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Troy Davis urges supporters to 'fight on,' then is executed
Source: Agencies |
September 23, 2011, Friday
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TROY Davis declared one last time that he did not kill a police officer before being executed in Jackson, Georgia, in the United States on Wednesday night.
Outside the prison more than 500 demonstrators cried, hugged, prayed and held candles.
Hundreds of thousands of Davis supporters worldwide took up the anti-death penalty cause as his final days ticked away. They staged vigils in the US and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet.
"I am innocent," Davis said moments before he was executed. "All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight."
Prosecutors and police officer Mark MacPhail's family said justice had been served.
"I'm numb. I can't believe that it's really happened," MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said.
"All the feelings of relief and peace I've been waiting for all these years, they will come later. I certainly do want some peace."
She dismissed Davis' claims of innocence.
"He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything."
Davis was scheduled to die at 7pm, but the hour passed as the US Supreme Court apparently weighed the case. More than three hours later, the high court said it wouldn't intervene.
Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf and he had prominent supporters. His attorneys said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him - three times on Wednesday alone.
When asked yesterday on NBC's "Today" show if he thought the state had executed an innocent man, civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton said: "I believe that they did, but even beyond my belief, they clearly executed a man who had established much, much reasonable doubt."
MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said it was "a time for healing for all families."
"I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and hurt," she said.
Some Davis supporters tried desperate measures, urging prison workers to stay at home and posting a judge's phone number online.
President Barack Obama deflected calls for him to get involved in the case.
Davis' execution had been halted three times since 2007. The US Supreme Court even gave Davis an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence in a lower court last year.
Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency.
In his final hours, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer of a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters.
"Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister, Martina Correia, said before the execution. "They say, 'I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak."
Supporters included former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and hip-hop star Sean "P Diddy" Combs.
Davis was convicted in 1991 of shooting MacPhail, who was working as a security guard in Savannah at the time, after the officer rushed to the aid of a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was hitting with a handgun.
Outside the prison more than 500 demonstrators cried, hugged, prayed and held candles.
Hundreds of thousands of Davis supporters worldwide took up the anti-death penalty cause as his final days ticked away. They staged vigils in the US and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet.
"I am innocent," Davis said moments before he was executed. "All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight."
Prosecutors and police officer Mark MacPhail's family said justice had been served.
"I'm numb. I can't believe that it's really happened," MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said.
"All the feelings of relief and peace I've been waiting for all these years, they will come later. I certainly do want some peace."
She dismissed Davis' claims of innocence.
"He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything."
Davis was scheduled to die at 7pm, but the hour passed as the US Supreme Court apparently weighed the case. More than three hours later, the high court said it wouldn't intervene.
Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf and he had prominent supporters. His attorneys said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him - three times on Wednesday alone.
When asked yesterday on NBC's "Today" show if he thought the state had executed an innocent man, civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton said: "I believe that they did, but even beyond my belief, they clearly executed a man who had established much, much reasonable doubt."
MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said it was "a time for healing for all families."
"I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and hurt," she said.
Some Davis supporters tried desperate measures, urging prison workers to stay at home and posting a judge's phone number online.
President Barack Obama deflected calls for him to get involved in the case.
Davis' execution had been halted three times since 2007. The US Supreme Court even gave Davis an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence in a lower court last year.
Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency.
In his final hours, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer of a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters.
"Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister, Martina Correia, said before the execution. "They say, 'I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak."
Supporters included former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and hip-hop star Sean "P Diddy" Combs.
Davis was convicted in 1991 of shooting MacPhail, who was working as a security guard in Savannah at the time, after the officer rushed to the aid of a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was hitting with a handgun.
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