Another stay

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Friday halted Troy Anthony Davis� execution, the third time his life has been spared shortly before he was to be put to death.

. . .

The judges called the stay �conditional� and said they want to hear more from Davis� lawyers and state attorneys. Davis must clear two difficult legal hurdles to win new appeals.

First, he must show that his lawyers could not have previously found the new evidence supporting his innocence no matter how diligently they looked for it. And he must show that the new testimony, viewed in light of all the evidence, is enough to prove �by clear and convincing evidence that � no reasonable fact finder would have found [him] guilty.�

The 11th Circuit added a twist. It asked the parties to address whether Davis can still be executed if he can establish innocence under the second standard but cannot satisfy his burden under the first, due-diligence question.

The court gave Davis� lawyers 15 days to file their legal brief and state attorneys another 10 days to respond.

In July 2007, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a stay less than 24 hours before Davis was to be put to death. Last month, the Supreme Court halted Davis� execution with less than two hours to spare.

This whole process strikes me as cruel in the extreme. So many last-minute stays are torture for all concerned, and the article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes the emotional toil for the families of the condemned and of the murdered policeman. I can understand why those who are trying to save Troy Davis fight on. I can’t understand why the courts can’t simply give the man another trial. Such an action would save souls and public and spiritual resources.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a child. I’ve always thought that would be the greatest sorrow life could bring. But the law should not be used as an instrument of revenge.

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Meanwhle, the Bush Administration continues to assert that it can choose which laws to obey and which to ignore. No head of any state should be above the law.

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