Clemency denied for Georgia death row inmate
(Reuters) - A parole board in Georgia has denied a last-ditch clemency appeal by Troy Davis, a Georgia man set to be executed in a high-profile case on Wednesday for the murder of a police officer.
The case has attracted international attention and became a focus for opponents of the death penalty because seven of nine trial witnesses have since recanted their testimony and his supporters say he may be innocent.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency on Tuesday in a statement, according to Laura Moye of Amnesty International USA.
"The case against Davis unraveled long ago. Seven out of nine original state witnesses recanted or changed their original testimonies, some alleging police coercion," Amnesty said in a statement.
"Ten people have pointed to one of the remaining witnesses as the actual killer. There is no murder weapon that links Davis to the crime. Any notion of physical evidence that demonstrates Davis' guilt has been debunked," it said.
Davis was convicted of the 1989 killing of police officer Mark MacPhail near a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia. MacPhail's family says Davis is guilty and should be executed.
Davis is due to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/20/us-usa-execution-georgia-idUSTRE78J2NP20110920
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