For the fourth time, the state of Georgia has set an execution date for Troy Davis, ordering that his death sentence be carried out Sept. 21. Davis, a Black factory worker, was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989.
His case stands as a clear example of the racist nature of both the U.S. legal system and the death penalty. A mountain of evidence casts doubt on the court’s verdict that has been ignored by Georgia authorities.
Absolutely no physical evidence has been found that implicates Davis in the killing. Similarly, no murder weapon has ever been found, exposing yet another major gap in the prosecution’s case.
Of the nine witnesses, seven have recanted or altered their version of events. Five have signed statements saying they were coerced by police to testify against Davis, a common element of many racist “legal lynchings” targeting working-class people of color. Three witnesses also said that another man, Redd Coles, confessed to them that he killed the police officer.
In light of this evidence and a major public campaign in support of Davis, the execution date has been postponed on three occasions. The death penalty was first scheduled to be carried out on July 17, 2007. A last-minute stay of execution was granted, and the second date was postponed pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
A third date was set in 2008 after the court outrageously refused to consider Davis’s petition. Further legal appeals won Davis yet another stay of execution. This March the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal focusing on the clear bias against Davis exhibited by the 11th Circuit appeals panel.
This decision allowed the state of Georgia to set the most recent execution date. Despite massive public opposition, authorities remain intent on carrying out a legally sanctioned murder on Sept. 21.
Although theoretically independent and impartial, the criminal “justice” system is in fact an entirely politically driven institution and just as vulnerable to a mass movement as any other arm of the capitalist state. Legal maneuvering coupled with public pressure have been enough in the past to save Davis’s life, but it appears that he is running out of options. An even more intense struggle is urgently needed to prevent the execution of an innocent man and to strike a blow against the racist, anti-worker death penalty.
