Former President Jimmy Carter has called on the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to reverse its decision to deny clemency to Troy Davis who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. Since Davis was convicted of allegedly killing a police officer in 1991, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted. No physical or DNA evidence ties Davis to the crime. Jimmy Carter said, “This case illustrates the deep flaws in the application of the death penalty in this country. Executing Troy Davis without a real examination of potentially exonerating evidence risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice.” In Atlanta, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the NAACP are planning to hold a rally today in front of the State Capitol.
Georgia is planning to execute Davis on Tuesday, even though the US Supreme Court is scheduled to decide next week on whether to hear a last-minute appeal in his case.