Execution of Troy Davis
On September 7, 2011, Georgia set Davis's execution date for September 21, 2011. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles set a hearing for Davis's second bid for clemency for September 19. The Board did not grant him clemency in September 2008, but the five-member Board had three new members. On September 20, the Board denied him clemency.
On the morning of September 21, 2011, the Butts County Superior Court denied Davis's request to halt his execution. The Georgia Supreme Court also denied his appeal. Davis was set to be executed at 7 pm EDT. The same night, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that President Obama would not intervene in the case (while Obama could not have pardoned Davis, he had the authority to order a federal investigation that might have led to a delay in the execution). Davis filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution. Almost an hour after Davis's scheduled execution time, the Supreme Court announced they would review his petition, thereby postponing his scheduled execution. The Supreme Court, however, denied Davis's petition, after deliberating for several hours.
The execution began at 10:53 pm EDT. In his final words, Davis maintained his innocence, saying:
Well, first of all I'd like to address the MacPhail family. I'd like to let you all know, despite the situation -- I know all of you are still convinced that I'm the person that killed your father, your son and your brother, but I am innocent. The incident that happened that night was not my fault. I did not have a gun that night. I did not shoot your family member. But I am so sorry for your loss. I really am -- sincerely. All I can ask is that each of you look deeper into this case, so that you really will finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends that you all continue to pray, that you all continue to forgive. Continue to fight this fight. For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on all of your souls. God bless you all.
He was declared dead at 11:08 pm EDT.
Twitter recorded 7671 tweets per second in the moments before word of Davis’ execution, making his death one of the most active Twitter events in history.
His funeral was attended by over 1,000 people in Savannah, Georgia, on October 1, 2011.
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