Dear Mr LeBaron,

I write on behalf of the ‘All Party Parliamentary Group for the Abolition of the Death Penalty’, a collection of 82 cross party United Kingdom parliamentarians, who have sincere concerns regarding the case of Troy Anthony Davis. We urge you to do all in your power to call for Mr Davis’ death sentence to be commuted.

Mr Davis has been on death row in Georgia for nearly 18 years for a murder which to this day he maintains he did not commit. As you will no doubt be aware, Mr Davis’ conviction was not based on physical evidence and no murder weapon was ever found. Instead, his conviction was based on witness testimony.

Since his trial, seven of the state’s nine non-police witnesses have recanted or changed their testimony, with a number citing police coercion or suggestive techniques. One witness signed a police statement declaring that Davis was the assailant then later said "I did not read it because I cannot read."  In another case a witness stated that the police "were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and 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 was only sixteen and was so scared of going to jail." There are also several witnesses who have implicated another man as the murderer.  

The courts, citing procedural rules, have so far refused to hold an evidentiary hearing to examine the testimony of these witnesses. In April 2009, a federal judge said that to execute Troy Davis under such circumstances would be “unconscionable and unconstitutional”. Earlier, three Justices on the Georgia Supreme Court dissented from the court’s refusal to rule in favour of Troy Davis, despite the fact that “nearly every witness who identified Davis as the shooter at trial has now disclaimed his or her ability to do so reliably”.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency to Troy Davis in September 2008, and it is feared that they will not reconsider that decision without substantial public and political pressure. In the courts, his final hope rests with the US Supreme Court. A habeas corpus petition is being filed in the Court on 19 May 2009.  The Supreme Court, however, takes only a small number of cases that come before it.

The All Party Parliamentary Group are extremely concerned that Troy Davis faces execution when serious doubts remain about his guilt. We believe that his execution will not only be an unconscionable act, but will undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system in Georgia and the USA more widely.

The group is only too aware of the possibility of error in capital cases. Since 1973, for example, more than 130 individuals have been released from death rows across the USA on the grounds of innocence.

The group representing 82 UK Parliamentarians, respectfully urge you  to use your influence to push for an immediate commutation of  the death sentence of Troy Anthony Davis.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Abolition of the Death Penalty opposes the death penalty unconditionally and in all circumstances.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding action taken on this case.



Yours Sincerely