Religious leaders seek clemency for Georgia man on death row

Religious leaders called Thursday on their peers to join them in seeking clemency for a man on Georgia's death row, citing doubts about whether he is guilty.

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and Amnesty International said they were asking religious leaders to encourage others to sign a public letter (troyletter.org) asking the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute the death sentence of Troy Davis, 42. As of Thursday night, more than 1,600 people from across the country had done so.

"This is a matter of conscience and it is urgent," said Stephen Dear, executive director of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, a national advocacy group based in North Carolina.

"We call on religious leaders, regardless of their position on the death penalty, to use their moral authority to help stop the execution of a man with a strong case of innocence."

Witnesses testified that Davis, then 19, and two others were harassing a homeless man in a Burger King parking lot in 1989 when off-duty Savannah, Georgia, Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail went to the man's assistance. They testified that Davis shot MacPhail twice and fled.

Since Davis was convicted in 1991, seven of the nine original witnesses have recanted or changed their testimonies; no physical evidence links him to the crime.

Davis was granted a stay of execution by the U.S. Supreme Court two hours before he was to be put to death in 2008, and the court in 2009 ordered the federal district court to take another look at the case.

That court, after holding a hearing to review evidence, ruled that Davis "failed to show actual innocence" in the case. The district court suggested that, for procedural reasons, Davis should take his appeal of its ruling directly to the Supreme Court.

Davis ended up filing with both the 11th Circuit and the Supreme Court. The 11th Circuit deflected the appeal in November, saying it agreed with the district court that the Supreme Court was the correct place for the filing. Davis then took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court in January, filing two pleas.

One sought review of the Georgia federal judge's rejection of the innocence claim, and the other asked for a test of the 11th Circuit's refusal to review the case. The justices in March turned down both pleas without comment.

That means Davis could face a fourth execution date within two weeks, according to the letter. "Only the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles can stop his execution now," the release said.