Troy Davis case treads new legal ground

By Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A federal judge in Savannah has directed parties in the Troy Davis death-penalty case to give him their positions as to whether a “free-standing actual innocence claim” is recognized by the U.S. Constitution.

In a three-page order issued late Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. said he is following instructions from the nation’s highest court.

In an extraordinary decision issued Aug. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court said Davis should be granted an evidentiary hearing on his innocence claims.

The high court said a judge should determine whether testimony that could not have been obtained at Davis’ 1991 trial “clearly establishes” his innocence in the shooting death of off-duty Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since Davis’ trial, seven of nine key prosecution witnesses have recanted their testimony against him.

Moore, who was assigned the case, ordered state attorneys to submit their legal briefs to him in 45 days. He gave Davis’ lawyers another 45 days to respond. This would mean Davis’ evidentiary hearing would not be convened until November at the earliest.

Moore noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has never determined that an innocence claim such as the one raised by Davis is recognized by the Constitution. The high court also has not determined the burden of proof to be allowed in such a case, Moore said, asking the parties to give him their positions on both issues.

Davis’ innocence claims have attracted international attention and support. Pope Benedict XVI and former President Jimmy Carter are among those who have said Davis should not be put to death. Chatham County prosecutors who tried the case say that Davis is the real killer and that his execution should be carried out.