Prometheus 6

Davis was scheduled for execution on July 17, but the day before the execution, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a 90-day stay of the sentence. During that period, the board said, it plans to consider the evidence that Davis and his attorneys say casts doubt on his guilt.

Five of the trial witnesses testified to the clemency board, but no appeals court has expressed a willingness to hear testimony from those witnesses or even to hold a hearing in the case.

Condemned Man's Appeal Accepted
Trial Witnesses in 1989 Georgia Police Killing Have Recanted
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 4, 2007; A06

MIAMI, Aug. 3 -- The Georgia Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear the appeal of a condemned police killer now that most of the key witnesses against him have recanted and, in some cases, said they lied under pressure from police.

A lower-court judge had ruled last month that the recantations and other evidence discovered since Troy Davis's 1991 conviction and death sentence were insufficient grounds for a new trial.

But in a 4 to 3 vote, the Georgia Supreme Court in Atlanta agreed to hear oral arguments between prosecutors and defense attorneys on whether Davis should get a new trial.

"He's happy," defense attorney Jason Ewart said after speaking by phone with Davis. "He tries to stay distant from the day to day because it's a roller coaster. But he has a positive outlook."

Davis was scheduled for execution on July 17, but the day before the execution, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a 90-day stay of the sentence. During that period, the board said, it plans to consider the evidence that Davis and his attorneys say casts doubt on his guilt.

Five of the trial witnesses testified to the clemency board, but no appeals court has expressed a willingness to hear testimony from those witnesses or even to hold a hearing in the case.

Some legal scholars have pointed to the case as an illustration of the dangers of Supreme Court decisions and new laws that have made federal appeals courts less likely to reconsider death sentences.