Cop Killer Gets Last-Minute Reprieve

Less than two hours before his scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a reprieve to a Georgia death row inmate convicted of killing an off-duty police officer in 1989. Troy Davis, 39, had been scheduled to die at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The stay of execution will remain in effect while the court considers his appeal.

The appeal asks that a judge hear from several witnesses who recanted their testimony since his trial and from others who claim another man confessed to the crime.

Prosecutors have characterized the witness statements as "suspect" and lower courts have consistently turned down Davis' request for a new trial.

The Supreme Court reprieve came after two days of other appeal rejections.

The Georgia Supreme Court has twice rejected Davis' appeal for a new trial. On Monday, the state's high court rejected his appeal to delay his execution by a vote of 6-1. Also, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected his request for clemency.

The Death of Mark Allen MacPhail

On Aug. 19, 1989, an off-duty Savannah, Georgia, police officer, Mark Allen MacPhail was working a moonlighting job as a security guard for a Greyhound bus terminal when he heard a homeless man cry out from the Burger King parking lot next door.

When MacPhail went to help the man, who had been hit in the head with a pistol, he was shot in the face and chest and died. Nine witnesses testified at the 1991 trial that Davis assaulted the homeless man and then shot MacPhail when he came to help.

Since the trial, defense attorneys say several of the witnesses have admitted they lied or exaggerated their testimony, because they were pressured by police. In affidavits filed between 1996 and 2003, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted or contradicted their original testimony.

See Also:
Supreme Court Stays Execution for Ga. Man

Earlier Articles:
Court Turns Down Appeal of Troy Davis
Execution Set for Troy Anthony Davis
Condemned Killer Gets 90-Day Stay

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^{Photo: Mug Shot}