GA - Troy Davis fails to prove his innocence to Supreme Court
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belimom
Speak the truth even if your voice shakes~M.Kuhn
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I apologize for so many posts in a row, but DH and I were discussing this case at length last night and again this morning. He reminded me that his parents' best friends - and their children - were brutally murdered on Christmas Eve, 1985. Despite a confession and admission to planning the murders well in advance, the initial death penalty sentence was later changed to LWOP, based on inadequate defense.
Someone who planned -- premeditated -- to murder and confessed was let off of the death penalty. Yet, someone who may be innocent and even if guilty it was not planned for months advance (most likely a gut reaction in a drug-induced or drunken state) - was put to death.
It sickens me the lack of fairness (consistency?) in our justice system. Hope this makes sense...
Beli
Someone who planned -- premeditated -- to murder and confessed was let off of the death penalty. Yet, someone who may be innocent and even if guilty it was not planned for months advance (most likely a gut reaction in a drug-induced or drunken state) - was put to death.
It sickens me the lack of fairness (consistency?) in our justice system. Hope this makes sense...
Beli
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Sadly, this case was not looked into as it should have been. After less than 3 hours sleep last night, I started digging and taking a closer look and it seems that witnesses against Davis started changing their statements and recanting as early as 1996. None of this just happened recently:
Informants:
Kevin McQueen
Affidavit, 5 December 1996
In September and October 1989, Kevin McQueen was detained in the same jail as Troy Davis. McQueen told the police that during this time Troy Davis had confessed to shooting Officer Mark McPhail. In his 1996 affidavit, he retracted this statement, saying that he had given it because he wanted to "get even" with Davis following a confrontation he said the two of them had allegedly had.
"The truth is that Troy never confessed to me or talked to me about the shooting of the police officer. I made up the confession from information I had heard on T.V. and from other inmates about the crimes. Troy did not tell me any of this… I have now realized what I did to Troy so I have decided to tell the truth… I need to set the record straight"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monty Holmes
Affidavit, 17 August 2001
Monty Holmes testified against Troy Davis in a preliminary pre-trial hearing, but did not testify at the trial, as he explains in an affidavit signed in August 2001:
"In August of 1989, the police came to talk to me about the officer who was killed in Savannah. They wanted to know if Troy Davis was involved in the shooting and whether he had said anything to me about being involved with the shooting… By the way the police were talking, I thought I was going to be in trouble. I told them I didn’t know anything about who shot the officer, but they kept questioning me. I was real young at that time and here they were questioning me about the murder of a police officer like I was in trouble or something. I was scared… t seemed like they wouldn’t stop questioning me until I told them what they wanted to hear. So I did. I signed a statement saying that Troy told me that he shot the cop."
When I had to go to court that first time, I felt like I had to say what was in that statement or I’d be in trouble, so that’s what I did. When it came to the trial though, I didn’t want to go because I knew that the truth was that Troy never told me anything about shooting [the police officer]. I heard the police were coming by to give me a subpoena for trial. I dodged the subpoena but they still left it with my mother. I still didn’t feel like I could walk in a court and say those things so I didn’t go to the trial".
Monty Holmes’ pre-trial testimony was admitted at the trial without cross-examination possible due to his absence. Article 14.3(e) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that any criminal defendant must be allowed, "in full equality", to be able "to examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him". While Monty Holmes knowingly avoided testifying at the trial, if his pre-trial testimony and his absence from the trial were influenced by coercive tactics allegedly employed by the police, the state played a role in undermining the right of Troy Davis to a fair trial.
