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| Supreme Court orders new hearing for Georgia death row inmate |
| By latimes.com |
| Published: 08/18/2009 |
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The surprising move may indicate that the federal justice system is moving away from its conservative position on death penalty appeals. Reporting from Atlanta - In a surprising move that could indicate a more liberal stance toward death penalty appeals, the Supreme Court on Monday granted a new day in court for a Georgia death row inmate whose two-decade legal saga gained international attention after seven trial witnesses recanted their testimony against him. The court's order was the first of its kind in nearly 50 years. The recantations have helped Troy Anthony Davis, 40, earn powerful allies in the court of public opinion, including Pope Benedict XVI and President Carter. Davis' attorney considered the petition a long shot, but the Supreme Court instructed a federal district court to hold a hearing to determine whether Davis' innocence could be established by evidence that wasn't available in his 1991 state trial. "The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary hearing," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in concurring with the order. Amnesty International and other groups against the death penalty hailed the action. But Davis' sister, Martina Correia, said she was "more shocked than elated" by the news. "Lawyers are kind of like doctors -- they've got to give you the gloom and doom first," said Correia in a phone interview. "But if I'd felt that way, I couldn't have kept fighting for this for so long," she added. Read More. |
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