Despite serious doubts that he murdered off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in 1989, Troy Davis is facing execution in Georgia on July 17. Davis was convicted mainly on the basis of eyewitness testimony. Since then, seven of the nine key witnesses against him have recanted or changed their statements. Three of those witnesses have filed sworn statements alleging that Sylvester “Red” Coles, another key prosecution witness, had confessed to killing MacPhail. Davis’ defense attorneys claim that the refusal of federal courts to consider their client’s possible innocence illustrates problems with the 1996 Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA).

“Both [AEDPA] as well as the federal habeas process rely too heavily on DNA evidence to exonerate the wrongfully convicted without safeguards for those who have non-DNA evidence that proves their [innocence],” said Jason Ewart, an attorney representing Davis. AEDPA is a federal law that requires inmates seeking federal relief to demonstrate that there was good reason why new evidence of innocence was not introduced during state appeals. In Davis’ case, his defense attorneys have stated that the legal center representing him at the time of his state appeals lost more than half its funding from Congress, making it impossible for them to represent their client effectively.

Some members of Congress are rethinking the wisdom of AEDPA. “The rules regarding new evidence are more restrictive than common sense says [they] should be,” notes Representative Artur Davis of Alabama. Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia agreed, stating that it might be time for Congress to reexamine the legislation and its limitations. A number of organizations working on Davis’ behalf have called for a commutation of his sentence.
(The Hill, July 2, 2007). See Innocence. See also, Upcoming Executions.