The United States Supreme Court Grants Troy Davis Last-Minute Stay of Execution
The Georgia Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court got into a turf war regarding whether or not to allow convicted murderer Troy Davis a stay of execution due to potential doubts regarding his guilt.
Despite the Georgia Supreme Court’s attempts to push up Davis’ execution to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court from having a say in the matter, the high court intervened and postponed the execution by lethal injection with fewer than two hours left.
Davis was arrested nearly 20 years ago for murder in Savannah, Georgia of police officer Mark MacPhail on August 19, 1989. The case has sparked furious emotions from across the political spectrum. The Reverend Al Sharpton construed the matter as a civil rights case and was thrilled by the news of the reprieve of the death row inmate. Virginia Davis, Troy’s mother, was similarly overjoyed for the reprieve. However, Annelie Reaves, the sister of the murder victim, was outraged by the high court’s intervention and pushed resolutely for capital punishment to be carried out as soon as possible.
The murder trial originally took place in 1991, but seven witnesses later recanted their testimony, leading many analysts to question whether or not the original jury’s verdict should be allowed to stand.
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