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Jeffrey Sapp
Affidavit, 9 February 2003
Jeffrey Sapp testified that Troy Davis had told him that he had shot the officer in self-defence. In his affidavit, he stated:
"I remember when the officer got shot down at Burger King… The police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me to say, ‘Troy said this’ or ‘Troy said that’. They wanted me to tell them that Troy confessed to me about killing that officer. The thing is, Troy never told me anything about it. I got tired of them harassing me, and they made it clear that the only way they would leave me alone is if I told them what they wanted to hear. I told them that Troy told me he did it, but it wasn’t true. Troy never said that or anything like it. When it came time for Troy’s trial, the police made it clear to me that I needed to stick to my original statement; that is, what they wanted me to say. I didn’t want to have any more problems with the cops, so I testified against Troy".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eye Witnesses:
Dorothy Ferrell
Affidavit, 29 November 2000
At the trial, Dorothy Ferrell, who was staying at a hotel near the Burger King at the time of the crime, identified Troy Davis as the person who had shot Officer McPhail, emphasising "I’m real sure, that that is him and, you know, it’s not a mistaken identity".
After the guilt/innocence phase of the trial had ended, the wife of Troy Davis’ defence lawyer received a telephone call from a woman who identified herself as Dorothy Ferrell, and stated that she had lied on the witness stand. The prosecution then revealed that Dorothy Ferrell had written a letter to District Attorney Spencer Lawton requesting "a favour" and his "help" with her own difficulties with the law. She was on parole at the time. She wrote in the letter: "Mr Lawton if you would please help me, I promiseyou, you won’t be making a mistake" [emphasis in original].
After this revelation, Dorothy Ferrell was recalled to the witness stand, outside of the presence of the jury. She denied having made the telephone call, but admitted to having written the letter. The judge then offered the defence the opportunity to cross-examine Dorothy Ferrell in the presence of the jury, but they did not do so, instead calling for a mistrial on the grounds that the prosecution had withheld information from the defence. The trial judge denied their motion for a new trial.
In her affidavit signed in November 2000, Dorothy Ferrell recalled that she had been staying in a hotel opposite the Burger King restaurant on the night of the shooting. She said that she heard a woman scream and gunshots. In her affidavit, she recalls seeing "more than two guys running away", but states that she did not see who the gunman was. After the crime, she was asked to go down to the police station, where she was made to wait until she gave a statement. The affidavit continues:
"I was real tired because it was the middle of the night and I was pregnant too… I was scared that if I didn’t do what the police wanted me to do, then they would try to lock me up again. I was on parole at the time and I had just gotten home from being locked up earlier that year.
When the police were talking to me, it was like they wanted me to say I saw the shooting and to sign a statement. I wanted to be able to leave and so I just said what they wanted me to say. I thought that would be the end of it, but it turned out not to be the end."
Some time later, a police detective visited Dorothy Ferrell and showed her a photograph of Troy Davis, and told her that other witnesses had identified him as the gunman:
"From the way the officer was talking, he gave me the impression that I should say that Troy Davis was the one who shot the officer like the other witness [sic] had… I felt like I was just following the rest of the witnesses. I also felt like I had to cooperate with the officer because of my being on parole…I told the detective that Troy Davis was the shooter, even though the truth was that I didn’t see who shot the officer."
In her affidavit, Dorothy Ferrell recalls her fear that if she did not repeat her statement at the trial, she would be charged with perjury and "sent back to jail". She says that she spoke to two lawyers who said that she could be so charged and could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
"I had four children at that time, and I was taking care of them myself. I couldn’t go back to jail. I felt like I didn’t have any choice but to get up there and testify to what I said in my earlier statements. So that’s what I did."
