William Mize, the white supremacist convicted in 1995 of killing Eddie Tucker of Hull, Ga., last night was denied a stay of execution and request for appeal by the Georgia Supreme Court.
He’s scheduled to be executed by lethal injection tonight at 7 p.m.
According to a press release from the court:
The Supreme Court of Georgia today issued a stay of execution for William Mark Mize to give the trial court judge time to rule on Mize’s Extraordinary Motion for New Trial. Chief Judge Lawton Stephens of the Western Judicial Circuit on Monday denied Mize’s request for a hearing on the motion, but he did not rule on the motion itself. An appeal to the state’s highest court is therefore premature.
In today’s order, the Georgia Supreme Court states the stay will automatically expire 24 hours after the judge rules. Mize, 52, was due to be put to death tonight at 7:00 p.m. by lethal injection for the 1994 murder of Eddie Tucker in Oconee County.
Some background on Mize from the Athens Banner-Herald:
Mize, who led a small group authorities said was related to the Ku Klux Klan, was convicted in December 1995 of killing 34-year-old Eddie Tucker of Hull.
In October 1994, a few members of the group – and Tucker, who had filled out an application to join – went into the Northwestern Oconee County woods, supposedly to camp, after Tucker and another group member failed to follow Mize’s orders to burn down a purported crack house in Athens.
Mize killed Tucker with a shotgun blast, prosecutors said.
Despite key witnesses recanting their testimony, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 16 rejected longtime death row inmate Troy Davis’ request for a new trial — the latest and possibly last in a lengthy series of appeals.
“Davis has not presented us with a showing of innocence so compelling that we would be obligated to act today.”
— Judges Joel Dubina and Stanley Marcus, writing for the majority in their rejection of Davis’ request
“To execute Davis, in the face of a significant amount of proffered evidence that may establish his actual innocence, is unconscionable and unconstitutional.”
— Judge Rosemary Barkett, writing for the dissent
“I am disgusted, I am saddened by it, but I’m not deterred in my determination to fight for my brother.”
— Davis’ sister Martina Correia in an April 16 WTOCTV.com article
“We believe that justice will be served and the courts will do what they’ve done for the past twenty years and deny him.”
— Mark MacPhail Jr., the son of the police officer whom Davis was convicted of killing, quoted in the same WTOC-TV story
“You have to plan your own funeral: saying goodbye, your last meal, what to do with your body, who will be there to witness it.”
— Davis, describing his reaction to being read a death sentence in an April 14 conference call with his supporters, as reported in the Emory Wheel
(Photo courtesy Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
That’s what we just heard. We’ll update ASAP.
Troy Davis is scheduled for execution Monday — his third execution date in just over a year. On both other occasisons, his execution was delayed within 24 hours of its scheduled time.
UPDATE: The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay. For more on the recent appeal filed by Davis’ attorneys to the 11th Circuit, click here.
For photos from the Troy Davis protest last night, click here.
Former Georgia Congressman and current Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr has been an outspoken supporter of Troy Davis, the death row inmate who received an eleventh-hour stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday.
Here’s Barr’s reaction to the stay
“While the death penalty is an important tool in our legal system, it should only be used in cases where there is absolutely no doubt of a person’s guilt. This was not the case with Troy Davis.”
“I hope the facts in Davis’ case can be reexamined in order to address the unanswered questions before once again deciding his fate. As a strong supporter of the death penalty, I do not advocate for clemency lightly. However, in the case of Troy Davis, the broader questions of fairness and public faith in criminal justice deserved another look.”
What was planned as a vigil instead became a celebration.
This evening, less than two hours before he was scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia, longtime death row inmate Troy Davis was granted a stay of execution by the U.S. Supreme Court. To celebrate the eleventh hour decision, Davis supporters gathered on the western steps of the state Capitol.
“I was stunned,” says Laura Moye, deputy director of Amnesty International USA’s Southern regional office. Moye learned of the court’s decision while she was taping a radio interview. “We’d hoped for it all day. I was prepared for the worst, but I’d hoped for the best.”
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court’s justices are scheduled to decide whether or not to hear Davis’ case. If they refuse to hear it, the stay will end.
“The struggle is not over,” Moye says. “We at least have a little more time. Every day is a gift. We will celebrate today, we will organize tomorrow.”
(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution to Troy Davis — less than two hours before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection, according to Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
This is the second time that Davis has been granted a stay less than 24 hours before his scheduled execution.
GFADP and Amnesty International will host a celebration at 6:30 p.m. at the Georgia State Capitol downtown, near the corner of MLK Drive and Washington Street.
More details to come …
UPDATE: According to CNN.com:
Troy Anthony Davis first learned that his execution had been stayed when he saw it on the news, he told CNN’s Rusty Dornin in an exclusive phone interview minutes after the stay was announced.
UPDATE: According to AJC.com:
The U.S. Supreme Court’s justices are scheduled to decide Monday whether to hear an appeal of a ruling issued in March by the Georgia Supreme Court. In that 4-3 decision, the state Supreme Court rejected Davis’ request that he be granted a new trial or a court hearing to present new evidence.
In its order, the U.S. Supreme Court said if the justices decline to accept Davis’ appeal, “this stay shall terminate immediately.” If the appeal is granted, the stay will remain in force until the high court issues its ultimate ruling on Davis’ appeal, the order said.
(Photo courtesy Georgia Department of Corrections)
