Is Georgia About to Execute an Innocent Man? (Update and Bump)
Barring a U.S. Supreme Court intervention or an unlikely intervention from Gov. Sonny Perdue this afternoon, the state of Georgia will execute Troy Davis this evening at 7pm.
Davis was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1991 based on eyewitness testimony. The problem is that seven of the nine people who testified against him at his trial have since recanted, saying they were pressured and coerced by the police. Three other witnesses who did not testify at the trial have since come forward to say another man committed the murder—a man who happens to have been one of the two remaining witnesses against Davis who have yet to recant their testimony.
The Georgia Supreme Court granted a stay last year with Davis within hours of execution. The same court voted 4-3 this year to proceed with Davis' punishment.
So is Georgia about to execute an innocent man? It looks as if there's at least enough doubt that we can't say for sure.
And that ought to be more than enough doubt to hold off on the execution.
UPDATE: With about a half hour to spare, the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed Davis' execution for one week while it reviews his appeal.