On the question of the telephone call made to Troy Davis’ defence counsel at the time of the trial, Dorothy Ferrell’s affidavit adds that:
"I didn’t make that call to the house of the attorney but my friend made the call after she and I had talked. I told my friend about how I had testified to things that weren’t the truth and I was feeling bad about it. That’s why she made the call."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darrell "D.D." Collins
Affidavit, 11 July 2002
Darrell Collins was a friend of Troy Davis who was with him on the night of the crime. At the time, he was 16 years old. In his affidavit he said that the day after the shooting, 15 or 20 police officers came to his house, "a lot of them had their guns drawn". They took him in for questioning, and the affidavit continues:
"When I got to the barracks, the police put me in a small room and some detectives came in and started yelling at me, telling me that I knew that Troy Davis…killed that officer by the Burger King. I told them that… I didn’t see Troy do nothing. They got real mad when I said this and started getting in my face. They were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and that I would pay like Troy was gonna pay if I didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear. They told me that I would go to jail for a long time and I would be lucky if I ever got out, especially because a police officer got killed… I didn’t want to go to jail because I didn’t do nothing wrong. I was only sixteen and was so scared of going to jail. They kept saying that…[Troy] had messed with that man up at Burger King and killed that officer. I told them that it was Red and not Troy who was messing with that man, but they didn’t want to hear that…
After a couple of hours of the detectives yelling at me and threatening me, I finally broke down and told them what they wanted to hear. They would tell me things that they said had happened and I would repeat whatever they said."
Darrell Collins said that he signed a typed statement without reading it, and was then allowed to go home. According to his affidavit, he was questioned again about a week later by the police who gave him another typed statement to sign. He said he again signed the statement without reading it. The affidavit continues:
"I testified against Troy at his trial. I remember that I told the jury that Troy hit the man that Red was arguing with. That is not true. I never saw Troy do anything to the man. I said this at the trial because I was still scared that the police would throw me in jail for being an accessory to murder if I told the truth about what happened…
It is time that I told the truth about what happened that night, and what is written here is the truth. I am not proud for lying at Troy’s trial, but the police had me so messed up that I felt that’s all I could do or else I would go to jail."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Young
Affidavit, 11 October 2002
Larry Young was the homeless man who was accosted and then struck in the face, and whose shouts drew the attention of Officer McPhail. At the trial, he implicated Troy Davis as the man who had assaulted him, but only identifying him by his clothing. His affidavit, signed in 2002, offers further evidence of a coercive police investigation into the murder of their fellow officer, and states that he "couldn’t honestly remember what anyone looked like or what different people were wearing".
"After I was assaulted that night, I went into the bathroom at the bus station and tried to wash the blood off my face. I had a big gash on my face and there was blood everywhere. I was in a lot of pain. When I left the bathroom, some police officers grabbed me and threw me down on the hood of the police car and handcuffed me. They treated me like a criminal, like I was the one who killed the officer. Even though I was homeless at that time and drinking and drugging, I didn’t have nothing to do with killing the officer. I told the officers that, but they just locked me in the back of the police car for the next hour or so. I kept yelling that I needed to be treated but they didn’t pay me no mind. They then took me to the police station and interrogated me for three hours. I kept asking them to treat my head, but they wouldn’t.
They kept asking me what had happened at the bus station, and I kept telling them that I didn’t know. Everything happened so fast down there. I couldn’t honestly remember what anyone looked like or what different people were wearing. Plus, I had been drinking that day, so I just couldn’t tell who did what. The cops didn’t want to hear that and kept pressing me to give them answers. They made it clear that we weren’t leaving until I told them what they wanted to hear. They suggested answers and I would give them what they wanted. They put typed papers in my face and told me to sign them. I did sign them without reading them.
I never have been able to make sense of what happened that night. It’s as much a blur now as it was then."
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Antoine Williams
Affidavit, 12 October 2002
Antoine Williams, an employee of Burger King, had just driven into the restaurant’s car park at the time the shooting occurred. At the trial, he identified Troy Davis as the person who had shot Officer McPhail. In 2002 he stated that this was false, and that he had signed a statement for the police which he could not and did not read.
