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TROY DAVIS: A man holding a photo of Davis protests his death sentence at the state Capitol on October 24.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will hear arguments December 9 to decide if Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis will be permitted to challenge his murder conviction in federal court.

Davis was condemned to death for the 1989 murder of Savannah police Officer Mark MacPhail. Since his conviction and death sentence, seven of nine witnesses for the prosecution recanted their testimony, and three additional witnesses came forward claiming another man pulled the trigger.

Davis has come within hours of execution on three occasions since July 2007 as his repeated appeals to have his case reconsidered have thus far been rejected by state and federal courts. The 11th Circuit stayed Davis’s most recent execution order on October 27, days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his case.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The program for Theatrical Outfit’s production of A Lesson Before Dying (Romulus Linney’s theatrical adaptation of Ernest J. Gaines’ acclaimed novel) features a note from executive artistic director Tom Key, in which he remarks:

A Lesson Before Dying takes place in 1948 Louisiana. Sixty years later, as I write this in Georgia on Sep. 22, 2008, in less than 24 hours, Troy Davis maybe put to death by lethal injection fo rhe 1989 murder of Savanahh Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail — a murder which many believe he may not have commited. For Officer MacPhail, Mr. Davis, for their families, and for all of us, I pray that a day will come when no one would find the treatment of the character Jefferson in Ernest Gaines’ novel dramatically plausible — when there would no longer be an audience for this kind of tragedy. In the meantime, I must have hope, and I have not found another place in which it can be learned other than in this particular classroom.

(On Oct. 24 Troy Davis received a stay of execution pending an appeal before a federal appeals court.)

Although A Lesson Before Dying involves a black man convicted for a crime he probably did not commit, it’s not a race to save Jefferson from the electric chair, like A Time to Kill. Nor does it explore the racist Southern legal system of the era along the lines of To Kill a Mockingbird — the racial injustice of the system is taken as a disheartening given. Instead, it’s most like the movie Dead Man Walking, in which an outsider tries to prepare a condemned man to be executed.

(more…)

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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.

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Troy Anthony Davis, the Georgia man convicted of murdering a Savannah police officer in 1989, is scheduled to be executed Monday, Oct. 27, on 7 p.m. While Davis has no appeals left and no impediments stand in the way of his execution, Amnesty International and other groups are planning demonstrations and marches over the next few days to protest the imposition of the death penalty in a case that’s attracted international attention.

First up, in a little less than two hours, a rally will begin (PDF) on the steps of the state Capitol that’s expected to last from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Originally, the Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to be the featured speaker, but the Amnesty folks just told us they can’t confirm he’ll be there.

Next, at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning, death-penalty activists will march in a funeral procession from Underground Atlanta to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is located in GSU’s twin towers on the northeast corner of Piedmont and MLK Boulevard across from the Capitol. The group will carry a casket filled with more than 140,000 Amnesty International petitions from people opposed to Davis’ execution. Participants are asked to wear black.

To keep up with events over the weekend, go to the Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty website.

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1) Bram Stoker’s Dracula continues at Aurora Theatre.

2) William Elliot Whitmore plays the Drunken Unicorn.

3) K.D. Lang plays the Woodruff Arts Center.

4) Atlanta Ballet’s Swan Lake opens at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

5) Stand Firm for Justice Rally for Troy Davis is on the State Capitol steps.

(Photo by Christopher Bartelski)

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Chatham County District Attorney Spencer Lawton has penned an editorial, published yesterday on AJC.com and Sunday on SavannahNow.com, to let people know why the upcoming execution of Troy Davis doesn’t weigh on his conscience.

The only problem: All of Lawton’s points are supported by evidence that supposedly hasn’t seen the light of day — except that it has. In fact, most of Lawton’s revelations have been addressed and contradicted by published reports and court documents. He also glosses over evidence that suggests Davis — who is scheduled to die Oct. 27 — could be innocent.

Lawton writes:

Many people are concerned that an innocent man is about to be put to death. I know this and I understand it. I am not likewise concerned, however, and I want to explain why.

The only information the public has had in the 17 years since Troy Davis’ conviction has been generated by people ideologically opposed to the death penalty, regardless of the guilt or innocence of the accused.

While they have shouted, we have been silent. The canons of legal ethics prohibit a lawyer — prosecutor and defense counsel alike — from commenting publicly in a pending criminal case. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, the case is over and I can tell our side.

After the jump, a dissection of Lawton’s ensuing argument.

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On Oct. 14, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the final appeal of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. Two days later, the state set Davis’ execution for Oct. 27. The high court’s decision followed a refusal by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Davis’ sentence, despite evidence someone else committed the crime.

“[T]he death penalty undermines human dignity. Any judicial error in its application is irreversible and irreparable. I therefore solemnly call on the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider its position.”

— France’s Secretary of State for Human Rights Rama Yade, in an Oct. 15 statement

“not one, not two, but SEVEN witnesses went back on what they originally said……AND there is no physical evidence / dna???? just goes to show that cats are going to need more than just Obama to help us all.”

