U.S. justices take break for the summer.Their inaction on appeal gives death-row inmate more time to live, hope.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

SAVANNAH —- The U.S. Supreme Court recessed on Monday for the summer without acting on the latest appeal by Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis —- a legal break for Davis that means he likely will have at least a few more months to live.

Earlier, the convicted cop killer’s supporters presented Savannah’s district attorney with 60,000 petition signatures urging him to reopen the case.

“This delay is an indication that the Supreme Court is concerned by the gravity of Troy Davis’ innocence claims,” said Laura Moye, an attorney with Amnesty International’s USA Death Penalty Abolition Campaign who is representing Davis. “We will continue to call on all authorities, including the Supreme Court, to finally hear the evidence that has motivated hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to raise their voices and demand justice.”

Davis has spent nearly 18 years on death row for the murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. His attorneys say Davis is innocent and deserves a new trial after several key prosecution witnesses recanted their testimony.

Davis has been spared from execution three times since he was first scheduled to die by lethal injection in 2007, as various courts have weighed and ultimately rejected his appeals.

His attorneys filed his latest appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their request for a new trial in April. The Supreme Court had not decided whether it would hear Davis’ appeal when justices recessed Monday. They won’t reconvene until September.

“It’s definitely good news,” said Jason Ewart, Davis’ attorney, who interpreted the court’s inaction as a sign it wants to take a closer look at the case. “It’s not just a move buying more time.”

With the court in recess, the next move would be up to Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm.

Chisolm could seek a judge’s order to move forward with Davis’ death sentence, but the prosecutor released a brief statement Monday that stopped short of saying he would wait for the Supreme Court before acting.

“As previously stated, the Chatham County District Attorney’s office has no comment on the substance of this case until all appeals are exhausted,” Chisolm said.

Chisolm’s spokeswoman, Lydia Sermons, declined to comment further.

Davis’ supporters say Chisolm has another option —- reopening Davis’ case without waiting for the courts.

“He doesn’t have to wait for them,” said Martina Correia, Davis’ sister. “He could still open this case at any time.”

Moye said she does not expect Chisolm to pursue a death warrant before the Supreme Court makes a decision, however.

About 25 people from the NAACP, Amnesty International and other groups supporting Davis held a news conference Monday outside the Savannah courthouse to present Chisolm’s office with a petition seeking a new trial.

They said about 11,000 of the 60,000 signatures came from Savannah and Chatham County, where black voters were key to Chisolm’s election as the county’s first African-American district attorney last fall. Davis is also black.

“We have sufficient evidence, we believe, to show that Troy Anthony Davis is innocent,” said Prince Jackson, president of the NAACP’s Savannah branch. “We are asking that he be given a chance. After all, his life is at stake.”

Chisolm’s spokeswoman, who accepted the petitions on his behalf, previously said the prosecutor wasn’t sure he has the legal authority to halt Davis’ execution. She declined to elaborate Monday.

Chisolm’s predecessor, Spencer Lawton, was district attorney when Davis was convicted. Prosecutors under Lawton, who retired last year, rejected Davis’ claims of innocence and said statements by the witnesses who recanted were “suspect.”

MacPhail was slain 20 years ago while working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station. He had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men.

Witnesses during the 1991 trial testified that Davis was the shooter.

But Davis’ lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of mistaken identity.

They say three people who did not testify at Davis’ trial have said another man confessed to the killing.

The case has attracted worldwide attention, with calls to stop Davis’ execution from former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu. Rallies have been held as far away as Paris.

Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this article.
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