Savannahians divided on Davis case, but seek closure

By Katie Leslie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SAVANNAH -- Troy Davis’ impending death has drawn impassioned protesters to the streets from Hong Kong to Paris, but in Savannah, the city where, for decades, almost everyone has known Davis' story, people are largely eager to move on.

“It’s fresh around the world, but it’s old news to us,” said Paige Brown, manager of the Crystal Beer Parlor, a Prohibition-era restaurant known for its burgers and crab stew.

Some regular patrons still talk about the murder of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail, she said, offering mixed opinions on Davis' guilt and his fate. But all seem weary of the headlines.

“About half are interested and the other half are over it and just want to turn on the game,” she said. “Everybody’s more upset about Casey Anthony.”

Former state legislator Tom Bordeaux said the Davis case hasn’t received the same level of attention as other, more notorious Savannah crime stories, such as the case of prominent antiques dealer and acquitted murderer Jim Williams or an incident in which four Army Rangers beat to death a gay businessman.

“It’s not like Jim Williams and ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,’” said Bordeaux, a Savannah attorney. For one thing, the titillating Williams case begot a best-selling book, which begot a thriving sub-culture within Savannah's tourist trade.

The killing of the white officer, which was laid at the feet of the troubled black youth,  “was a terrible murder," Bordeaux said, "but that sort of wrapped it up for us. It was over and done with, and it wasn’t until years later that there was any controversy.”

Marc Friday, who as the general manager of Planters Inn is heavily involved in tourism efforts, said that, in those circles, few talk about the Davis case.

“It’s been a non-issue,” he said. “Unless something like this affects business, people are less apt to one, get involved, and two, pay attention.”

Another prominent Savannah business leader, who declined to be quoted by name in connection with a story that’s bad for business, echoed Friday’s sentiment.

“Very rarely do you come across a topic like this, where there’s no upside to talking about it,” he said.

Some Savannahians have held quiet rallies in support of Davis. On Monday, a group gathered outside the Chatham County Courthouse asking the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to grant clemency, which the board ultimately denied.

Some who now doubt his guilt say it was the clamor from far away that shook their confidence in the justice of his sentence.

Friday, whose family is involved with law enforcement, said for years he accepted the outcome of the trial. Now he has second thoughts.

“It’s become too messy for it to be clean,” he said. “If there’s this much controversy, something is not right somewhere.”

Savannah chef Sky Hoyt shares his concerns. Recent coverage prompted her to read more about the Davis case, she said, and left her with doubts. She wants justice for the MacPhail family, she said, but Davis shouldn't die without "absolute proof."

She believes his execution will cast a pall over the city and beyond.

“It reflects poorly on the justice system in general. Not just Savannah, but Georgia as well," she said.

The Davis story also raises inevitable questions about racial tension in a city long known to have a tenuous relationship between the white and black communities.

Tony Washington, an African-American businessman, said he doesn't believe opinions in the case split along racial lines.

"Usually there is a racial divide, but on this one there is not," Washington said. "And that's odd."

But for dessert chef Carlos Blount, the tension is palpable. Blount, who is African-American, believes Davis' execution could spark a backlash in the city.

Emily Colson, a white native Savannahian and a family law attorney, said she also believes the case hits a nerve. Colson, a former teacher, said her students, who were predominantly African-American, asked her about the Davis case in recent years.

“I’m sure nobody wants to hear the story that in Savannah it’s divided on racial lines, but it is,” she said. “[My students] felt like nobody cared about it and nobody was listening.”

Vincent Maddox, who moved to Savannah from Atlanta about eight months ago and works as a bouncer, said while the African-American community here is heavily engaged in the Davis story, opinions on the case vary widely. He doesn’t believe Davis’ execution will prompt any backlash.

“I believe it will just be a case they lost.”

Friday said that, regardless of Davis' guilt, he feels some compassion for the stress Davis must have experienced each time he faced execution. Today marks the fourth time he has been scheduled to die.

“Can you imagine what that would do to your nervous system?” Friday wondered. “That’s punishment enough for me, and I’m not even a liberal.”