Troy Anthony Davis (born October 9, 1968) is an American death row inmate convicted of the August 19, 1989, murder of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail. MacPhail was working as a security guard at a Burger King when he intervened to defend a man being assaulted in a nearby parking lot—Davis was convicted as the assailant. During Davis’ 1991 trial, many witnesses testified they had seen Davis shoot MacPhail, and two others testified that Davis confessed to them. Although the murder weapon was not recovered, ballistic tests showed that the bullets that killed MacPhail came from the same gun used in another shooting earlier the same day. Davis was convicted of murder and various lesser charges, including the earlier shooting, and sentenced to death in August 1991.
Davis has maintained his innocence, and has attracted a number of defenders, who have campaigned on his behalf. Various appeals in state and federal courts followed his conviction. Davis and his lawyers argued that the racial composition of the jury (seven of the twelve were black, as is Davis) and poor advocacy from his lawyers had affected his right to a fair trial. Seven of the original nine eyewitnesses who had linked Davis to the killing changed all or part of their trial testimony in subsequent affidavits and proceedings. Several stated they had felt pressure by police to implicate Davis. New witnesses implicated Sylvester "Redd" Coles in the crime. The appeals were denied with state and federal courts declaring that Davis had not provided a "substantive claim" of innocence and that the recantations were unpersuasive. In July 2007, September 2008, and October 2008, execution dates were scheduled but stayed shortly before the events took place.
Troy Davis was put on death row because nine so-called eyewitnesses, seven of those we now know lied, and three of those [who have] said they were coerced by the cops. Others said they were afraid of the actual killer, who many say is a man named Sylvester Cole
The US state of Georgia is preparing to execute death row inmate Troy Davis by lethal injection, despite pleas from supporters to overturn his conviction.
While vigils have been scheduled at both the Georgia state capitol and the jail, protests have taken on an international dimension since Monday's decision to deny clemency.
The Council of Europe has called for Davis' sentence to be commuted.
Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.
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Troy Davis was put on death row because nine so-called eyewitnesses, seven of those we now know lied, and three of those [who have] said they were coerced by the cops. Others said they were afraid of the actual killer, who many say is a man named Sylvester Cole
The US state of Georgia is preparing to execute death row inmate Troy Davis by lethal injection, despite pleas from supporters to overturn his conviction.
While vigils have been scheduled at both the Georgia state capitol and the jail, protests have taken on an international dimension since Monday's decision to deny clemency.
The Council of Europe has called for Davis' sentence to be commuted.
Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.
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