The latest news (and helpful background) on the Troy Davis case

This lengthy Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, headlined Troy Davis’ life in board’s hands; World watches as group prepares to deliberate Wednesday execution," provides the latest news on what is the most-discussed and most-reviewed death penalty case in recent memory. Here is how the lengthy piece starts:

The condemned in Georgia always have a long and tortuous journey to the execution chamber. But the case of Troy Anthony Davis, whose execution is set for Wednesday, has been perhaps the most extraordinary and controversial legal odyssey in the state’s history.

It also has generated the most worldwide attention of any Georgia case. On Thursday, Davis’ supporters gave the state Board of Pardons and Paroles the names of 663,000 people asking Davis be spared execution. Advocates are using social media to rally support and organize protests around the world.

Davis’ case has taken one unexpected turn after another since he was sentenced to death 20 years ago for the murder of Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. On two occasions, the district attorney who put Davis on death row issued final statements believing nothing stood in the way of Davis’ execution, only to see the case reconsidered. On Monday, the parole board is scheduled to meet once again to determine whether Davis should live or die.

Even though Davis, 42, was condemned to die for killing a cop and prosecutors steadfastly stand behind his conviction, his innocence claims have attracted a host of dignitaries. Among them, former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and former FBI Director William Sessions say Davis should be granted clemency.

“This case is extraordinary because there have been substantial questions of his innocence for almost a decade,” said death-penalty lawyer Stephen Bright, a professor at Yale Law School. “It has attracted attention from all around the world, and the extraordinary number of people supporting him — and the prominence of some of them — is unprecedented.”

This Wednesday marks the fourth time the state has set a date for Davis to be put to death by lethal injection. In July 2007, the state parole board granted Davis a stay after he’d said final goodbyes to visitors. A year later, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in less than two hours before he was to be placed on the gurney. Seven months after that, the federal appeals court halted another planned execution, leading to an almost-unprecedented U.S. Supreme Court order that granted Davis a new hearing that ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Anneliese MacPhail, the mother of the slain officer, said she is cautiously optimistic the execution will be carried out this week. “I want to get it over with,” she said. “I want to have some peace.” After Davis’ new execution date was set, it appeared there was nowhere for him to turn because his appeals are exhausted. But the parole board quickly agreed to again consider Davis’ request for clemency. It set a hearing for Monday and did not say when it will issue its decision.

The parole board denied clemency to Davis three years ago, but the five-member board has three new members. The board is expected to hear from witnesses who did not testify in its prior hearings. This includes a woman who has signed an affidavit saying she heard Sylvester “Redd” Coles, who was at the crime scene, say he was the real killer. Davis’ lawyers are also expected to submit sworn statements from at least three jurors who sentenced Davis to death, but who are now asking that Davis be spared execution.

The AJC article provides a lot more background on Davis's conviction and the controversies surrounding it.  In addition, these prior posts from this blog on the Davis case (for which I have added the dates of the post) highlight just some of the more recent legal wranglings:

• "Will Georgia Kill an Innocent Man?" (July 2007)
• Georgia appears poised to execute Troy Davis despite innocence concerns (Sept 2008)
• Supreme Court stays planned Georgia execution of Troy Davis (Sept 2008)
• Troy Davis gets no relief on innocence claims in Eleventh Circuit (April 2009)
• SCOTUS orders innocence hearing in Troy Davis case (Aug 2009)
• A year after SCOTUS intervenes, Troy Davis innocence hearing about to start (June 2010)
• "Innocence claim rejected: Troy Davis loses challenge" (Aug 2010)
• Eleventh Circuit punts Troy Davis case up to SCOTUS (Nov. 2010)
• Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis now gets no review or relief from SCOTUS (March 2011)