US Supreme Court issues stay two hours before execution

Sep 24, 2008, 4:56 GMT

   Washington - A Georgia inmate convicted of killing a police officer received a stay of execution from the US Supreme Court two hours before he was to be put to death by lethal injection.

   Troy Davis, 39, who is on death row for the August 19, 1989, killing of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail, was scheduled to be executed at 7 pm Tuesday and received word of the postponement two hours before his death was to take place, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

   The Supreme Court issued the stay without explanation and is to decide Monday whether to grant Davis' appeal for a new trial. If the top court chooses not to hear the appeal, the stay would automatically terminate, and Georgia would be able to proceed with the execution.

   However, if the court agrees to hear the case, the stay would remain in place until it issues its decision

   It was the second time that Davis was granted a stay hours before he was to be put to death. In July 2007, the Georgia state Board of Pardons and Paroles postponed his execution less than 24 hours before it was to occur.

   Davis' claims of innocence have attracted international attention due in part to seven of the nine witnesses at his trial recanting their testimony. In addition, no physical evidence was presented, including the murder weapon, which was never found. Three witnesses said another man later admitted the killing.

   In Jackson, Georgia, where Davis had been scheduled to be put to death, his family and supporters broke into tears and song when they learned of the stay, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

   'I've been praying for this moment forever,' said Davis' sister and most outspoken proponent, Martina Correia. Davis' mother, Virginia Davis, said God had answered their prayers.