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    Will Troy Davis See Tomorrow? 7 p.m. Execution Hour Looms

    By Carol Bengle Gilbert | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Wed, Sep 21, 2011
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    With his execution hour looming, is there any hope Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis will be spared? The state plans to kill Davis by lethal injection at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Legal experts considered clemency Davis' best chance of avoiding this fate, but the Georgia Board of Pardons and Appeals dashed that hope Tuesday when it denied his bid without explanation. Unlike governors of other states, Georgia's Nathan Deal does not have the power to stop an execution by granting clemency.

    International outcry continues over what many see as an unjust death sentence. There is no physical evidence linking Davis to the murder of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail and the key witnesses have recanted, several saying they were pressured by police.

    Hundreds of thousands of petitions failed to sway the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. Nor did petitions from Nobel laureates, presidents, and religious leaders, or warnings from conservative legal authorities like former FBI head William Sessions that the evidence was insufficient.

    Is there anything that might stop Davis' execution? Here is what his supporters are doing as the clock ticks down:

    * Davis' attorneys are filing an appeal in the Butts County courthouse. Unlike previous unsuccessful appeals that focused on witness testimony, The Associated Press reports this appeal contends ballistics used to convict Davis were flawed. The appeal also calls for rejection of testimony by one eyewitness, Harriet Murray, who testified at trial that Davis shot MacPhail. Murray's initial statements and her accounts now are consistent with each other in identifying Sylvester "Redd" Coles as the shooter and contradict her trial testimony.

    * Davis is offering to take a lie detector test. This offer is premised on the prison officials allowing the 3-hour test to take place and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles agreeing to consider the results.

    * Supporters led by Amnesty International are inundating D.A. Larry Chisolm's office with online petitions and telephone calls. They are asking Chisolm to take action to have the death warrant withdrawn. Chisolm told The Associated Press Wednesday morning he is powerless to withdraw the death warrant.

    * Demonstrations and vigils are underway from Europe to the outside of the prison where Davis is being held.

    Multiple groups are asking the Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider its stance while the National Association of Colored People is considering an unlikely bid to get President Obama to stop the execution on the grounds that an as-yet unidentified federal interest is at stake.

    While experts say the odds that Davis will see tomorrow are slim, the efforts to save him from what supporters consider an unjust and erroneous execution continue full-force.

     

    5 comments

    • nazi feminist
      nazi feminist  •  8 mths ago
      With abortion legal it is hard to worry about a convicted murderer.
    • vsw
      vsw  •  8 mths ago
      If everything stated in this article is so, then the Attorney General should recommend that the President step in.

      The President that this case has some Federal/National implications because it (fill in the blank).

      Those who say the President doesn't have the authority are technically right, but there is plenty of discretion and it is not hard to make the point that this case has Federal/National implications.

      This one would a disaster for the US if Davis is found to be innocent and it would protect our national interests if we got this one right (guilty or innocent).
    • Mary Wensing Dvorachek
      Mary Wensing Dvorachek  •  8 mths ago
      :)
    • wildflower
      wildflower  •  8 mths ago
      I am so afraid this man will die ! He is probley innocent but other people have the power to believe different so he will be put to death and then the truth will come out and then what ? The people that put him to death, if he is innocent how will they sleep....Give the guy a chance let him take the lie detector test if their is no evidence what is the problem ....? You guys need to get off your high horse and put yourself in his shoe's . Would you want the judge to give the lie detecter test to save your life ? WELL THINK ABOUT IT !
    • Malina Debrie
      Malina Debrie  •  8 mths ago
      Even with all the recanted testimonies, the fact that some of the witnesses said they were coerced into testifying and the testimonies they gave. Justice was not served in this case. The system does not work fairly for some. I hate to say its a race issue, but in some cases, it definitely appears to be so. Troy Davis will be vindicated. If he was innocent, those who know he was and were the reason for his death will not sleep another day in peace. Gods revenge is far worse than any man can ever take on humanity.
     Post a comment
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