Troy Davis’ Family Are ‘Not Going To Stop Trying’ To Halt Wednesday’s Execution


Posted on Sep 20, 2011 @ 05:00PM  

By Radar Staff

The last desperate plea for clemency made on behalf of death row inmate Troy Davis was turned down on Tuesday, RadarOnline.com has learned, despite having received an outpouring of support from those who believe that he was wrongly accused of killing a police officer in 1989.

However, the convicted killer's supporters have still not given up hope as Davis' sister spearheads a campaign to save her brother.  Kim Davis launched an online petition 11 days ago at Change.org to appeal to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, and currently has 250,000 signatures supporting her sibling.

"She is not going to stop trying, she said she is going to keep pushing for this up until the very moment that it might happen," Jonathan Perri, Senior Organizer of the Criminal Justice division of Change.org told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview.

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"She still has hope, people are continuing to take action by calling the parole board and the District Attorney's office. The parole board still has the power to reverse the decision that they made on Tuesday and it is possible that it could be repealed up until a few hours before," Perri explained. "The judge could still revoke the actual death warrant on Wednesday."

The 42-year-old Savannah, Georgia, native is due to be executed on Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time for the shooting of off-duty cop Mark MacPhail, who was gunned down while rushing to the aid of a homeless man in a Burger King parking lot.

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Steve Hayes, spokesman for the Board of Pardons and Paroles, said the panel decided to reject Davis' request for clemency after hearing hours of testimony from his supporters and prosecutors," reported MSNBC.com.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Davis' legal team is arguing that there is “abundant evidence” that another man committed the murder and say that they have “sworn statements from three jurors who sentenced Davis to death at his 1991 trial, but who now express doubt with their verdicts and are asking that Davis be spared the death penalty.”

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Davis’ attorneys noted that seven of the prosecution’s nine witness have either recanted or backed off their testimony.  More witnesses have come forward to say in sworn statements that SylvesterRedd” Coles told them he was the one who pulled the trigger in the murder of MacPhail.  Coles was at the scene of the crime with Davis.

While Davis has been up for execution four times in the past four years already and been saved, defense attorney Jason Ewart has said that the pardons board was likely Davis' last option.

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Change.org aims to bring public attention to a wide variety of topics including animal rights, economic justice and human trafficking by providing a platform to build and promote online petitions.

"A lot of people from Georgia are using the platform to contact the parole board members and D.A.'s office and they have a lot of say in the case," Perri told Radar.

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Along with family members and local residents, Davis has a number of high profile supporters backing his case, including former president Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI,  former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, ex-Justice Department official Larry Thompson and one-time FBI Director William Sessions.

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He has been on death row for over a decade and that is a decade too long. Lawyers always trying to drag things out just to make a buck.....and it is the taxpayer who pay them. Get it over with!

by Vandy
Posted Wed, 09/21/2011 - 3:27am

Fry him like fried chicken!

by CaughtaLiteSneeze
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:53pm

Davis shot in the face a man hours before killing officer Macphail . Officer Macphail went to protect a homeless man being pistol whipped by Davis, he shot officer Macphail in the head and heart he had no chance to use his revolver.

by butters
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 10:00pm

Was Davis one of the man beating the homeless man? Did he stand by while his partner killed the cop? Did he run and hide when the cop died. Not enough information to make a call her. The jury had the information and made the call.

by Domino70
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 9:33pm

I can tell he's guilty just by looking at him.

by Latonka
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:41pm

The consequences of improperly executing a man, when found out at a later date, should mean all the Parole board members who made the final call, must be executed immediately!

by therock
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:37pm

Meanwhile, I will be celebrating his life for offing a cop at 7pm tomorrow night!

by therock
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 6:21pm

The eyes are the window to the soul...all I know is that I think you have to forgive to go on and sometimes we want someone to pay for what happened but the fear of killing an innocent man would stop me..they are obviously hurting really bad.

by earlybird
Posted Tue, 09/20/2011 - 5:46pm

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