Troy Davis was executed this evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay of execution.
Davis died at 11:08 p.m. ET, according to a Georgia Department of Corrections official.
Eyewitnesses described the mood in the execution chamber as "somber" as Davis was wheeled in strapped to a gurney. He declared his innocence a final time as the witnesses and relatives of his alleged murder victim looked on.
The execution was delayed more than four hours as the U.S. Supreme Court weighed last-minute arguments from Davis' legal team and the state of Georgia over whether his execution should be blocked.Lawyers for Davis filed the appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday evening, after the Georgia Supreme Court rejected a similar appeal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The Georgia pardons board rejected a last-ditch request Wednesday to halt the execution.
Davis had been scheduled to die at 7 p.m. EDT by lethal injection at the prison near Jackson.
"Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis."
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of the case is the fact that one of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony, Sylvester "Red" Coles, is the principle alternative suspect. Amnesty International reports the nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Coles in the crime.
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