WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Troy Anthony Davis appeal denied
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By WTOC staff
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by Georgia death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis in the killing of a Savannah police officer.
Davis was convicted in 1991 for killing Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. Davis was sentenced to die by lethal injection.
Over the years, he's filed numerous appeals and received several stays of execution.
Thursday, a panel of judges with the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals denied Davis's claim that executing him for MacPhail's murder would violate his constitutional rights.
Georgia's high court issued a stay three days before Davis' scheduled execution on October 27, 2008. It was the third time since July 2007 Davis has been spared the death penalty by a late court decision.
It was back in December, 2008 when Davis' lawyers filed the appeal with the 11th Circuit Court, the last place they could bring their case for a new trial for Davis.
The three judge panel poured over the case for more than four months. Since then, his lawyers and family have been working to spare Davis' life.
But a majority of the judges found that in view of all the testimony and other evidence, they did not think Davis could establish that a jury would not have found him guilty.
Davis' attorneys now have 30 days to file an appeal with the US Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court does nothing or rejects his appeal, the case goes back to the Chatham County court for a judge to set a new execution date.
In a released statement, Amnesty International USA condemned the 11th Circuit Court's decision to deny troy Davis' appeal.
"It is time for lawmakers in Georgia and across the United States to confront our morally bankrupt and perilously broken death penalty system," said southern regional director for AIUSA Jared Feuer in a release. "Troy Davis' case shows us everything that is wrong with the death penalty system, including its inability to correct its mistakes."
To read the full statement from Amnesty International USA, click here.
To read more about the Troy Davis case, click here.
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