his appeal for clemency. As his scheduled 7 p.m. Wednesday execution neared, his backers resorted to far-fetched measures: urging prison workers to strike or call in sick, asking prosecutors to block the execution — even considering a desperate appeal for White House intervention.
He has gotten support from hundreds of thousands of people, including a former FBI director, former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI, and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave him an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence last year. State and federal courts, however, repeatedly upheld his conviction for the 1989 killing of Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer who was working as a security guard in Savannah when he was shot dead rushing to help a homeless man who was being attacked.
Davis' attorneys say he was convicted based on flawed testimony that has been largely recanted by witnesses, but prosecutors and MacPhail's relatives say they have no doubt the right man is being punished.
"Justice was finally served for my father," said Mark MacPhail Jr., who was an infant when his father was gunned down. "The truth was finally heard."
As Davis' attorneys considered filing another appeal, his supporters planned vigils and rallies around the world. Nearly 1 million signed a petition seeking clemency, according to Amnesty International.
"We've been praying about it and with God on our side anything can happen," DeJaun Correia-Davis, the condemned man's 17-year-old nephew, told a rally of hundreds in front of the Georgia Capitol late Tuesday. "Let this be a case that not only highlights the death penalty but will hopefully be a big part in bringing it to an end."
Georgia initially planned to execute Davis in July 2007, but the pardons board granted him a stay less than 24 hours before he was to die. The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in a year later and halted the lethal injection just two hours before he was to be executed. And a federal appeals court halted another planned execution a few months later.
This time, state officials are confident this lethal injection will be carried out. Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency. Davis supporters are calling on Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm to block the execution. But the prosecutor said in a statement Tuesday he's powerless to withdraw an execution order for Davis issued by a state Superior Court judge.
"We appreciate the outpouring of interest in this case; however, this matter is beyond our control," Chisolm said.
Spencer Lawton, the prosecutor who secured Davis' conviction in 1991, said he has no doubt he is guilty.
"What we have had is a manufactured appearance of doubt which has taken on the quality of legitimate doubt itself. And all of it is exquisitely unfair," Lawton said.
MacPhail was shot to death Aug. 19, 1989, after coming to the aid of Larry Young, a homeless man who was pistol-whipped in a Burger King parking lot. Prosecutors say Davis was with another man who was demanding that Young give him a beer when Davis pulled out a handgun and bashed Young with it. When MacPhail arrived to help, prosecutors say Davis had a smirk on his face when he shot the officer to death.
Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter. Shell casings were linked to a shooting hours earlier that Davis was convicted of. There was no other physical evidence. No blood or DNA tied Davis to the crime and the weapon was never located.
Davis' attorneys say seven of nine key witnesses who testified at his trial have disputed all or parts of their testimony.
Quiana Glover, who did not testify at the original trial, said one of the witnesses who did not recant told her he was the real shooter. That man, who was with Davis that night, could not be reached for comment on Monday and Tuesday, and did not answer his door this week when a reporter visited.
"Justice should be served, but it should be served to the right man," said Glover, who urged the pardons board to grant clemency Monday. "There's no evidence against this young man."
As advocacy groups highlighted the case, a growing number of dignitaries became involved. A host of conservative figures are among those who have advocated on his behalf, including former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, ex-Justice Department official Larry Thompson and one-time FBI Director William Sessions.
Their concerns helped prod the U.S. Supreme Court to grant Davis a hearing in Savannah to prove his innocence, a nearly unprecedented move. Two witnesses at the June 2010 hearing testified that they falsely incriminated Davis at his trial, and two others told the judge that the man with Davis that night later said he shot MacPhail.
Prosecutors, though, argued that Davis' lawyers were simply rehashing old testimony that had already been rejected by a jury. And they said no trial court could ever consider the hearsay from the other witnesses who blamed the other man for the crime.
U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. sided with prosecutors and rejected Davis' request for a new trial. He said that while "new evidence casts some additional, minimal doubt on his conviction, it is largely smoke and mirrors."
On Tuesday, Davis was spending his last quiet hours with friends, family and supporters, said Wende Gozan Brown, an Amnesty International staffer who visited him.
"He said he's in good spirits, he's prayerful and he's at peace. But he said he will not stop fighting until he's taken his last breath. And he said Georgia is about to snuff out the life of an innocent man," she said.
His supporters are exploring other options. State Sen. Vincent Fort called on all but a skeleton staff of prison workers to strike on Wednesday.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it was considering asking President Barack Obama to intervene, a move that legal experts considered unlikely.
MacPhail's family, which urged the pardons board on Monday to reject Davis' clemency bid, said his execution will bring them peace.
"That's what we wanted, and that's what we got," said MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail. "We wanted to get it over with, and for him to get his punishment."
Kate Walsh: “Charlie is an incredible medical specimen”
During Comedy central which aired on Monday night, Kate Walsh says about Charlie Sheen that he is “an incredible medical specimen”. She and other guests of Seth MacFarlane’s mocked the former “Two And A Half Men” star anyway they could, Us Magazine reports.
