His execution, which began at 10:53 p.m., came after a three-hour hold while the Supreme Court considered a late request for a stay. In the end the court refused to stop the execution, despite calls for clemency from former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and others.
Davis' attorneys say seven of nine key witnesses against him recanted all or parts of their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against granting him a new trial.
Troy Anthony Davis
- Ho / AFP - Getty Images
Age: 42
Hometown:Savannah, Ga.
Sentenced to die for: Aug. 19, 1989, murder of off-duty Savannah, Ga., police officer Mark MacPhail.
Additional info:Maintains his innocence. List of supporters include former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, Desmond Tutu.
Media witnesses said that on his death bed, Davis told the family of the slain officer, Mark MacPhail, that he was very sorry for their loss but that he wasn't responsible for his death.
"It's not my fault; I did not have a gun," he said while strapped to a gurney, according to witness Rhonda Cook of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I did not personally kill your son, father, brother," he said, Cook reported.
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