On August 17, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a lower court judge to hear new evidence in a death penalty appeal called In re Troy Davis, 08-1443. The case, from Georgia, concerns whether actual innocence is enough to stop capital punishment from being carried out, when the prisoner had lost his or her previous appeals. The Court on August 17 also agreed to accept the amicus curiae brief of Bob Barr. Normally the Court doesn’t need to decide whether to accept amici briefs, because both sides waive any objections. However, in this case, the state of Georgia had refused to waive its objections to Barr’s brief, so the Court had to decide whether to accept it. Barr argues on the side of the prisoner, Troy Davis.
The Court’s vote on whether to accept the case was 6-2. Justice Sotomayor did not participate and Justices Scalia and Thomas were in the minority. The only other amicus submitted in the case is from the NAACP, and both sides had agreed to accept that brief.
…phenomenal and critically important not simply vis-a-vis Troy Anthony Davis’ claims of innocence but also for a plethora of other cases involving individuals both in federal and in state prisons who, although residing under sentences of death, may not only be innocent but whose claims have been for technical reasons barred….a decision by the SCOTUS in Troy Anthony Davis’s case will widely resonate….in peace….
How many *innocent* folks have been killed by governments due to intentional government officer LIES (i.e. lying cops, planted evidence, etc.) or negligent government evidence (BAD lab tests, etc.) in addition to standard private person errors — faulty witness I.D., etc. ???
A general reason to abolish the death penalty AND have the pardon power in the courts — and NOT in party hack Prezs and State Guvs.
In the bad old days, felons were generally caught in the act and tried very quickly.
Arrest – trial – hanging, if convicted — many times in less than a week.
J/C, what was Barr’s argument, and why did Georgia object?
…Bob Barr’s position, articulated at length in an op-ed submission as follows:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/opinion/01barr.html?_r=1
is predicated on a factual assertion – that is, that Mr. Davis’ claims of innocence have not been heard in court and that unless and until they are, his constitutional rights will not have been protected and justice will not have been served…Mr. Barr recommends that Mr. Davis’ case be remanded to a federal district court….that is in essence what has occurred….
…for more information, please log on to http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/hearing-on-innocence-claim-ordered/….
…thank you….
…kjbandell@yahoo.com….
This is why I don’t believe in capital punishment even though I think people should be put to death for certain crimes. The government is simply incapable of administrating justice effectively in these situations, and people’s lives shouldn’t hang in the balance.