High court inaction delays Troy Davis appeal

By Russ Bynum
Associated Press | Last updated: Jul 14, 2009 - 6:03:07 PM

Regional Director for Amnesty International USA, Jared Feuer, left, speaks during a news conference June 29 in Savannah, Ga. on behalf of Troy Davis, convicted in 1991 in the slaying of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah. The U.S. Supreme Court was expected to decide soon whether to hear his latest appeal. Photo: AP Photo/Stephen Morton

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis got another legal break when the U.S. Supreme Court recessed for summer without acting on his latest appeal, likely delaying any developments in his case until fall. Earlier, his supporters presented Savannah's district attorney with 60,000 petition signatures urging him to reopen the case.

Mr. Davis has spent nearly 18 years on death row after his conviction for killing an off-duty police officer, and his case has become a rallying point for death penalty opponents worldwide. His attorneys say Mr. Davis is innocent of killing officer Mark MacPhail and deserves a new trial after several key prosecution witnesses recanted testimony given at his 1991 trial.

Mr. Davis has been spared from execution three times since he was first scheduled to die by lethal injection in 2007, as various courts have weighed and ultimately rejected his appeals.

Mr. Davis' attorneys filed his latest appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their request for a new trial in April. The Supreme Court had not decided whether it would hear Mr. Davis' appeal when justices recessed for the summer June 29. They won't reconvene until September.

“It's definitely good news,” said Jason Ewart, Davis' attorney, who interpreted the court's inaction as a sign it wants to take a closer look at the case. “It's not just a move buying more time.”

While the Supreme Court's in recess, the next move would be up to Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm.

There's no stay of execution preventing Mr. Chisolm from seeking a judge's order to move forward with Mr. Davis' death sentence. The prosecutor released a brief statement that stopped short of saying he would wait for the Supreme Court before acting.

Davis' supporters say Mr. Chisolm has another option. They're working to pressure Mr. Chisolm to reopen Mr. Davis' case without waiting for the courts.

“He doesn't have to wait for them,” said Martina Correia, Mr. Davis' sister. “He could still open this case at any time.”

About 25 people from the NAACP, Amnesty International and other groups supporting Mr. Davis held a June 29 news conference outside the Savannah courthouse to present Chisolm's office with 60,000 petition signatures urging the prosecutor to seek a new trial for Mr. Davis.

They said about 11,000 signatures came from Savannah and surrounding Chatham County, where Black voters were key to Mr. Chisolm's election as the county's first Black district attorney last fall. Mr. Davis is also Black.

Mr. Chisolm's predecessor, Spencer Lawton, was district attorney when Davis was convicted. Prosecutors under Mr. Lawton, who retired last year, rejected Mr. Davis' claims of innocence and labeled statements by recanting witnesses as “suspect.”

Mr. MacPhail was slain 20 years ago while working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station. He had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Mr. Davis and two other men. Witnesses identified Mr. Davis as the shooter at his 1991 trial.

But Mr. Davis' lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of mistaken identity. They say three people who did not testify at Mr. Davis' trial have said another man confessed to the killing.

The Final Call