Congressman Payne on Troy Davis Case: "Justice Denied"

Statement

Today, Congressman Donald M. Payne released the following statement on the Troy Davis Case:

"At 7pm tonight, Troy Davis, a man who has maintained for two decades that he did not kill a police officer, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Georgia. This is truly a sad day for Georgia and our country. How can we say justice has been served when witnesses have recanted their testimonies? When ballistics tests may have been flawed? When law enforcement officials like FBI Director William Sessions, Pope Benedict XVI, former President Jimmy Carter, conservatives, such as Rep. Bob Barr and death penalty supporters all reach the same conclusion: an execution of a potentially innocent man is wrong!

"As Mr. Davis' team continues to exhaust all avenues to save a life, I send my prayers and condolences to Troy Davis and his family. May they know that over one million people stood in solidarity to seeking the truth in this case, and that several Members of Congress remained diligent in demanding justice for Mr. Davis. To the family of police officer Mark McPhail, I send my prayers to his family, who suffered the loss due to the senseless act of violence. Both families tonight will have very different emotions, but what they share in common is that justice, as it should be applied, was denied.

"Our great country is full of many differing views as it relates to the death penalty. But more than the pursuit of punishment, we must stand as a nation that is more interested in the pursuit of truth."

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