Wrongly Convicted, Scott Davis’ Family Announces $350,000 Reward Fund Seeking Lost Evidence

In 2006, Scott Davis was wrongly convicted of the 1996 murder of David Coffin, Jr. He maintains his innocence and today his family and supporters are announcing a $350,000 reward fund for information in the case (conditions apply).
By: Mitch Leff
 
Dec. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Wrongly Convicted, Scott Davis’ Family and Supporters Announce $350,000 Reward Fund Seeking Evidence Lost Before His 2006 Murder Trial

Gun Expert Fired for Falsifying Evidence; Evidence Covered Up; Prosecutorial Misconduct

ATLANTA, December 18, 2009 – In 2006, Scott Davis was wrongly convicted of the 1996 murder of David Coffin, Jr.   In spite of purely circumstantial evidence, and with absolutely no eyewitness testimony or physical evidence, Davis was convicted.  He maintains his innocence and today his family and supporters are announcing a $350,000 reward fund for information in the case (conditions apply).

Vital evidence that could have exonerated Davis either disappeared before his trial, or was not provided to his defense team.  Supporters also point out that the GBI gun expert who tested some of the evidence in the case has been fired for falsifying evidence and that there is a strong pattern of misconduct by the Fulton County prosecutors.

A web site, http://freescottdavis.org, has been created where people can find information on his case, submit leads, provide information regarding the location of missing evidence or leads on other suspects.  The reward fund will pay up to $350,000 for information that leads to his full exoneration and freedom and proves his innocence. The family and supporters seek information on other suspects, missing evidence, or misconduct by prosecutors.  Information can also be called into (866) 474-1288 or (404) 474-1288.

In 1996, David Coffin, Jr. was murdered in his Buckhead home, which was set afire to hide evidence of the crime.  Scott Davis was initially arrested by police, but authorities found no evidence linking him to the murder and all charges were dropped.  But nine years later in 2005, Davis was re-arrested for the murder and charged.  After four days of jury deliberation, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in December 2006.

70 Pieces of Vital Evidence Missing
The reward is being offered now because of new evidence uncovered after Davis’ 2006 trial and during his ongoing investigation.  More than 70 pieces of crucial physical evidence disappeared without any acceptable explanation between 1997 and 2005.

“I am innocent of this crime,” says Davis.  “Dozens of pieces of vital evidence were supposedly safely stored by five different state agencies, but it all disappeared, some right before my indictment, when it would have become available to me in discovery.  We could have tested it then and found other suspects.”

In addition, the state’s chief gun expert, the person responsible for some of the evidence in the Davis case, Bernadette Davy of the GBI Crime Lab, has admitted to falsifying evidence and has been fired.  Davis’ supporters compare his situation to the case of accused Olympic Park bomber Richard Jewell, contending that as in that situation; police did not pursue other suspects and did not test physical evidence, in spite of many other leads.  Davis was attacked twice in his home on the day of Coffin’s murder, December 10, 1996.  They believe the attackers could be suspects.

Davis notes for example:  “New information found in our post-trial investigation told us the state had fingerprints from the crime scene, which were never run through the state’s automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) and more crime lab evidence in 2005, right up to the time of my indictment.”

Five state agencies, including the Atlanta Police Department, the Atlanta Fire Department, Dekalb Fire and Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Fulton County District Attorney’s office have lost evidence.

Davis maintains that various agencies withheld evidence that could have helped his case, and that there was significant prosecutorial misconduct in the case.  He and his supporters would like anyone who has had significant evidence lost in their case by these Georgia agencies to submit information concerning their losses, believing there may be a pattern of this misconduct.

Among the dozens of items of evidence lost by five police and fire departments were:
•   The alleged murder weapon
•   Crime scene fingerprints found in Dekalb County that were tested and found not to be Scott Davis’
•   Two shotguns, Blood samples, Gas cans

Anyone with information in the case can send leads via email at Reward@FreeScottDavis.org or through the web site at www.FreeScottDavis.org.
End
Source:Mitch Leff
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