"Lawyers launch new appeal effort," is Bill Rankin's report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Lawyers for Troy Anthony Davis, scheduled to be executed Monday, are seeking permission to file a new federal lawsuit based on innocence claims.
Davis’ attorneys on Wednesday asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay his execution by lethal injection and allow them to file a new round of appeals.
“Mr. Davis’ execution in light of new evidence concerning his innocence is constitutionally intolerable,” the motion said. “Society recoils at state execution of an innocent person.”
Davis, 40, already has pursued —- and lost —- appeals through the state and federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear Davis’ latest appeal, setting the course for his execution.
Davis is on death row for the Aug. 19, 1989, murder of 27-year-old Savannah police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since Davis’ trial, seven of nine key prosecution witnesses have recanted their testimony.
The defendant’s claims of innocence have drawn opposition to his execution from leaders across the globe, including former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI. On Wednesday, the European Union issued a statement saying doubts about Davis’ guilt call for his death sentence to be commuted. “In these circumstances, there is great risk of miscarriage of justice with irreparable consequences,” the statement said.
Chatham County prosecutors expressed confidence in Davis’ guilt.
Today's International Herald Tribune carries the AP report, "EU legislature protests US death sentence."
The European parliament strongly protested Wednesday against plans to execute a man sentenced to death in the United States for killing a police officer.
Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on Oct. 27, despite calls from his supporters to reconsider because seven of nine key witnesses against him have recanted their testimony. Davis asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to stay his execution so his lawyers have more time to file a new round of appeals.
EU parliament head Hans-Gert Poettering said all executions are violations of human rights. He says the condemned American symbolizes the fate of all death row inmates, and vows the EU legislature "will fight against the death penalty under any circumstances everywhere in the world."
Amnesty International USA is sponsoring a Global Day of Action for Troy Davis today. It includes a rally at the Georgia State Capitol.
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