Supporters of death row inmate Troy Davis in the US and Europe tried just about anything to spare him from lethal injection on Wednesday night for killing a Georgia policeman, a crime he and others have insisted for years that he did not commit.
Supporters planned vigils around the world. They'll be outside Georgia's death row prison in Jackson and at US embassies in Europe. The 42-year-old's most realistic, though slim, chance for reprieve is through the courts, and his lawyers are trying.
His backers have tried increasingly frenzied measures: offering for Davis to take a polygraph test, urging prison workers to strike or call in sick, posting a judge's phone number online, urging people to call and ask him to put a stop to the execution. They've even considered a desperate appeal for White House intervention.
Supporters include former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict and a former FBI director, the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, as well as conservative figures. The US Supreme Court even gave him an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence last year, but ultimately didn't hear the merits of the case.
Several witnesses have recanted their accounts that it was Davis who pulled the trigger in the 1989 murder of Savannah officer Mark MacPhail, and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Still, prosecutors have backed the verdict and state and federal courts have repeatedly upheld his conviction.
MacPhail was off-duty working security at a bus station on August 19, 1989, and rushed to the aid of Larry Young, a homeless man that prosecutors say Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. When Mr MacPhail got there, they say Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King car park. Others have claimed the man with him that night has said he actually shot the 27-year-old officer.
No gun was ever found, but shell casings were linked, prosecutors say, to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted. Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter. However, no other physical evidence found, including blood or DNA, tying Davis to the crime.
As time ticked toward the execution, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer for a special last meal and planned to spend his final hours meeting with friends, family and supporters.
Meanwhile, two attempts to prove his innocence were rejected: a polygraph test and another hearing before the pardons board. His attorney Stephen Marsh said Davis would only submit to a polygraph test if pardons officials would take it seriously. "He doesn't want to spend three hours away from his family on what could be the last day of his life if it won't make any difference," Mr Marsh said.
His lawyers, meanwhile, are trying the legal avenues left to them, filing a motion in a county court challenging the ballistics evidence and eyewitness testimony. A judge could at least delay the execution, which has happened three times before. Most believe arguments on the merits of the case have been exhausted, however.
Supporters of death row inmate Troy Davis in the US and Europe tried just about anything to spare him from lethal injection on Wednesday night for killing a Georgia policeman, a crime he and others have insisted for years that he did not commit.
Supporters planned vigils around the world. They'll be outside Georgia's death row prison in Jackson and at US embassies in Europe. The 42-year-old's most realistic, though slim, chance for reprieve is through the courts, and his lawyers are trying.
His backers have tried increasingly frenzied measures: offering for Davis to take a polygraph test, urging prison workers to strike or call in sick, posting a judge's phone number online, urging people to call and ask him to put a stop to the execution. They've even considered a desperate appeal for White House intervention.
Supporters include former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict and a former FBI director, the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, as well as conservative figures. The US Supreme Court even gave him an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence last year, but ultimately didn't hear the merits of the case.
Several witnesses have recanted their accounts that it was Davis who pulled the trigger in the 1989 murder of Savannah officer Mark MacPhail, and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Still, prosecutors have backed the verdict and state and federal courts have repeatedly upheld his conviction.
MacPhail was off-duty working security at a bus station on August 19, 1989, and rushed to the aid of Larry Young, a homeless man that prosecutors say Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. When Mr MacPhail got there, they say Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King car park. Others have claimed the man with him that night has said he actually shot the 27-year-old officer.
No gun was ever found, but shell casings were linked, prosecutors say, to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted. Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter. However, no other physical evidence found, including blood or DNA, tying Davis to the crime.
As time ticked toward the execution, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer for a special last meal and planned to spend his final hours meeting with friends, family and supporters.
Meanwhile, two attempts to prove his innocence were rejected: a polygraph test and another hearing before the pardons board. His attorney Stephen Marsh said Davis would only submit to a polygraph test if pardons officials would take it seriously. "He doesn't want to spend three hours away from his family on what could be the last day of his life if it won't make any difference," Mr Marsh said.
His lawyers, meanwhile, are trying the legal avenues left to them, filing a motion in a county court challenging the ballistics evidence and eyewitness testimony. A judge could at least delay the execution, which has happened three times before. Most believe arguments on the merits of the case have been exhausted, however.