Troy Davis was pronounced dead at 11:08 pm Wednesday night, after he was executed by lethal injection in Georgia, Davis, who was convicted of killing off duty police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989, had hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world rallying to save his life. Supporters included Pope Benedict XVI, former FBI Chief William S. Seesions, former President Jimmy Carter, and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
After Officer MacPhail was murdered, the Savannah police department began a manhunt to find the killer of one of their own. Nine people said that Davis was the murderer. Later, seven of the nine recanted their statements, saying that they were pressured into fingering Davis by the Savannah police department, and by one of those who refused to recant his testimony - the person who allegedly is the real killer of Officer MacPhail, Sylvester "Redd" Coles.
Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and numerous other organizations took up Davis’ cause, and tried every legal move to get Davis’ order of execution overturned, claiming that there was “too much doubt.” Four such attempts failed.
Originally scheduled to be put to death at 7 pm, Davis got a few ours of reprieve as the U.S. Supreme Court weighed his case. The Justices decided, without giving reason, that they would not intervene, much to the sorrow and outrage of those who believe that Georgia executed an innocent man. MacPhail’s family, however, believe justice was served.
Rhonda Cook, of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution witnessed the execution of Davis and gave the public an account of the last minutes of his life. According to Cook, Davis addressed the MacPhail family, telling them that he wanted to "…let you know, despite the situation you are in, I'm not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent.” Davis went on to say, “The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth.” Davis asked that his family and friends continue to “fight this fight.” Some are calling Davis’ execution the flashpoint that will mobilize opposition to the death penalty in the U.S. Proclaiming his innocence to the end, Davis proclaimed, “For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls."
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