Georgia Republican governor Nathan Deal is facing pressure from constituents on both sides of the death penalty debate, some of whom are protesting a planned execution of convicted murderer Troy Davis.
Among those opposing the execution of Mr. Davis include the NAACP, former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI and singer Harry Belafonte. The Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP President Benjamin Jealous are planning a march from Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. The
Mr. Davis, who is slated to die by lethal injection next week for the 1989 murder of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail, has appealed his conviction and a number of questions have arisen in the case, including whether Mr. Davis was present at the time of the murder. Reviewing Mr. Davis’ claims of innocence last year, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia found that Davis “vastly overstates the value of his evidence of innocence.”
Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles is slated to meet Monday to consider whether to stop Mr. Davis’ execution by lethal injection, which is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Georgia governor Nathan Deal or the state Pardon and Parole Board can call off Wednesday’s execution, however, it remains unclear whether pressure will force the Georgia Republican to stall the death sentence. Campaigning in 2010, Mr. Deal expressed support for “discretion” in applying the death penalty.
“Judges, who are elected in Georgia and answerable to the voters, need some level of discretion to avoid miscarriages of justice,” Mr. Deal said at the time.
