[3] Davis was born in Effie, Louisiana, the son of Callie McCann and U. T. Downs, a mayor and sheriff.
[1] He then attended Louisiana State University, where he earned his law and master's degree.
[2] In that year, Downs was elected to the Louisiana State Senate,[3] succeeding Grove Stafford.
[4] According to Life magazine, McKeithen described Downs as "the only Mafia link I know of in my administration".
[6][7] Downs died in May 1985 at the Rapides General Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana, at the age of 73.