Troy Davis execution stopped

TROY DAVIS won a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court September 23 less than two hours before he was scheduled to be put to death by the state of Georgia.

In spite of his appeals for a jury to finally hear compelling evidence of his innocence, courts at both the state and federal level and state officials in Georgia refused to support clemency or a new trial. The appeal to the Supreme Court is Troy's last hope.

The stay of execution was granted only until September 29, when the high court's justices will hear Troy's appeal for new evidence of his innocence to be considered. If the justices decide to hear this appeal, the order halting Troy's execution will be extended; if they reject it, the stay will be lifted, and the execution could go ahead as early as that day.

In the days and weeks leading up to his scheduled execution, Troy's case gained widespread attention in the U.S. and around the world. Hours before he was scheduled to die, busloads of protesters arrived at the prison to demonstrate, carrying signs reading "Justice for Troy Davis" and wearing shirts that said "I am Troy Davis."

When it was announced that the Supreme Court had granted the stay, the crowd erupted in cheers. For those who heard the news by phone from someone at the protest, it was hard to hear for all the voices lifted in celebration.

"This is not over yet," Troy told the crowd gathered outside by phone. "This is the beginning of my blessing."

When asked what made the difference in sparing her brother's life, Troy's sister Martina Correia told the Associated Press, "The truth." As she said: "We're going to shake the foundation of the death penalty in Georgia."

IN 1989, Troy was convicted of the murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, but since then, seven of the original nine witnesses who claimed Troy was guilty have recanted, with several saying that they were intimidated by police into making false statements.

"When the police were talking to me, it was like they wanted me to say I saw the shooting and to sign a statement," one of the witnesses, Dorothy Ferrell, would later explain. "I wanted to be able to leave, and so I just said what they wanted me to say."

Of the remaining two witnesses who stand by their statements that Troy was the shooter, one claimed that Troy shot MacPhail with his left hand, despite the fact that Troy is right-handed; the other witness, Sylvester Coles, was initially a suspect himself--until he went to the police saying that Troy was the killer. Several people now say that they heard Coles admit to the killing.

Incredibly, Georgia officials set Troy's execution date for September 23 even though the U.S. Supreme Court was set to decide on an appeal in his case on September 29.

The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles not only denied Troy's appeal for clemency, but refused to issue a stay of execution until the justices could hear the appeal. The Georgia Supreme Court likewise refused to grant a stay.

"No one anywhere would benefit from killing Mr. Davis on [September 23], as opposed to waiting a week to see how the Supreme Court rules," wrote New York Times columnist Bob Herbert. "So why the rush? The murder happened in 1989, and Mr. Davis has been on death row for 17 years. Six or seven more days will hardly matter.

"Most of the time, the court declines to hear such cases. If that's the decision this time, Georgia can get on with the dirty business of taking a human life. If the court agrees to hear the appeal, it would have an opportunity to get a little closer to the truth of what actually happened on the terrible night of August 19, 1989, when Officer Mark Allen MacPhail was murdered."

In response to these setbacks, activists stepped up the campaign to pressure authorities.

High-profile politicians and activists, including Rev. Al Sharpton, former president Jimmy Carter and actress Susan Sarandon, spoke out on Troy's behalf.

In a statement, Jimmy Carter asked the board to reconsider the case, saying it "illustrates the deep flaws in the application of the death penalty in this country...Executing Troy Davis without a real examination of potentially exonerating evidence risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice."

That sentiment was rejected outright by the pardons board, however. "The board members have considered clemency on two occasions," Scheree Lipscomb, a spokeswoman for the board, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "They stand firm in the decision that they have made."

Such a decision flies in the face of justice, and anti-death penalty advocates, including Troy's family members, organized to make their voices heard.

On September 22, a group of activists rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in a protest sponsored by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. In Atlanta, another group of protesters staged a sit-in at the office of Gov. Sonny Perdue, the man who personally appoints the members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

On the day of Troy's scheduled execution, rallies and vigils were held in Atlanta, Jackson and several other cities across Georgia, as well as across the U.S., in cities including Nashville, Tenn., New York City, Washington, D.C., Seattle and others.

Despite this temporary victory, the battle is far from over. Troy's supporters face the challenge of keeping up the pressure leading up to the September 29 date at the Supreme Court.

Troy Davis is an innocent man. The fact that he has come so close to being executed--not once but twice--and still has the threat of death hanging over his head is a stark reminder of the brutality and fundamental injustice of the death penalty in America.