Supreme Court puts Troy Davis appeal on hold

The U.S. Supreme Court has recessed for the summer without taking action on Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis' latest appeal, likely delaying any action on the convicted cop killer's case until the fall.

Davis, of Savannah, was convicted in 1991 for the slaying of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. Supporters say he deserves a new trial after several key trial witnesses recanted their testimony.

Davis' lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower federal court denied his request for a new trial in April. The Supreme Court won't reconvene until September.

Davis' case has become a rallying point for death penalty opponents worldwide. A petition signed by 60,000 supporters was turned into Chatham County's District Attorney's office today. His supporters also include former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI.

(Associated Press)

U.S. High Court Set to Decide on Davis Death Case

(Photo Credit: Valarie Edwards)

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether it will hear the case of Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark McPhail.

What Davis' lawyers are waiting to learn is whether the U-S Supreme Court will hear arguments on his request for a writ of habeas corpus. The phrase is Latin for "present the body." It's a lawsuit against a prison warden demanding that he prove a prisoner is not being held in violation of his constitutional rights. If the court will hear the habeas arguments, Davis cannot be executed pending the outcome of the hearing.

Davis' execution has been delayed three times over concerns that another man is the real killer. Seven of the nine witnesses who testified in the original case have recanted their testimony. Some say they were threatened by local police. However, earlier this year the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for Davis' execution, saying it was "unpersuaded" by the affidavits.

The U.S. Supreme Court could decide whether it will hear the case as early as this week or carry it into the next term which begins in October. If the court refuses to hear the habeas arguments, the ruling of 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will stand.

Date set for death row inmate's appeal

An appeals court will hear arguments on whether death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis can file a second federal challenge to his conviction.

A three-judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals will convene December 9 to consider what the defense calls new evidence.

Davis was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.

Courts have intervened three times since July 2007 to stop the execution. Davis was scheduled to die October 27 but was granted yet another stay of execution.

US Supreme Court to hear Troy Davis case today

The U.S. Supreme Court meets to decide the fate of Troy Anthony Davis today. Davis was scheduled to die last week by lethal injection but got a last minute stay of execution. He was convicted of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989. His case has become an international controversy because 7 of nine witnesses have since recanted their testimony against him.

Family outraged at execution delay

The family of a police officer killed in 1989 is upset that the execution of the man convicted of his murder was delayed. Mark McPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said "I'm furious, disgusted and disappointed." Troy Davis' family and a busload of supporters sang, wept and prayed yesterday when they learned he was granted a temporary reprieve from the Supreme Court just hours before he was to be executed. Seven of the nine key witnesses who helped put Davis on death row have since recanted their statements.

Execution halted by U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution for Troy Anthony Davis. Davis was scheduled to die at 7 tonight by lethal injection. He was convicted of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989, but his case has received international attention for its controversy. Davis was sentenced to death based solely on the testimony of 9 witnesses. Since then 7 of the have admitted they were lying. And Davis’ lawyers say three others have come forward claiming to have heard the confession to the crime by one of the men who took the stand against Davis. The U.S. Supreme Court will reconsider Davis’ appeal at its conference next Monday.

Davis' supporters hold 'Die-In'

"Die-In" protesters laying at the foot of a war memorial, in front of the Slappy Floyd White Building in downtown Atlanta, Sept. 23, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Supporters of death row inmate Troy Davis held a “Die-In” in downtown Atlanta today. Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 pm.

A group of demonstrators called “Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty,” collapsed in deathly poses at the entrance to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles at the Slappy Floyd White building, downtown.

Police requested they move their protest away from the entrance of the structure, where they blocked an entryway. The protesters got up and walked over to a war memorial several yards away, where they re-enacted their protest, and spoke with reporters.

The 15 college-aged protesters carried signs and wore tee-shirts saying, “Don’t Murder In Our Name.”

Organizer Asha Lyon says their protest’ is meant to send an eleventh-hour plea:

“It is not too late for them to change their mind and issue a stay or clemency for Troy Davis today before seven p.m.”

A State Police patrolman escorts protest group leader Asha Lyon away from the entrance of the Slappy Floyd White building in downtown Atlanta, Sept. 23, 2008. One of the protesters is seen at the lower left, laying at the foot of the entrance, as part of their "Die-In" protest. (Dave Bender)

Davis was sentenced to death in 1991 for the killing of a Savannah police officer two years earlier.

7 of the 9 witnesses in the trial have changed their stories and Davis’s lawyers have tried to get a new trial.