"I couldn’t really tell what was going on because I had the darkest shades of tint you could possibly have on my windows of my car. As soon as I heard the shot and saw the officer go down, I ducked down under the dash of my car. I was scared for my life and I didn’t want to get shot myself…
Later that night, some cops asked me what had happened. I told them what is written here [in the affidavit].They asked me to describe the shooter and what he looked like and what he was wearing. I kept telling them that I didn’t know. It was dark, my windows were tinted, and I was scared. It all happened so fast. Even today, I know that I could not honestly identify with any certainty who shot the officer that night. I couldn’t then either. After the officers talked to me, they gave me a statement and told me to sign it. I signed it. I did not read it because I cannot read.(41)
At Troy Davis’ trial, I identified him as the person who shot the officer. Even when I said that, I was totally unsure whether he was the person who shot the officer. I felt pressured to point at him because he was the one who was sitting in the courtroom. I have no idea what the person who shot the officer looks like."
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Daniel Kinsman
Affidavit, 15 October 2002
Daniel Kinsman was with other Air Force personnel in a van in the Burger King car park at the time of the crime. He was interviewed by police. He describes himself as having been "relatively close to the scene" of the shooting, but remains confident that he would "not have been able to make any identification of the shooter due to the poor lighting and the chaotic nature of the scene". In the affidavit, Daniel Kinsman recalls "two things that stand out to this day about what I witnessed at the Burger King". First, as he told the police, "there was and is no doubt in my mind that the person who shot the officer had the gun in and was shooting with his left hand." Second, the gun had a "shiny finish… not dull in any sense of the term." Troy Davis is right-handed.
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Robert Grizzard
Affidavit, 23 March 2003
In 1989, Robert Grizzard was a Sergeant in the US Air Force, and was in Savannah for a training exercise. He was in a van in the Burger King car park at the time of the shooting of Officer McPhail. In his affidavit, Robert Grizzard stated:
"I have reviewed the transcript of my testimony from the trial of Troy Davis… During my testimony I said that the person who shot the officer was wearing a light coloured shirt. The truth is that I don’t recall now and I didn’t recall then what the shooter was wearing, as I said in my initial statement [to the police].My testimony to the contrary was an honest mistake on my part… As I said in my statement given on that night, I do not and did not remember what the shooter was wearing."
It goes on and on if you want to read here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/...b6-11dd-a329-2f46302a8cc6/amr510232007en.html
I would assume that it would fall on the people of the state of Georgia. Despite their cries and protests, Troy Davis' death death certificate will say "homicide" and that homicide was carried out in their names.
ETA: Life in prison is fine with me until they can be certain that the right man is convicted. They are removed from society and can do no more harm. When you get the wrong man, you still have a murderer walking the street.
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Perhaps you should do more research into eye witness testimony.....
HRCODEPINK
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People who came out later with statements about Redd Coles:
Testimony implicating Sylvester Coles
Affidavits have been signed by a number of people who knew Sylvester Coles or saw him at or after the shooting.
Joseph Washington
Affidavit, 6 December 1996
Joseph Washington, who was 16 years old at the time of the crime, was at the party in Cloverdale. In his affidavit, he has stated that:
"Very soon after the shooting at the Cloverdale party I went to Fahm street right near the Burger King. This is where I saw Sylvester Coles I know him by the name Red shoot the police officer. I am positive that it was Red who shot the police officer Red was wearing a white shirt with a Batman print on the front of it.
This is the first time I have been asked about the shirt Red was wearing. I would have testified to this but I was not asked by the state or by Troys lawyers. At the time of the shooting and the trial I was very young. I did not want to testify because I knew my testimony was going to be on television. I had no idea that the shirt Red was wearing at that time was important because no one ever asked me.
