WHY REPUBLICANS AND BUSH PARDON LIBBY BUT NOT THIS MAN IN GEORGIA?

July 17, 2007

Oh that's right I almost forgot, he's black..

Inmate granted 90-day stay of execution

Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:12PM EDT

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The Georgia parole board on Monday granted a 90-

day stay of execution for a convicted police killer whose case had

drawn pleas for clemency amid claims he might not be guilty.

Troy Davis, 38, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on

Tuesday. A statement posted on the State Board of Pardons and Paroles'

Web site late on Monday said the panel voted to temporarily halt the

execution to evaluate evidence presented after a daylong clemency

hearing.

Davis was convicted of killing police officer Mark McPhail in the

parking lot of a Burger King restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, in 1989.

In recent days, supporters of Davis had urged the parole board to

spare his life, citing indications he may not have committed the

murder. Campaigners including Amnesty International and South African

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu had argued Davis could be

innocent.

No DNA evidence linked Davis to the crime, no murder weapon was found

and seven of nine witnesses central to the prosecution case have

recanted or changed their testimony, according to activists.

Some witnesses have said they testified under duress and other

witnesses have identified another man they said was the murderer,

Davis' lawyers said.

Among those supporting the plea of clemency for Davis at Monday's

hearing before the parole board were U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia

Democrat.

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