Troy Anthony Davis has been on death row in Georgia for more than 15 years for the murder
of a police officer he maintains he did not commit. Given that all but three of the witnesses
who testified against Troy Davis at his trial have since recanted or contradicted their
testimony amidst allegations that some of it had been made under police duress, there are
serious and as yet unanswered questions surrounding the reliability of his conviction and the
state’s conduct in obtaining it. As the case currently stands, the government’s pursuit of the
death penalty contravenes international safeguards which prohibit the execution of anyone
whose guilt is not based on “clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative
explanation of the facts”.