I was very nervous when I testified I got confused by [the] questions."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonya Johnson
Affidavit, 6 December 1996
Tonya Johnson was living not far from the Burger King where Officer McPhail was shot. In her affidavit, she stated that she heard the shots and saw:
"Sylvester Coles we all called him Red and a guy named Terry coming down the street from the Burger King. When I saw Red and Terry they were both in a panic and very nervous. Red and Terry each had a gun with them at that time. Red asked me to hold the guns for him, which I refused to do. Red then took both guns next door to an empty house and put them inside the screen door and shut the door I have known Red all of my life. He used to live next door to me For most of my life I have been scared to death of him. In fact, he threatened me after this happened. He told me that he wanted to make sure that I did not tell the police about the guns he hid in the screen door that morning. This is why I did not testify about the guns at Troys trial because I was afraid of what Red would do to me if I did. I have not told anyone about this until now because I was still scared But I have decided that I must tell the truth."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony Hargrove
Affidavit, 8 August 2001
"I know a guy named Red, from Savannah. His real name is Sylvester Coles. Ive known Red for years and we used to hang out together. Red once told me that he shot a police officer and that a guy named Davis took the fall for it. He told me this about a year or so after the officer was killed We were smoking weed and talking. Red told me that hed had a close one once. I asked him what he meant. Red told me hed killed someone and another guy took the fall for it. I asked Red who he killed. Red said he killed a policeman and a guy named Troy took the fall for it I wasnt real surprised to hear that Red killed an officer Red was known to always carry a gun and he would use it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary Hargrove
Affidavit, 17 August 2001
Gary Hargrove did not testify at the trial. His affidavit stated that he was at the Burger King at the time of the crime. In the affidavit, he recalled:
"The guy who was running away looked like Troy Davis but I cant say for sure that it was him because he had his back to me as he was running away. They guy who was still standing there after the first shot was fired and when I heard the second shot was a guy whose nickname is Red I am sure that Red was facing in the officers direction when I heard the shooting. The guy who was running away had his back to where the officer was as the shots were going off.
I was never talked to by the police or any attorneys or investigators representing Troy Davis before his trial. I didnt go up to talk to the police that night because I was on parole at the time and was out past my curfew so I didnt want my parole officer to find out about that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shirley Riley
Affidavit, 18 August 2001
Shirley Riley was a friend of Sylvester Coles.
"People on the streets were talking about Sylvester Coles being involved with killing the police officer so one day I asked him if he was involved Sylvester told me he did shoot the officer "
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Darold Taylor
Affidavit, 20 August 2001
"In the mid-90s, I met a guy named Red in Yamacraw Village Red and I ended up becoming drinking kind of friends over the years I had heard from a lot of people in Yamacraw Village about an officer getting shot and killed at a Burger King back in 1989. Everybody who talked about that shooting in the Yamacraw area said that Red did the shooting and Red killed the officer. I remember reading in the paper once about how a guy named Troy Davis got sentenced to the electric chair One day when I was in the parking lot of Yamacraw drinking beers with Red. I told him about how Id heard that he was the one who killed the officer. Red told me to stay out of his business. I asked him again if he killed the officer and Red admitted to me that he was the one who killed the officer, but then Red told me again to stay out of his business."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April Hester Hutchinson
Affidavit, 9 July 2002
April Hester Hutchinson (formerly April Hester), who was 18 years old at the time, and her cousins had given the party in Cloverdale which preceded the shooting of Officer McPhail and at which Michael Cooper had been shot. She had previously signed an affidavit on 30 November 1995. In this earlier affidavit, she recalled that Sylvester "Red" Coles had been at the party. After the shooting at the party the police had arrived. While they were there, the news came through on their radios that an officer had been shot. The police left. April and her cousins drove to Yamacraw "to find out what happened": "I saw Red walking fast up the street at Yamacraw. He acted very nervous and upset."
In her subsequent July 2002 affidavit, she stated that her earlier affidavit had been correct but had not contained everything.