On Monday night, Charlie Sheen, 46, was on everyone’s lips. Everyone at Comedy Central. There was little that was not said about the actor, who was shamefully fired from the sitcom that made him famous and who later lost his wife and kids.
Kate Walsh said that in her opinion, Sheen is “an incredible medical specimen.” “It's amazing -- after abusing your lungs, liver and kidneys, the only thing you've had removed is your kids”, she marveled.
William Shatner, who is 80 years old, said Charlie looks about his age, like they “went to high school together”.
Seth MacFarlane made a comment about the actor’s post-split love life, which included two porn stars at the same time. “Charlie, you claim to have ‘tiger blood,’ but after all the porn stars you've [had sex with], it's probably Tiger Woods' blood”, he said.
Anthony Jeselnik added that the only reason Sheen is still on TV was that God hates Michael J. Fox and Jeffrey Ross picked on Charlie’s understanding of the notion “fatherhood”, saying that his children only get to see him on reruns.
After a war with the” Two And A Half Men” producers that lasted almost the entire 2011, Charlie Sheen decided to bury the hatchet. At the Emmys, while he was due to announce the Best Comedy Actor winner, he took a moment to say that he is not mad at Chuck Lorre anymore and that he wished the best of luck to the show. When the winner turned out to be another movie directed by Chuck Lorre, “The Big Bang Theory”, he went: “This is odd for so many reasons”.
On Monday night, Charlie Sheen, 46, was on everyone’s lips. Everyone at Comedy Central. There was little that was not said about the actor, who was shamefully fired from the sitcom that made him famous and who later lost his wife and kids.
Kate Walsh said that in her opinion, Sheen is “an incredible medical specimen.” “It's amazing -- after abusing your lungs, liver and kidneys, the only thing you've had removed is your kids”, she marveled.
William Shatner, who is 80 years old, said Charlie looks about his age, like they “went to high school together”.
Seth MacFarlane made a comment about the actor’s post-split love life, which included two porn stars at the same time. “Charlie, you claim to have ‘tiger blood,’ but after all the porn stars you've [had sex with], it's probably Tiger Woods' blood”, he said.
Anthony Jeselnik added that the only reason Sheen is still on TV was that God hates Michael J. Fox and Jeffrey Ross picked on Charlie’s understanding of the notion “fatherhood”, saying that his children only get to see him on reruns.
After a war with the” Two And A Half Men” producers that lasted almost the entire 2011, Charlie Sheen decided to bury the hatchet. At the Emmys, while he was due to announce the Best Comedy Actor winner, he took a moment to say that he is not mad at Chuck Lorre anymore and that he wished the best of luck to the show. When the winner turned out to be another movie directed by Chuck Lorre, “The Big Bang Theory”, he went: “This is odd for so many reasons”.
What 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Repeal Means for Servicemembers Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/20/what-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-means-for-servicemembers
It was the tears of Marine Captain Sarah Pezzat, whose nickname in the military is “Short Shot,” that put a human face on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and what it’s repeal means for the estimated 65,000 gay members of the military currently serving.
On Capitol Hill today she said before a bipartisan group of Senators: “I’m 31 years old. I’m a woman. I am a Marine,” and this is where she chokes back tears, “and I’m a lesbian.” She then says, “I’m sorry… Prior today if I said that I could be discharged.”
More than 14,000 gay servicemembers were over the past 18 years since President Bill Clinton signed the policy into law.
The repeal meant a lot to servicemembers, such as former Air Force Major Mike Almy, who served for 12 years and then was forced out during his 4th tour of the Middle East while serving in Iraq. He is in the process of trying to reenlist.
"I still have quite a few friends in the military who are looking forward to this day. Some of them will come out some won't,” Almy told Fox News on the eve of the repeal. “I have a good friend named Todd. He is currently serving on active duty. Tomorrow he will not make a big announcement, but he is going to go to work and he will put a picture of his partner on his desk.”
Navy Lieutenant Gary Ross and his partner Dan Swezy were so eager to celebrate the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” they flew from their home in Arizona and got married shortly after midnight in Vermont.
The Marine Corps Times published this provocative cover story last week in anticipation of today's repeal: "We're Gay, Get Over It" read the headline. It was especially ironic since Marine leaders and Marines canvassed in combat were the most concerned about the repeal and had warned about the dangers that it would cause to those in combat units.
The Marines now appear to be the most eager to implement the letter of the law, according to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, who expressed pride in the decision today.
"It's the right thing to do. It's done. We need to move on,” Mullen said in his last Pentagon press conference. He retires in two weeks but it was his testimony on Capitol Hill that gave momentum to repeal the ban when he said that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” harmed the force’s integrity.
Today Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz tweeted:
"DADT was dishonorable and un-American, and we celebrate today as it officially becomes a relic of the past."
The President issued the following statement:
"As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love.
