5 October 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Mourners call for abolishing death penalty at funeral for Troy Davis in Georgia

originally by: Democracy Now!
published: 3rd October 2011

This weekend in Savannah, Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis was laid to rest. Davis was killed by lethal injection in Jackson, Georgia on Sept. 21 after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop his execution.

The 2,000-seat Jonesville Baptist Church was filled to capacity for his funeral. While his body was being lowered into the burial ground, 23 doves were released. The first was symbolic of his spirit, and the remaining 22 represented each year Davis spent in prison.

He was convicted of the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, and there was no physical evidence that tied Davis to the crime scene.

2 September 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Deal Frees ‘West Memphis Three’ in Arkansas US

originally by: NYTimes.com
published: 20th August 2011

After nearly two decades in prison for the murder of three young boys, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., commonly known as the West Memphis Three, stood up in a courtroom here on Friday, proclaimed their innocence even as they pleaded guilty, and, minutes later, walked out as free men.

The freeing of Mr. Echols, 36, was the highest-profile release of a death row inmate in recent memory. Mr. Baldwin, 34, and Mr. Misskelley, 36, had been serving life sentences.

In keeping with the tenor of this case since its first horrific hours, the circumstances of the release were bizarre, divisive and bewildering even to some of those who were directly involved.

11 February 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Jeremy Bamber loses attempt to appeal

originally by: The Guardian
11th February 2011

Jeremy Bamber, whose convictions for murdering five of his relatives more than 25 years ago will not be referred to the court of appeal. Jeremy Bamber, who has spent 24 years in jail convicted of murdering five members of his family, a crime he has always denied, has lost his latest attempt to prove his innocence.

A panel from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) ruled it would not refer Bamber’s case back to the court of appeal. His lawyers plan to appeal. It was a bitter blow for Bamber, now 50, and his supporters, who believed they had uncovered new evidence that showed flaws in the crown’s case.