Posters have been claiming that Troy Davis should not have been executed because reasonable doubt existed about his guilt. Most of those posters have no basis whatsoever for this conclusion and have advanced no arguments or evidence suggesting reasonable doubt about the guilt of Troy Davis existed.
Troy Davis was found guilty by a jury of twelve of his peers in Georgia. Unlike the overwhelming majority of those who now maintain that Troy Davis was not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, these jurors were presented with both all of the evidence supporting the charges against Troy Davis and the defense that Troy Davis had against those charges. Judges affirmed the conviction of Troy Davis and concluded that the decision of the jurors was not legally wrong. Unlike the vast majority of those posters who claim otherwise, those judges reviewed trial transcripts, affidavits and the decisions of other judges considering the case.
A few posters claim that given the unreliability of eyewitness testimony, the absence of corroborating physical evidence alone gives rise to reasonable doubt. This, however, is not an argument about the guilt of Troy Davis but about the standards our judicial system should apply. It has no bearing on the guilt of Mr. Davis or the existence of reasonable doubt as to that guilt.
Other posters claim that subsequent events, most usually the alleged recantation of seven of nine witnesses against Troy Davis, raise reasonable doubts as to his guilt. The facts don't seem as clear as this argument makes out; but even if correct, this argument does not raise a reasonable doubt as to the guilt of Troy Davis.
Read More