The US Supreme Court gave death row inmate Troy Davis a rare chance to prove himself innocent of the murder of the 1989 murder of off-duty Savannah police officer, Mark McPhail. For more than 20 years, Davis has contended he is innocent of the crime and has begged for a chance to present the evidence. On Tuesday, a Federal Judge ruled that his evidence was not convincing.
Here’s what the AP said:
The NAACP, Amnesty International and dignitaries such as former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI have rallied behind Davis. A year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Davis a federal hearing to put his innocence claim to the test — a chance afforded no other American in at least 50 years.
U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. said the evidence presented by Davis’ attorneys at a June hearing wasn’t nearly strong enough to prove he’s innocent.
“Ultimately, while Mr. Davis’s new evidence casts some additional, minimal doubt on his conviction, it is largely smoke and mirrors,” the judge said.
The ruling sets the stage for Georgia officials to resume planning Davis’ execution, though his attorneys vowed to appeal.
NOTE: Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog has a terrific analysis of the judge’s ruling, for those interested in such things.
NOTE 2: For background on the original Supreme Court ruling on Davis and links to his story as a whole, go to this earlier WLA post on the matter.