This morning 240,000 more petitions were delivered
Also this morning, Davis' lawyers asked for a polygraph test but were denied by the Department of Corrections. Today his lawyers filed a brief in state court concerning new ballistics evidence. That appeal has now been rejected.
Update: CNN reporting that Davis' lawyer says the appeal will now go to the Georgia Supreme Court. See excerpt in update section at the end of the diary.
Update: By unanimous decision, the Georgia Supreme Court has denied Davis' petition and appeal. See excerpt in update section at the end of the diary. I have not heard if his defense team is going to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Update (6pm): CNN reporter on the scene just said that Davis' attorneys are going to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jeffrey Toobin is opining right now that it is not likely that they will intervene.
Update (7:35 pm): Major confusion in the media. The state of Georgia is waiting for SCOTUS. See excerpts in the update section at the end of the diary.
Update (8:40 pm): Significantly increased police presence at the prison.
Update (10:20 pm): Reuters is reporting that SCOTUS has denied the stay.
Update (11:15 pm): Troy Davis was executed. The time of death was 11:08. Until his last words he maintained his innocence.
There are protests and vigils occurring now and planned for this evening all around the world, led by numerous individuals and organizations.
I'm not sure what options are left. Huge numbers of people all over the world are begging them to reconsider but it seems to be falling on callously deaf ears. This is a travesty.
Ga inmate's execution nears; protests worldwide
JACKSON, Ga.—Troy Davis, the condemned inmate who convinced hundreds of thousands of people but zero appellate courts of his innocence, waited to be executed Wednesday as his supporters held vigils outside Georgia's death row and as far away as London and Paris.
His offer to take a polygraph test was rejected. So was his request for the pardons board to give him one more hearing. His attorneys again challenged the evidence that helped convict him of killing off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989, but prosecutors said their filing was a delay tactic that offered nothing the courts hadn't seen before.
As Troy Davis' execution nears, appeals filed, protests mount
By Bill Rankin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With only a few hours remaining before Troy Anthony Davis' execution scheduled for tonight, his lawyers are pursuing final appeals and protests are mounting.
Davis' final chances appear to rest on a court petition filed this morning before a Superior Court judge in Butts County, home to Georgia's death row. The filing says ballistics evidence used to convict Davis during the 1991 trial has been discredited as has testimony from a woman who said she was an eyewitness to the murder and a jailhouse snitch who testified at trial that Davis told him he was the killer.
"We are going to give the justice system one more chance to avoid a legal, constitutional and moral disaster," Brian Kammer, one of Davis' lawyers, said.
[ ... ]
Early this morning, his lawyers tried to gain access to the state prison in Jackson where Davis resides so he could be administered a polygraph test to try and show he is not a cop killer. But his lawyers were rebuffed.
The ballistics appeal has been rejected.
Last-minute appeal to halt execution for Troy Davis rejected
Defense attorney Brian Kammer filed the appeal in Butts County Superior Court, south of Atlanta, arguing that ballistic testing that linked Davis to the shooting was flawed.
The state Pardons and Paroles Board said in a statement it would not review its decision to allow the execution to go forward. Defense lawyer Stephen Marsh also said the pardons board denied his request for Davis to take a polygraph test.
Troy Davis supporters rally in Savannah, deliver more petitions
SAVANNAH, GA – Supporters of death row inmate Troy Davis will deliver over 240,000 petition signatures to the offices of Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm today, in the hope that he will intervene and request that Davis' death warrant be revoked.
[ ... ]
Today's will be the second petition delivery. Last week more than 650,000 signatures from multiple petitions seeking to stop the execution were delivered by supporters to the Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardons at a press conference in Atlanta.
Troy Davis execution: repeated trips to death chamber 'amount to torture'
Troy Davis has come close to being executed four times – and human rights campaigners describe effects of multiple exposure to imminent judicial death as 'horrendous'
Should the execuction of Troy Davis go ahead on Wednesday night as expected, it would be the fourth occasion he has come within a short time of being administered with lethal drugs in as many years.
On 23 September 2008, Davis came within 90 minutes of execution. He was taken off the gurney after the US supreme court intervened.
That was his second execution date. On 16 July 2007 he was granted a stay just one day before he was due to die, and on 24 October 2008, at the third attempt to kill him, he was spared temporarily three days before his execution date.
Experts in death row and its psychological impact on prisoners say that such multiple exposure to imminent judicial death is tantamount to a form of torture.
Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles:
Phone: 404-656-0693 and 404-656-5651
Fax: 404-651-8502 and 404-651-6670
Savannah District Attorney Larry Chisolm
Phone: 912-652-7308; Fax: 912-652-7328
Local Judge Penny Haas Freesemann
Phone: (912) 652-7252
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal
Phone: 404-656-1776
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/...
There are an amazing number of videos on YouTube concerning Troy Davis, many of them people who filmed themselves giving personal appeals. Messages on Twitter are legion, most of them using the hashtags #TroyDavis and #TooMuchDoubt. How can so many voices be ignored?
