Fate of Troy Anthony Davis Hangs in the Balance as Supporters Seek Last-Minute Halt to Execution (2)

The State of Georgia is preparing to execute Troy Anthony Davis in one of the most high-profile executions in the United States in years. Davis is scheduled to be killed by lethal ejection at 7 p.m. EDT, one day after the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected clemency. Democracy Now! will air a special broadcast from outside the prison in Jackson, Georgia, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. Davis was convicted of the 1989 killing of off-duty white police officer Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, and there is no physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene. In a new development, Davis has asked state prison officials and the pardons board to allow him to take a polygraph test today. Some supporters of Davis are now calling for a general strike or “sick out” by the staff at the Georgia prison where the execution is set to occur. We speak with Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, and Robert Rooks, the director of the NAACP’s Criminal Justice Program. “I have been working on the death penalty for more than 30 years,” Cox says, “[and] I’ve never seen a case where there is such significant doubt about the guilt or innocence of the person the state of Georgia wants to put to death.” Rooks, who met with Davis in prison on Tuesday, says Davis is holding out hope to remain alive but says the fight against the death penalty should continue no matter the outcome. “'You have a choice,'” Rooks quotes Davis as saying. “'You can either fold up your bags and go home, or you can stand and continue this fight.'”