Posted on 09/21/2011 7:32:47 PM PDT by Steelfish
Is it just me or is that ironic...?
Are you one of those "schmucks" that believes anything you hear on the news? Try reading the case:
For pages 1-62:
http://www.gasd.uscourts.gov/pdf/409cv00130_92part1.pdf
For pages 63-174:
http://www.gasd.uscourts.gov/pdf/409cv00130_92part2.pdf
Do you have a name? ANY evidence of your claim? Or are we to believe you have psychic knowledge? Or are you simply saying the odds are in your favour because we are human and make mistakes?
In any case the jokes on you. You make a "patently absurd" statement and expect everyone to simply believe you? Back it up my friend.
SCOTUS ping.
(Anyone on/off, freepmail me.)
You don’t know all the detials. Do a little research on FR. The guy was guilty as hell and hell is where he is at.
All I said was that I found so many witnesses to have recanted to be troubling.I never heard of a case where that happened.I do think he was guilty,the Air Force guys who testified would be enough for any juror.
The bulk of the eyewitness testimony established the following:
Two tall, young black men were harassing a vagrant in the Burger King parking lot, one in a yellow shirt and the other in a white Batman shirt. The one in the white shirt used a brown revolver to pistol-whip the vagrant. When a cop yelled at them to stop, the man in the white shirt ran, then wheeled around and shot the cop, walked over to his body and shot him again, smiling.
Some eyewitnesses described the shooter as wearing a white shirt, some said it was a white shirt with writing, and some identified it specifically as a white Batman shirt. Not one witness said the man in the yellow shirt pistol-whipped the vagrant or shot the cop.
Several of Davis’ friends testified — without recantation — that he was the one in a white shirt. Several eyewitnesses, both acquaintances and strangers, specifically identified Davis as the one who shot Officer MacPhail.
Now the media claim that seven of the nine witnesses against Davis at trial have recanted.
First of all, the state presented 34 witnesses against Davis — not nine — which should give you some idea of how punctilious the media are about their facts in death penalty cases.
Among the witnesses who did not recant a word of their testimony against Davis were three members of the Air Force, who saw the shooting from their van in the Burger King drive-in lane. The airman who saw events clearly enough to positively identify Davis as the shooter explained on cross-examination, “You don’t forget someone that stands over and shoots someone.”
Recanted testimony is the least believable evidence since it proves only that defense lawyers managed to pressure some witnesses to alter their testimony, conveniently after the trial has ended. Even criminal lobbyist Justice William Brennan ridiculed post-trial recantations.
Three recantations were from friends of Davis, making minor or completely unbelievable modifications to their trial testimony. For example, one said he was no longer sure he saw Davis shoot the cop, even though he was five feet away at the time. His remaining testimony still implicated Davis.
One alleged recantation, from the vagrant’s girlfriend (since deceased), wasn’t a recantation at all, but rather reiterated all relevant parts of her trial testimony, which included a direct identification of Davis as the shooter.
Only two of the seven alleged “recantations” (out of 34 witnesses) actually recanted anything of value — and those two affidavits were discounted by the court because Davis refused to allow the affiants to testify at the post-trial evidentiary hearing, even though one was seated right outside the courtroom, waiting to appear.
The court specifically warned Davis that his refusal to call his only two genuinely recanting witnesses would make their affidavits worthless. But Davis still refused to call them — suggesting, as the court said, that their lawyer-drafted affidavits would not have held up under cross-examination.
With death penalty opponents so fixated on Davis’ race — he’s black — it ought to be noted that all the above witnesses are themselves African-American. The first man Davis shot in the car that night was African-American.
Whatever happened to looking for the day when a man was not judged by the color of his skin but the content of his character?
you posted, “All I said was that I found so many witnesses to have recanted to be troubling”
now that you have read credible accounts do you realize “ so many “ did NOT recant?
Condolences
“Or are you simply saying the odds are in your favour because we are human and make mistakes?”
Yeah, pretty much. I don’t have to prove anything. I’m simply making an assertion. I believe that the death penalty should only be used in heinous crimes with absolutely ironclad proof.
If you think no one - NOT ONE PERSON - in the past 60 YEARS has been wrongly executed then go ahead stick your head in the sand and believe that. As for providing a name why waste my time? Ask some law expert - I’m sure they’ll come up with names for you.
Rest easy, sir, as there were only 2 recantations, the other 5 changed their stories a bit but still said Davis did it. The 2 who did recant refused to take the stand to defend their changed affidavits. IOW, the defense lawyer knew they couldn’t stand up to scrutiny. There were 34 eye witnesses all together. The guy WAS GUILTY, and smiled as he shot the cop in the head at point blank range after already shooting him in the chest. All the cop did was ask him to quick pistol whipping the vagrant.
You get to come up with a name because you made the assertion. What you have is a speculation, nothing more. Possible? Sure. Likely? Maybe. Certain? No way to tell.
this execution is driving the libs crazy but they kill babies like it is no big deal
I couldn't agree more. You can probably change 'likely' from 'maybe' to 99.97%.
I support capital punishment in heinous murders but with the stipulation of absolutely ironclad evidence (i.e., it cannot be based only on circumstantial or testimonial evidence). I admit in my worldview there would probably not be that many executions but I can accept that. What I cannot accept and never will accept is an innocent being executed by the state for a crime he didn't commit.
So no I cannot give you a name of an innocent executed in the last 60 years but I can give you plenty of names of innocents convicted in the last 60 years and later set free. Given how many there were and still are it's not a stretch to imagine more than a couple of those less fortunate being wrongly deprived of their lives in the process. Get a clue.
I will agree with you that I have always been concerned about it. Humans are fallible, sinful, and often corrupt. Death is final without any muligans. So I think we should be very seriously careful. I even believe that there should be a higher standard proof. I’m not sure what ironclad would look like but maybe we agree. We should be as certain as possible. I think we reached that level of certainty with Davis. At least I do after I read the federal court analysis of the evidence/testimony.
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