Chris Bundgaard reports for WKRN-TV News 2. Excerpt:
Philip Workman faces execution in September for the 1981 shooting death of a Memphis police officer. On Tuesday, attorneys asked Governor Phil Bredesen to spare the inmate’s life, saying a lie detector test supports their claims that an eyewitness lied.
For years, lawyers for Workman have contended that Harold Davis perjured himself at the original trial of their client. They’ve said that Davis backed off testimony that he saw Workman shoot police officer Ronnie Oliver to death outside a Memphis Wendy’s in 1981.
Attorney Jefferson Dorsey said, “Short of time travel, I cannot think of a more powerful way to show that Harold Davis was not there and that he lied at trial”
Monday morning, as they released a clemency petition filed with Gov. Bredesen, Workman’s lawyers showed a new picture of Davis as he recently underwent a polygraph administered by Kenneth Vardell – a former career FBI agent touted by the lawyers to be well-respected in the field. “He says absolutely that Harold Davis was telling the truth when he did not see Philip Workman shoot Lt. Oliver,” said Dorsey.