Troy Davis, who was convicted of the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail, has been denied clemency, despite support from high profile leaders such as Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, former FBI Director William Sessions, former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and Larry Thompson, and the former deputy U.S. attorney general. Amnesty International also vocalized support, along with the NAACP and throngs of supporters around the world.
As of Tuesday, Davis is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday at 7pm.
On Monday, Davis went before a Georgia parole board to appeal his execution, which has been rescheduled several times in view of new information that leaves room for doubt about his guilt, but the board is resolved in its original decision and will move forward.
“I am utterly shocked and disappointed at the failure of our justice system at all levels to correct a miscarriage of justice,” Brian Kammer, one of Davis’ attorneys, said Tuesday after the decision was announced.
According to reports, MacPhail responded to call about a homeless man being pistol-whipped in the parking lot of a Burger King. During the trial, witnesses claimed that Davis was with Sylvester Coles when he ordered the homeless man to give him a beer. As MacPhail approached, prosecutors said Davis shot MacPhail.
However, Davis’ case has received all the international attention because there is a woeful lack of evidence. There was no DNA or fingerprint evidence that connected Davis to the crime, a murder weapon was not found, and seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony. There are also witnesses who say that Coles admitted to killing MacPhail on several occasions.
Over 600,000 signatures were collected in support of stopping the execution, but McPhail’s family believes the right decision has been made.
“He’s guilty,” MacPhail’s widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said. “We need to go ahead and execute him.”
All Davis’ options have now been exhausted and the family is on par to receive their wish. –amir shaw and gerald radford