And the Obama 2012 Campaign highlighted the President's role in today's repeal in a 6 minute video posted on its website.
Under the pseudonym JB Smith, Lt Josh Seefried, published the magazine OutServe profiling gay servicemembers, which today will be made available on select Army and Air Force bases. He proudly announced he was gay and revealed his real identity at midnight.
Those who were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation can reenlist, but there is no guarantee their service will take them because recruiting is up now that the economy is bad.
Also left unresolved are benefits for same sex partners. They won't receive them because the military will not recognize those partnerships since the federal defense of marriage act remains the nation's law. Those partners won't be allowed to live on base while the service member is deployed and they won't have access to family support groups.
The Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator Carl Levin said he would ask the Pentagon to help those who were expelled for being gay.
“The first thing we're gonna do is talk to the military as to what steps we now need to take to undo some of the wrongs that have been perpetrated,” Levin said on Capitol Hill today. But so far the Pentagon does not plan to fast track the reenlistment of those who were discharged under the law.
Not everyone welcomed the changes at the Pentagon today.
"This is not a legitimate victory for anyone; it is being imposed on the armed forces to deliver on President Barack Obama's political promises to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) activist groups,” wrote Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, one of the principal advocacy groups fighting against repeal. “The high-powered campaign for gays in the military was fueled by sophistry, administration-coordinated deception, faux "research" from LGBT activists, and misuse of the military's own culture of obedience.”
But for the thousands of gay servicemembers who were forced to live a lie for so many years while they served the nation, today was historic.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/20/what-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-means-for-servicemembers/#ixzz1YY5EZdFD
On Capitol Hill today she said before a bipartisan group of Senators: “I’m 31 years old. I’m a woman. I am a Marine,” and this is where she chokes back tears, “and I’m a lesbian.” She then says, “I’m sorry… Prior today if I said that I could be discharged.”
More than 14,000 gay servicemembers were over the past 18 years since President Bill Clinton signed the policy into law.
The repeal meant a lot to servicemembers, such as former Air Force Major Mike Almy, who served for 12 years and then was forced out during his 4th tour of the Middle East while serving in Iraq. He is in the process of trying to reenlist.
"I still have quite a few friends in the military who are looking forward to this day. Some of them will come out some won't,” Almy told Fox News on the eve of the repeal. “I have a good friend named Todd. He is currently serving on active duty. Tomorrow he will not make a big announcement, but he is going to go to work and he will put a picture of his partner on his desk.”
Navy Lieutenant Gary Ross and his partner Dan Swezy were so eager to celebrate the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” they flew from their home in Arizona and got married shortly after midnight in Vermont.
The Marine Corps Times published this provocative cover story last week in anticipation of today's repeal: "We're Gay, Get Over It" read the headline. It was especially ironic since Marine leaders and Marines canvassed in combat were the most concerned about the repeal and had warned about the dangers that it would cause to those in combat units.
The Marines now appear to be the most eager to implement the letter of the law, according to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, who expressed pride in the decision today.
"It's the right thing to do. It's done. We need to move on,” Mullen said in his last Pentagon press conference. He retires in two weeks but it was his testimony on Capitol Hill that gave momentum to repeal the ban when he said that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” harmed the force’s integrity.
Today Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz tweeted:
"DADT was dishonorable and un-American, and we celebrate today as it officially becomes a relic of the past."
The President issued the following statement:
"As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love.
And the Obama 2012 Campaign highlighted the President's role in today's repeal in a 6 minute video posted on its website.
Under the pseudonym JB Smith, Lt Josh Seefried, published the magazine OutServe profiling gay servicemembers, which today will be made available on select Army and Air Force bases. He proudly announced he was gay and revealed his real identity at midnight.
Those who were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation can reenlist, but there is no guarantee their service will take them because recruiting is up now that the economy is bad.
Also left unresolved are benefits for same sex partners. They won't receive them because the military will not recognize those partnerships since the federal defense of marriage act remains the nation's law. Those partners won't be allowed to live on base while the service member is deployed and they won't have access to family support groups.
The Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator Carl Levin said he would ask the Pentagon to help those who were expelled for being gay.
“The first thing we're gonna do is talk to the military as to what steps we now need to take to undo some of the wrongs that have been perpetrated,” Levin said on Capitol Hill today. But so far the Pentagon does not plan to fast track the reenlistment of those who were discharged under the law.
Not everyone welcomed the changes at the Pentagon today.
"This is not a legitimate victory for anyone; it is being imposed on the armed forces to deliver on President Barack Obama's political promises to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) activist groups,” wrote Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, one of the principal advocacy groups fighting against repeal. “The high-powered campaign for gays in the military was fueled by sophistry, administration-coordinated deception, faux "research" from LGBT activists, and misuse of the military's own culture of obedience.”
But for the thousands of gay servicemembers who were forced to live a lie for so many years while they served the nation, today was historic.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/20/what-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-means-for-servicemembers/#ixzz1YY5EZdFD
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