Federal court to hear Troy Davis plea for a new trial
Today attorneys for Troy Davis are going before a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to plead their client's innocence and ask to be granted a new trial.
Death row prisoner Troy Davis, a 39-year-old African-American man, has been on death row since 1991 for the murder of white policeman Mark MacPhail. Davis' attorneys say affidavits from seven witnesses who fingered Davis as the shooter but later changed or were unsure about their testimony are strong evidence he is innocent. Davis has come within hours of lethal injection three times in the past two years but has been granted a stay.
Davis's case has garnered international attention--influential advocates, including former President Jimmy Carter, South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Pope Benedict XVI, insist that there's enough doubt about Davis' guilt to merit a new trial.
Death row prisoner Troy Davis, a 39-year-old African-American man, has been on death row since 1991 for the murder of white policeman Mark MacPhail. Davis' attorneys say affidavits from seven witnesses who fingered Davis as the shooter but later changed or were unsure about their testimony are strong evidence he is innocent. Davis has come within hours of lethal injection three times in the past two years but has been granted a stay.
Davis's case has garnered international attention--influential advocates, including former President Jimmy Carter, South Africa Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Pope Benedict XVI, insist that there's enough doubt about Davis' guilt to merit a new trial.