— “Professor X,” responding to a post on AllHipHop.com

“I’m not a great fan of the death penalty. I wish of course that none of this had happened, but it has. … The law is the law. It says you kill a police officer, you’re subject to the death penalty.”

— Chatham County District Attorney Spencer Lawton, speaking to the Associated Press

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– The race between “that one” and Johnny Mac isn’t the only thing on the November ballot. Even beyond the race between the “Sax Machine” and “Big Ears,” there’s some more obscure, but equally important, questions to decide. DriftGrift gives the lowdown on Constitutional amendment No. 1, which preserves forests and who doesn’t want to preserve forests? But wait ’til you read the fine print.

— Sure, “that one” is ahead in the polls. But optimists thought Gore and Kerry were going to win, too. Can the Republicans steal another election? You betcha. Reporter-Cub ponders the possibilities.

— In Catch 22, there was the Major Major, who looked like Henry Fonda and never did much of anything. But at the Daly Report, there’s the one and only Sergeant Major. Daly’s days in Iraq are coming to an end. And he looks back at his favorite officer.

— DownRight, cries out, “Where have you gone Newt Gingrich? A lonely nation turns its eyes to you.” They also give J-Mac a reluctant endorsement.

— The lovely Sara at Going Through The Motions reveals that she is a Red Sox fan. She likes Greek food. She thinks she jinxes FSU whenever she shows up at a game (go to as many games as possible, Sara). But in her “this & that” post, she also has this sobering reminder: the state of Georgia will kill Troy Davis, who is likely an innocent man, next week. And whatever happened to American justice?

— And, finally, Left On Lanier has discoverd a candy that is the world’s most … well … you know … I suppose it all depends on your point of view. Is it tasty? Or tasteless? Either way, it’s definitely perverted.

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Troy Davis

According to the commissioner of the state Department of Corrections, death row inmate Troy Davis is scheduled for execution on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. The death warrant was signed earlier today in Chatham County Superior Court.

Davis, whose execution has twice been halted at the last minute — most recently by the U.S. Supreme Court — appears to have exhausted his appeals. Yet evidence unearthed in the case, including the recantations of seven of nine trial witnesses, suggests that he might not have killed Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.

Check Fresh Loaf for continuing updates. For background on Davis’ case, click here.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Mara Shalhoup and Max Arbes discussing Shalhoup’s recent cover story focusing on Georgia’s dysfunctional death penalty.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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(Photo of Troy Dais courtesy Georgia Department of Corrections)

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I’ve read much of today’s coverage about the U.S. Supreme Court’s deflating decision not to review the appeal of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis — whose execution the high court halted last month, less than two hours before it was scheduled.

Davis’ case caught international attention after seven of nine trial witnesses recanted their testimony, many of them claiming police coercion. Another three people who didn’t testify later claimed that another man — one of the two who failed to recant his testimony — confessed to them that it was he who pulled the trigger on Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.

Here’s my favorite quote so far about the high court’s decision, from a verbose but eloquent essay by CBS legal analyst Andrew Cohen:

Why the Justices turned away from a case they had sniffed at last month may forever remain a mystery. But what is perfectly clear is that Georgia has now created a virtually unassailable bar to criminal defendants whose shaky convictions are later subverted through the discovery of new evidence.

Thanks, Georgia.

For background on the case, click here.

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After giving the case intense consideration, the nation’s highest court will not hear the appeal of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, according to an email from Amnesty International.

Essentially, this means Davis has run out of appeals — despite the fact that seven of his nine trial witnesses have recanted their testimony. His execution date — the third in just over a year — likely will be set soon. This time, there will be little to no hope for a stay.

For background on the case, click here.

More to come …

UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court’s order states:

The motion of The Innocence Project for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

Basically, the justices will not review Davis’ case (including a decision from the Georgia Supreme Court), but will allow did consider a “friend of the court” brief from the Innocence Project, the nonprofit dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted inmates. Apparently, the amicus brief did not sway the justices.

According to Amnesty International:

In denying Davis’ petition for a writ of certiorari, the Court has effectively ended a longstanding battle to have new evidence in Davis’ favor heard in a court of law.

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The nation’s highest court is expected to announce tomorrow whether it will hear the appeal of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, Savannah’s WTOC 11 reports.

If the court takes the case, Davis’ innocence claims might finally be reviewed. If not, the decision will pave the way for his execution. He’s been scheduled for execution twice in the past year — and on both occasions received a last-minute stay.

The decision is expected between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon. Stay tuned.

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Troy Davis

On Oct. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court met to decide whether to hear the appeal of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, whose innocence claims have generated international attention.

No word yet on whether the high court will take the case. If it does, Davis’ execution — which was delayed twice in the past year, both times within 24 hours of his scheduled death — will be put on hold.

If it doesn’t, a new execution date will be set. And Davis likely will have exhausted every possible appeal.

Check Fresh Loaf for updates — and check out our Troy Davis page, where you’ll find excerpts from the recantations of witnesses who testified against Davis at his 1991 trial, as well as a gallery and video of the grassroots movement to raise awareness about the case.

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