"As I walked back to my house, I saw my cousin Tonya [Johnson]talking to Red. I walked up to them. It was clear to me that Red was real nervous and was sweating profusely. He was fidgeting with his hands and could not keep still Red turned to me and asked me if I would walk with him up to the Burger King so they wont think that I had nothing to do with it. Thats exactly what he said
I told [the police]that I saw Red talking to my cousin Tonya and that Red was real nervous. I did not tell them about what Red had said to me because I was scared he would hurt me. I was thinking that if he did that to a police officer, what would he do to me? I didnt want to die like that officer, so I kept my mouth shut."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anita Saddler
Affidavit, 10 July 2002
Anita Saddler was with Tonya Johnson (see above) on the night of the shooting.
"When I saw Red and Terry, they were jumpy and couldnt stand still. Their eyes were shifting around and they were looking everywhere. They walked up to us and Red asked us to go up to Burger King and see what happened. Like I said, they were real nervous and fidgety. Red had a gun which was stuck into his shorts. I saw the outline of his gun through his white shirt. I had seen him with a gun many times before." .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peggie Grant
Affidavit, 11 July 2002
Peggie Grant is the mother of April Hester Hutchinson. She says that on the night of the shooting, she saw her daughter April with Red Coles, who was wearing a white T-shirt. She had shouted across to her daughter because "I knew Red from the neighbourhood and knew him to act crazy and violent, especially when he was drinking. I didnt want April hanging out with him". The affidavit recalls:
"A few hours later, April called me on the phone. She said she was back in Cloverdale. April didnt sound right she was nervous and scared. I could tell that by the sound of her voice. April told me she had been down at the old police barracks and that the police had questioned her about a shooting in Cloverdale and the police officers shooting. She told me that she had had a conversation with Red where he asked her to walk up with him to where the officer was shot so that the police would think that he was with her and not think he did anything. April also told me that after I had yelled at her, Red had given her a mean look and told her not to say anything to anyone about what he had said. She said she didnt know what to do and was scared about what Red might do to her if she told anybody."
Testimony implicating Sylvester Coles
Affidavits have been signed by a number of people who knew Sylvester Coles or saw him at or after the shooting.
Joseph Washington
Affidavit, 6 December 1996
Joseph Washington, who was 16 years old at the time of the crime, was at the party in Cloverdale. In his affidavit, he has stated that:
"Very soon after the shooting at the Cloverdale party I went to Fahm street right near the Burger King. This is where I saw Sylvester Coles I know him by the name Red shoot the police officer. I am positive that it was Red who shot the police officer Red was wearing a white shirt with a Batman print on the front of it.
This is the first time I have been asked about the shirt Red was wearing. I would have testified to this but I was not asked by the state or by Troys lawyers. At the time of the shooting and the trial I was very young. I did not want to testify because I knew my testimony was going to be on television. I had no idea that the shirt Red was wearing at that time was important because no one ever asked me.
I was very nervous when I testified I got confused by [the] questions."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonya Johnson
Affidavit, 6 December 1996
Tonya Johnson was living not far from the Burger King where Officer McPhail was shot. In her affidavit, she stated that she heard the shots and saw:
"Sylvester Coles we all called him Red and a guy named Terry coming down the street from the Burger King. When I saw Red and Terry they were both in a panic and very nervous. Red and Terry each had a gun with them at that time. Red asked me to hold the guns for him, which I refused to do. Red then took both guns next door to an empty house and put them inside the screen door and shut the door I have known Red all of my life. He used to live next door to me For most of my life I have been scared to death of him. In fact, he threatened me after this happened. He told me that he wanted to make sure that I did not tell the police about the guns he hid in the screen door that morning. This is why I did not testify about the guns at Troys trial because I was afraid of what Red would do to me if I did. I have not told anyone about this until now because I was still scared But I have decided that I must tell the truth."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony Hargrove
Affidavit, 8 August 2001
"I know a guy named Red, from Savannah. His real name is Sylvester Coles. Ive known Red for years and we used to hang out together. Red once told me that he shot a police officer and that a guy named Davis took the fall for it. He told me this about a year or so after the officer was killed We were smoking weed and talking. Red told me that hed had a close one once. I asked him what he meant. Red told me hed killed someone and another guy took the fall for it. I asked Red who he killed. Red said he killed a policeman and a guy named Troy took the fall for it I wasnt real surprised to hear that Red killed an officer Red was known to always carry a gun and he would use it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary Hargrove
Affidavit, 17 August 2001
Gary Hargrove did not testify at the trial. His affidavit stated that he was at the Burger King at the time of the crime. In the affidavit, he recalled:
"The guy who was running away looked like Troy Davis but I cant say for sure that it was him because he had his back to me as he was running away. They guy who was still standing there after the first shot was fired and when I heard the second shot was a guy whose nickname is Red I am sure that Red was facing in the officers direction when I heard the shooting. The guy who was running away had his back to where the officer was as the shots were going off.
