Troy Davis Case.

Troy Anthony Davis was convicted of the August 19, 1989, murder of Savannah, Georgia, USA police officer Mark MacPhail. MacPhail was working as a security guard at a Burger King when he intervened in an argument between several men in a nearby parking lot. He was shot in the heart and face without having drawn his gun. One of the men, Sylvester "Redd" Coles, went to police and implicated Davis in the killing, and Davis was arrested four days later. During Davis’ 1991 trial, many witnesses testified they had seen Davis shoot MacPhail. Two others testified that Davis had confessed the murder to them. The murder weapon was never found, and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime. Throughout his trial and subsequent appeals, Davis has maintained his innocence. Davis was convicted and sentenced to death in August 1991.On June 25, 2007, Davis' first Certiorari petition to the US Supreme Court was denied, and his execution was then set for July 17, 2007.In July 2008, Davis' lawyers filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the US Supreme Court, appealing from the Georgia Supreme Court decision and arguing that the Eighth Amendment creates a substantive right of the innocent not to be executed. However, an execution date was scheduled for September 23, 2008, before the United States Supreme Court decided whether to take up Davis' case. The Georgia Supreme Court refused to grant a stay of execution and the Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency without giving a reason for their decision. On October 21, 2008, Davis' lawyers requested an emergency stay of the pending execution, and three days later the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution to consider a newly-filed federal habeas petition. Davis' supporters continued their appeals and actions; these included such as rallies held worldwide, a petition with 140,000 signatures presented to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, and an appeal from the European Union calling for the death sentence to be commuted. In contrast, the Chatham County prosecutors asserted that Davis was guilty and deserved the death penalty. On September 7, 2011, Georgia set Davis' execution date for September 21, 2011. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles set a hearing for Davis' second bid for clemency for September 19. The Board did not grant him clemency in September 2008, but the five-member Board had three new members. On September 20, the Board denied him clemency.