Court to consider Davis’ appeal in private

The U.S. Supreme Court apparently needs more time to look at an appeal from death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis, whose claims of innocence have attracted international attention.

The high court issued orders Monday addressing the appeals of numerous cases, but none as to whether it will accept or reject Davis’ appeal. Instead, the court, in a listing on its docket, said it will meet in a private conference on Friday to consider Davis’ appeal.

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Associated Press

Troy Davis was convicted for the 1989 killing of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail.

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On Sept. 23, the court halted Davis’ execution less than two hours before it was to be carried out. The court’s nine justices then met in conference on Sept. 29 to decide whether to accept the appeal. Now, they will meet once more to discuss the case.

The court did not say when it will issue a decision.

Davis, who claims he is innocent, is asking the court to order a judge to grant him a hearing. Since Davis’ trial, seven of nine key prosecution witnesses to testify against him recanted their testimony.

Davis sits on death row for the Aug. 19, 1989, murder of Mark Allen MacPhail, a 27-year-old officer shot dead after he responded to the wails of a homeless man being pistol whipped in a Burger King parking lot. The father of two did not have time to draw his gun before being shot three times.

Davis is appealing a ruling by a sharply split Georgia Supreme Court. His lawyers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment bars the execution of the innocent and requires at least a court hearing to assess recantation evidence.

“It’s obviously a very important case and the justices are still considering it,” Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, said. “Maybe the justices are split about it and want more time to consider it.”

It is not unusual, Tobias said, particularly given the backlog of cases appealed during the summer months, for the court to take several weeks to decide whether to hear an appeal such as Davis’.