Update 1
In SwedishJewfish's diary about Troy, he/she has added a letter from Troy.
Here is the letter.
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,
“I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
Update 2
CNN now reporting that the appeal is going to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Updated at 4:31 p.m.] An appeal filed with the Butts County Superior Court to stay Troy Davis’ execution has been denied, the court told CNN.
Davis’ attorney Brian Kammer tells CNN the appeal is now being brought before the Georgia Supreme Court.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/...
Update 3
Troy Davis Supporters Still Trying for Miracle Appeal
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously denied Davis's petition for a stay and a chance at a new appeal, which leaves his defense team with one option: the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case last year and declined to stop the execution.
[ Georgia ] Supreme Court denies Davis stay of execution
The Georgia Supreme Court has refused a stay of execution for Troy Davis. The Court denied 42-year-old Davis' motion for a stay of execution and his request for the court to hear another appeal.
Update 4
At 6pm the CNN reporter on the scene said that Davis' lawyers are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court. Jeffrey Toobin is speaking right now, saying that he believes it is unlikely that they will hear the case. Toobin says that a stay will not be issued at the state level, the U.S. Supreme Court is really his only option.
Local news is reporting that Troy has refused a final meal and has refused to make a final statement.
Troy Davis asks Supreme Court to stop execution
JACKSON, Ga. — Troy Davis, the condemned inmate who convinced hundreds of thousands of people but not the justice system of his innocence, filed an eleventh-hour plea Wednesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Georgia authorities from executing him for the murder of an off-duty police officer.
Update 5
Joining in vigil for Troy with the people in Lady Libertine's diary.
Update 6
There has been major confusion in the media. I have seen and heard some very odd and apparently irresponsible reporting. First, I noticed that the Atlanta Journal Constitution changed their headline to indicate that SCOTUS would not intervene. They have since changed their headline back. On CNN, at 7:04pm they showed crowds cheering outside the prison but did not know why. On FoxNews they actually reported that SCOTUS had refused to intervene but then their reporter on the scene, John Roberts, finally retracted that and said that SCOTUS, specifically Justice Thomas, is considering. Huffington Post has a big headline "Just in Time? Supreme Court Reportedly Delays Highly Controversial Execution.. Final Decision Still To Come".
At 7:16pm Amnesty International tweeted: @ amnesty : No stay, just a delay. Watch live: http://t.co/...
Jeffrey Toobin opined that the state of Georgia has decided to wait until word comes from SCOTUS.
At 7:26pm CBS tweeted: @ CBSNews : AP: Troy Davis' stay of execution request still pending before Supreme Court; prison officials waiting to move forward http://t.co/...
At 7:28pm Washington Post tweeted: @ washingtonpost : RT @ajc: #TroyDavis execution on hold while prison officials await word from U.S. Supreme Court.
At 7:29pm Jeremy Scahill tweeted: @ jeremyscahill : NBC's Pete Williams: There is no specified time limit for SCOTUS to decide now. Takes 5 votes to grant a stay #TroyDavis
Guardian:
Troy Davis execution delayed while US supreme court considers stay
Execution of death row inmate delayed temporarily as US supreme court intervenes to consider whether to issue a stay
The execution of Troy Davis was delayed temporarily by the US supreme court on Wednesday night in a dramatic intervention just as he was due to be put to death by lethal injection.
The last-minute decision caused confusion outside the prison in Jackson, Georgia, where family, supporters and civil rights campaigners broke into celebration as they believed the court had granted Davis a stay of execution.
But it quickly emerged that the delay was only temporary, while the justices considered whether to issue a stay.
Update 7
From HuffPo liveblog, selected Twitter updates:
@ democracynow : BREAKING: Many police vehicles with lights flashing are arriving at prison. Talking to @BenJealous of @NAACP. Waiting for update. #troydavis
@ BigBoi : The police force has doubled ladies and gentlemen http://t.co/...
@ BETNews : BREAKING : Georgia State Patrol have arrived on scene at Georgia Diagnostic Prison (Troy Davis) Is there news to come? http://t.co/...
Update 8
@ Reuters : FLASH: U.S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS STAY OF EXECUTION FOR GEORGIA DEATH ROW INMATE IN HIGH-PROFILE CASE
Top court rejects last-minute stay of execution
The nation's highest court refused to stay the execution of Troy Davis, who had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) at a prison in Jackson, Georgia.
It took the court more than four hours to issue its one-sentence order, an unusually long time in such cases.
http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/...
Update 9
CNN:
Davis has been executed, a prison representative has said. The time of death was 11:08 p.m. ET.
I'm listening to the witnesses to the execution. Troy Davis' last words were to the McPhail family telling them that he was innocent, then he urged that this case be pursued so that the truth is found. To the very end he maintained his innocence.
To the people at the prison who took his life, he asked may God have mercy on their souls.