I was never talked to by the police or any attorneys or investigators representing Troy Davis before his trial. I didnt go up to talk to the police that night because I was on parole at the time and was out past my curfew so I didnt want my parole officer to find out about that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shirley Riley
Affidavit, 18 August 2001
Shirley Riley was a friend of Sylvester Coles.
"People on the streets were talking about Sylvester Coles being involved with killing the police officer so one day I asked him if he was involved Sylvester told me he did shoot the officer "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darold Taylor
Affidavit, 20 August 2001
"In the mid-90s, I met a guy named Red in Yamacraw Village Red and I ended up becoming drinking kind of friends over the years I had heard from a lot of people in Yamacraw Village about an officer getting shot and killed at a Burger King back in 1989. Everybody who talked about that shooting in the Yamacraw area said that Red did the shooting and Red killed the officer. I remember reading in the paper once about how a guy named Troy Davis got sentenced to the electric chair One day when I was in the parking lot of Yamacraw drinking beers with Red. I told him about how Id heard that he was the one who killed the officer. Red told me to stay out of his business. I asked him again if he killed the officer and Red admitted to me that he was the one who killed the officer, but then Red told me again to stay out of his business."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April Hester Hutchinson
Affidavit, 9 July 2002
April Hester Hutchinson (formerly April Hester), who was 18 years old at the time, and her cousins had given the party in Cloverdale which preceded the shooting of Officer McPhail and at which Michael Cooper had been shot. She had previously signed an affidavit on 30 November 1995. In this earlier affidavit, she recalled that Sylvester "Red" Coles had been at the party. After the shooting at the party the police had arrived. While they were there, the news came through on their radios that an officer had been shot. The police left. April and her cousins drove to Yamacraw "to find out what happened": "I saw Red walking fast up the street at Yamacraw. He acted very nervous and upset."
In her subsequent July 2002 affidavit, she stated that her earlier affidavit had been correct but had not contained everything.
"As I walked back to my house, I saw my cousin Tonya [Johnson]talking to Red. I walked up to them. It was clear to me that Red was real nervous and was sweating profusely. He was fidgeting with his hands and could not keep still Red turned to me and asked me if I would walk with him up to the Burger King so they wont think that I had nothing to do with it. Thats exactly what he said
I told [the police]that I saw Red talking to my cousin Tonya and that Red was real nervous. I did not tell them about what Red had said to me because I was scared he would hurt me. I was thinking that if he did that to a police officer, what would he do to me? I didnt want to die like that officer, so I kept my mouth shut."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anita Saddler
Affidavit, 10 July 2002
Anita Saddler was with Tonya Johnson (see above) on the night of the shooting.
