• Prosecuting offices’ immunity tested
• Prosecutors’ conduct can tip the scales
• Justices question DA’s liability for misconduct
• Federal prosecutors too often work above the law
• Our view on legal system: When prosecutors go astray, justice takes a beating

]]> http://freescottdavis.org/blog/posts/usa-today-special-report-misconduct-in-the-justice-department/feed/ 26 http://freescottdavis.org/blog/case-news/phone-records/ http://freescottdavis.org/blog/case-news/phone-records/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:59:50 +0000 Administrator http://freescottdavis.org/blog/?p=294 We need the local phone call records for two phone numbers: Megan Bruton (formerly Megan Davis) made calls to her friends, the Jenacovas, from the home of Coffin’s next-door neighbor, Gisela Limberger, around midnight on 12/10/96 or early morning on 12/11/96. If we can obtain the records for these phones, we can prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Megan told the Jenacovas that Coffin was “shot in the head” before she ever spoke to Scott. This is crucial information! The Jenacovas’ phone number was (770) 642-1970. Coffin’s next-door neighbors’ phone number was (404) 812-3813. The Limberger home was at 931 West Conway Drive, Atlanta, Georgia.

1. Do you have access to archived Bellsouth phone records from 1996?
2. Do you have records of subpoenaed requests for December of 1996 through December of 1997 that would indicate whether anyone ever subpoenaed these records?
3. Do you have the results of subpoenaed requests for the records listed above?
4. Did you work for Bellsouth in a position that gave you access to the above records during 1996 – 1997?
5. We also need the local phone records for 12/01/96 – 12/20/96 for the number (404) 377-2052 which were the records for James Daws’ office.
6. Have you or do you work in IT for Bellsouth/AT&T and have working knowledge of the database that tracks BST numbers for subpoenas and the phone records they request?
7. Are you an expert on Bellsouth’s records and could testify in court?

If so, please contact us!

Last Updated On: 4/20/2010 8:32:16 PM

ATLANTA — The family of a man convicted of murderer is hoping billboards and a Web site will attract new information about his case.

In 2006, just moments after a Fulton County jury convicted him on murder charges, a defiant Scott Davis made it clear his fight was far from over.

“This process has been unfair to me from the very beginning,” Davis announced to the court.

Now, as Davis serves a life sentence, billboards now stand over Atlanta. They are Scott Davis’ new voice.

“Part of the problem is that he not only believes in his innocence, and they (his family) do as well, but also, he did not get a fair trial,” said Marcia Shein, Davis’ attorney.

Scott Davis’ family has hired a public relations firm. They’ve paid for a Web site and billboards and are offering a $350,000 reward.

They’re looking for evidence that vanished before Scott Davis went to trial.

In 1996, David Coffin was found shot to death in his burned out Buckhead home. Investigators quickly suspected Davis, who was separated from his wife. She and the victim were dating.

It was 10 years before Davis went to trial. By then, evidence including a handgun, a bullet and two gas cans were missing.

“Some of that evidence was referred to in the trial process,” says Shein. “If you’re going to refer to it and he can’t have access to it, that’s an unfair trial.”

District Attorney Paul Howard wouldn’t comment about Davis’ latest effort to win a new trial, but on the day of Davis’ conviction in 2006, Howard was asked about the missing evidence.

“I think the evidence that was lost in fact gave them a huge, huge benefit,” Howard said of Davis’ lawyers.

The State Supreme Court considered the missing evidence when they reviewed the case last year. The court refused to overturn Davis’ conviction, and instead pointed to evidence that Davis had “threatened to kill anyone who had a sexual relationship with his wife.”

The court’s ruling also notes that Davis told investigators “he knew Coffin had been shot. However, at that time, police did not know Coffin had been shot due to the charred condition of his body.”

Although she would not say what it is, Davis’ lawyer says there’s been new evidence uncovered since that ruling. She’s planning to make another attempt at a new trial within the next couple of months.

Reported By: Justin Gray | Edited By: Leigha Baugham

ATLANTA (MyFOX ATLANTA) – A man convicted in a high-profile cold case murder is fighting that conviction in a high-profile way. In 2006, Scott Davis was convicted of killing Buckhead businessman David Coffin 10 years earlier. On Monday, a billboard was unveiled proclaiming Davis’ innocence.

Back in 2006, Davis was convicted of Coffin’s 1996 murder.

Both Coffin and Davis come from wealthy prominent families and prosecutors said the motive in the murder was jealousy.

Davis’ estranged wife was dating Coffin.

Pieces of evidence went missing before the case made it to trial.

“He believes he’s innocent and there’s been so much lost evidence,” said Davis’ attorney, Marcia Shein.

Four years into a lifetime prison sentence, Davis’ family is offering a $350,000 reward in the case.

“The billboard is visible by a lot of people and we hope it will attract the attention of retired police officers or firefighters. Anyone that might have touched this evidence and knows where it might be,” said Shein.

District Attorney Paul Howard declined to talk about the billboard or the reward.

Davis’ attorney said they’ll be back in a courtroom soon and they plan to file another appeal this summer.

The billboard is designed to grab attention and Davis’ attorney acknowledged it could be painful for Coffin’s family.

“I’m sure it upsets them, I’m sure the whole ordeal upsets them, but if you have the wrong guy it doesn’t matter. You still have to have justice,” said Shein.

The billboards, located at 345 Whitehall Street, are visible from Atlanta City Hall and are positioned to attract the attention of law enforcement officials, city officials and others who might have evidence in his case. The billboards were created by Prance Outdoor.

Vital evidence that could have exonerated Davis either disappeared before his trial, or was not provided to his defense team.

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 (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.”

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 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 reward1 [at] freescottdavis [dot] org or through the web site at www.FreeScottDavis.org.

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/21997373/index.html

Jeff Dore reports.

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/21997373/index.html

Jeff Dore reports.