Davis’s sister, Martina Correia, says, “My brother Troy is in a very strong place and he’s very faithful and close to God. Even though it’s very hard, we’re very blessed because we’re still holding on to hope.”

Their last hope is the U.S. Supreme Court where a stay of execution request is pending.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of this story.

Carter adds name to call for Davis clemency

Emergency stays of execution have been filed on behalf of death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. And, another name has been added to the list of those calling for a review of the case. The nation’s highest court is scheduled to consider a request to halt Davis’ execution at their first conference on Sept. 29. A similar request for stay has been filed with Georgia’s top court. Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection this coming Tuesday for the 1989 shooting death of an off-duty Savannah police officer. The state of Georgia had petitioned both courts not to consider the case. The case has attracted international attention. Earlier today former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement urging the Georgia and Pardons and parole board to reverse its decision to deny clemency to Davis. Carter says the case shows deep flaws in the application of the death penalty in this country. Davis’s lawyers have tried to spare his life by arguing Davis needs a new trial because 7 of the 9 witnesses in the original trial have since recanted their testimony.

Anti-death penalty rally

Hundreds rallied on the steps of the Capitol in Atlanta Thursday evening to protest the pending execution of Troy Anthony Davis. Davis is set to die by lethal injection on September 23, unless the state Board of Pardons and Paroles grants a new trial. The Board will consider a petition for new trial on Friday.

Davis' conviction in the 1989 shooting death of off-duty Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail, has spurred controversy about the reliability of eye witness testimony. Seven of nine witnesses who testified during the original trial have since recanted. Those witnesses now say they were either mistaken or were threatened by police.

Davis’ family and supporters say there is no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime. Earlier this year, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against granting Davis a new hearing on the evidence.

Shuja Graham, 51, (top left) was exonerated after spending more than half his life on California's death row at San Quentin Prison. Graham was 18 years old when he was convicted and sent to jail.

Court to decide Troy Davis retrial

The Georgia Supreme Court may decide today whether a high-profile death row inmate will get a new trial.

Troy Anthony Davis was sentenced to death in 1991 for the killing of a Savannah police officer. Several witnesses who helped convict Davis, have since recanted their testimony, and some have implicated another man in the murder.

Davis’ lawyers want a retrial or a hearing where the judge will consider the recantations.

Death row opponents ask Court for new trial

Supporters of death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis asked the state Supreme Court today to order a new trial in the case. They say eyewitness testimony implicates another man in the 1989 shooting death of 27-year old Savannah police officer Mark McPhail.

Davis' attorneys argued Georgia law allows death row inmates to ask for a new trial, after all other appeals have been exhausted. However, prosecutors say the time for a new trial has passed and no further evidence may be introduced.

Martina Correia is Troy Anthony Davis' older sister. She says similar stories by witnesses about police coercion are too alike for the court to ignore.

"They didn't come forward because we asked them. They came forward because it was the right thing to do. It was amazing that their recantations were almost the same thing. They told stories of coercion and intimidation and of threats. They didn't know each other was recanting."

Since his 1989 conviction, nearly a dozen witnesses have recanted their eyewitness testimony against Troy Anthony Davis. Davis is African American and was convicted in Chatham County. His supporters say the previous exoneration of two other African American males from Chatham County may point to a pattern of police misconduct.

Rally to oppose Troy Anthony Davis execution

Opponents of the death penalty rallied in downtown Atlanta on Tuesday to protest the pending execution of Troy Anthony Davis. Barring intervention by the U-S Supreme Court, Davis will be put to death on July 17th, making him the second death row inmate executed by the State of Georgia this year.

Davis was convicted in the late 1991 shooting death of a Savannah policeman. Davis, however, maintains he did not shoot Officer Mark Macphail sixteen years ago. And, since his 1991 conviction, several witnesses have withdrawn their testimony, saying the police pressured them to lie. Members of Davis's defense team presented over 4-thousand letters of support, including one from a former Texas district attorney, to Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles. Defense attorney Jason Ewart says the lack of evidence should be enough to convince the board to release Davis. "It's not a DNA case. What the DNA cases have told us is that people are convicted erroneously. Here you have to do the work. If you really examine the evidence now, there is beyond a reasonable doubt that Troy did not commit this crime."

Georgia man remains on death row

Today a Georgia man lost his Supreme Court bid to avoid the death penalty. The nation’s highest court refused to hear Troy Anthony Davis’ case. Davis was convicted in 1991 of murdering police officer Mark McPhail. Today’s decision ends 12 years of appeals and means Davis has no further legal recourse to get off death row.