More than 500 demonstrators showed their support for Troy Davis outside the Georgia prison where he was brought to the death chamber on September 21, as he claimed one last time he didn’t kill police officer Mark MacPhail, CBS News is reporting. “I am innocent,” he said moments before his execution. “All I can ask…is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth.”
However, prosecutors and MacPhail’s family believe justice has been served. “I’m kind of numb. I can’t believe that it’s really happened,” the police officer’s mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said. “All the feelings of relief and peace I’ve been waiting for all these years, they will come.”
Anneliese dismissed Davis’ claims of innocence, saying he’s been telling himself for 22 years that he didn’t kill her son. “You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything,” she added.
Davis was originally scheduled to be executed at 7 pm, but the U.S. Supreme Court weighed the case. More than three hours later, the court said it wouldn’t intervene, and he was executed just after 11 pm. The justices didn’t comment on their rejection of Davis’ request for a stay.
Even though the four four liberal justices on the Supreme Court agreed that Davis never proved his innocence, hundreds of thousands of people petitioned on his behalf. His attorneys even said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed all, or least part of their testimonies. However, state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him.
Written by: Karen Benardello
