Georgia Board denies Troy Davis clemency despite protests and petitions

Despite protests and petitions, Troy Davis will be executed. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied request to free Troy Davis.

George Board denies Troy Davis request

Troy Davis was convicted in 1989 by a  Georgia jury for the murder of off duty police officer Mark MacPhail. Davis received the death penalty.

But just like many others in this situation, Davis has maintained his innocence, stating there were too many inconsistent statements in his trial. There’s a reason to might believe assertion : too much doubt.

According to reports, in the early morning hours on August 19, 1989, several people including Troy Davis and Sylvester “Redd” Coles were hanging out in front a Burger King lot adjoined with a Grey Hound bus station. Coles began arguing with a homeless man named Larry Young, who demanded that Young give him a beer. As Young walked away, he was pistol whipped in the head. Police officer Mark MacPhail, serving off-duty as a security guard at the bus station, responded to a call for help. As he came running to Young’s aid he was shot and killed by the same man who had attacked Young. The day after the shooting, Coles went to the police station with his lawyer and said that Troy Davis was the shooter.

Countless appeals had to been file on his behalf and protests have been made. He received over 100,000 signatures on a petition. With the involvement of the NAACP, to the support of former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, it still wasn’t enough.

Troy Davis will be executed by lethal injection tomorrow, September 21st at 7pm by the State of Georgia.

Amnesty International issued a statement following the Board’s:

It is unconscionable that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied relief to Troy Davis. Allowing a man to be sent to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilt is an outrageous affront to justice. Should Troy Davis be executed, Georgia may well have executed an innocent man and in doing so discredited the justice system.

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