Sideshow Atlanta

On Monday night in downtown Atlanta, nearly 75 people gathered outside the U.S. Court of Appeals building to hold a candlelight vigil for death row inmate Troy Davis. On Tuesday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is
scheduled to meet and decide his fate. Davis was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since Davis’ original trial, seven of nine witnesses whose testimony helped convict him have recanted. Davis has had three execution dates and three stays of execution in the last year and a half. In Tuesday’s hearing both the defense and the state will have 30 minutes for oral arguments to present their case. According to Laura Moye of Amnesty International, the court’s ruling could lead to a hearing where the witnesses who have since recanted could be allowed to testify. However, the court could also rule in favor of the state, which would lead to another date for Davis’ execution.

(Photos by Joeff Davis)