http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=6797289Board grants stay of execution for Davis
Associated Press - July 16, 2007 7:54 PM ET
ATLANTA (AP) - The state Board of Pardons and Paroles has granted a 90-day stay of execution for Troy Davis, who was to be executed tomorrow in the killing of a Savannah police officer in 1989.
Lawyers for Davis spent more than five hours today pleading with the board to grant a reprieve, arguing that Davis is Davis innocent of the murder of Officer Mark MacPhail.
Prosecutors were given a chance during the closed-door hearing to rebut the request for clemency for Davis, who was to be executed tomorrow at at 7 pm.
The board's options included granting a stay of his execution while it considers the issues.
Also today, Davis' lawyers filed an appeal before the state Supreme Court of an earlier decision by a Chatham County judge to deny a stay of Davis' execution.
Among the people who argued for clemency for Davis during the parole board hearing were friends, family and US Representative John Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat and civil rights icon. Five witnesses who testified at trial spoke to the board on Davis' behalf, Ewart said.
Among those present for the state at the parole board's offices were the victim's widow and mother and the district attorney for Chatham County. They have argued that Davis received a fair trial and has had plenty of appeals, all of which have failed.
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