Constitutional Law

Federal Appeals Blocks Execution of Georgia Man

A federal appeals court today granted a stay of execution for Troy Davis, a Georgia man on death row for almost 20 years. Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing a Savannah police officer. But since his conviction a string of witnesses that testified against him have come forth to recant their testimony. In September, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution, but on Oct. 14 the high court declined to review Davis’ sentence thereby paving the way for his execution. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued today’s stay of execution so Davis’ attorneys can file for a new review of the case in a lower federal court. Amnesty International praised the 11th Circuit’s action, telling CNN, “Until this point, the compelling issues in this case have been virtually ignored, leaving Georgia vulnerable to the possibility of killing an innocent man.” In a guest blog post for ACS, former FBI director William S. Sessions asserted that Davis should receive a new hearing, in part, because of poor representation he received during his trial.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).