"When I saw Red and Terry, they were jumpy and couldnt stand still. Their eyes were shifting around and they were looking everywhere. They walked up to us and Red asked us to go up to Burger King and see what happened. Like I said, they were real nervous and fidgety. Red had a gun which was stuck into his shorts. I saw the outline of his gun through his white shirt. I had seen him with a gun many times before." .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peggie Grant
Affidavit, 11 July 2002
Peggie Grant is the mother of April Hester Hutchinson. She says that on the night of the shooting, she saw her daughter April with Red Coles, who was wearing a white T-shirt. She had shouted across to her daughter because "I knew Red from the neighbourhood and knew him to act crazy and violent, especially when he was drinking. I didnt want April hanging out with him". The affidavit recalls:
"A few hours later, April called me on the phone. She said she was back in Cloverdale. April didnt sound right she was nervous and scared. I could tell that by the sound of her voice. April told me she had been down at the old police barracks and that the police had questioned her about a shooting in Cloverdale and the police officers shooting. She told me that she had had a conversation with Red where he asked her to walk up with him to where the officer was shot so that the police would think that he was with her and not think he did anything. April also told me that after I had yelled at her, Red had given her a mean look and told her not to say anything to anyone about what he had said. She said she didnt know what to do and was scared about what Red might do to her if she told anybody."
alwaysonmymind
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~Mark Allen MacPhail~
R.I.P
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Shecky
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"What then is capital punishment but the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal's deed, however calculated it may be, can be compared. For there to be an equivalence, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal, who had warned his victim of the date at which he would inflict a horrible death on him, and who from that moment onward had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not encountered in private life." - Albert Camus "Reflections on the Guillotine" 1957.
Kaybug
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I have always liked Camus' writing. The death penalty is the most cruel and unusual punishment of all.
I don't know if this man is guilty or not. I will say this though, if he is innocent, may God have mercy on us. If he is guilty, may God have mercy on him and us.
Jacie Estes
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Wonder where Red and Terry are now. It would be interesting to see what their later years were like.
It's sad that the community failed Troy Davis; they were either afraid of Red or had legal issues that made them 'afraid' to talk to police.
HRCODEPINK
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I am curious if Terry were the last witness against Troy who didn't recant. Since it has been cleared up that only 2/9 did not, and one of those two was Red. I had nightmares last night about them together partying and toasting last nights execution.
I don't know that Red committed this crime just as much as I don't know that Troy did, but I sure wish that there had at least been an investigation.
HRCODEPINK
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That is exactly how I feel about it. I was sitting here telling my mom last night how cruel it seemed that he knew when he was going to die and that there would be no chance for him to save himself, or defend himself, strapped to a gurney and with his murder being carried out with the power and the strength of the state behind it. And I thought of his poor family, who were allowed to spend time with him on his final day and would have to look their relative in the face and tell him their last goodbye, knowing that he would be dead later that night despite being completely healthy.
Jacie Estes
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I'm wondering if Red was a police informant and they didn't want to lose him, perhaps they were in the midst of a big investigation, and so Troy took the fall.
Jacie Estes
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Just the fact that there was a delay from 7p to 11:08p is cruel and unusual; SCOTUS can't possibly be that ineffective that they would have to take that long. It was said that he was on the gurney all that time; if this is true I hope his family sues the state of Georgia and the prison.
Isabelle
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Kind of sound to me like the killer is still walking around and the wrong person was executed. This is a case of a cop killed and pressure to solve the case and execute a convict, simply. This way it looks like every one connected to solving the case and executing the convict are heroes! This is just sickening.
Do you think the US Supreme Court had this information on recanted testimony? I don't think they had all the information.
Do you think the US Supreme Court had this information on recanted testimony? I don't think they had all the information.
HRCODEPINK
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This is a very good question. Everything that I have read about Red has led me to believe that he was not a good guy. Very far from model citizen, yet I can find no criminal record on him anywhere in the state of GA.
HRCODEPINK
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It would depend on whether the lower courts had looked at it and if his time to turn in new evidence had not passed. The SCOTUS is not supposed to take into consideration anything that the original trial court and the lowers courts have not yet reviewed. They may have been provided with it, but once the original court loses jurisdiction, they may be barred from looking at it. That is why the 21-day rule is so dangerous and such a big deal in VA. Most states have a time limit, but VA's is the shortest in the nation.