The death penalty: Reasonable doubt

"Troubling questions surround a capital case in GeorgiaIN 1989 Troy Davis and two friends were hanging out in Savannah, Georgia. They saw a homeless man leaving a shop and started to bully him. An off-duty policeman heard the commotion and intervened; he was shot and killed. Though no gun was found, the state produced nine witnesses who said that Mr Davis was the culprit. He was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death in 1991. It seemed a straightforward case. Americans particularly revile cop-killers and here was a parade of people saying that Mr Davis had shot a policeman. But after the trial, no fewer than seven of the nine recanted. Several of them said they had felt subjected to pressure by the police. Others thought someone else was the killer. The homeless man said he could not remember, and anyway he had been drinking. ..." (2008-11-27)

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