Timeline of the Troy Anthony Davis case

By Staff

For the AJC

• Aug. 19, 1989: At about 1 a.m., off-duty Savannah police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail is working security for a Burger King when a disturbance breaks out in the parking lot. MacPhail hurries to investigate and is shot and killed. He leaves a wife, an 18-month-old daughter and a 7-week-old son.

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Elissa Eubanks, eeubanks@ajc.com Kendal Lotze, 23, of Atlanta, with the Socialist Workers Party, stands with members and supporters of Amnesty International during a solidarity vigil for Troy Davis on the front steps of the Georgia State Capitol on Tuesday. On Wednesday in Savannah, U.S. District Judge William Moore will follow the Supreme Court’s latest directive to hear new evidence to decide whether Davis deserves a new trial.

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• Aug. 23, 1989: Troy Anthony Davis surrenders to police.

• Aug. 30, 1991: A Chatham County jury sentences Davis to death for the murder of MacPhail.

• Feb. 25, 1993: The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously affirms Davis' conviction and sentence.

• Dec. 14, 2001: Davis files a habeas corpus writ in federal court.

• May 13, 2004: Savannah federal court denies habeas corpus relief, saying "there is no danger of a miscarriage of justice in declining to hear the claim."

• Sept. 26, 2006: The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta affirms the lower court's denial of habeas corpus relief.

• June 26, 2007: Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu sends a letter to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles asking it to commute Davis’ sentence. He cites “mounting evidence that Davis may in fact be innocent.”

• June 29, 2007: Savannah judge sets a new execution date for Davis: anytime between noon July 17 and noon July 24.

• On or about July 15, 2007: In a letter from his U.S. envoy, Pope Benedict XVI notes problems with the evidence and asks Gov. Sonny Perdue to spare Davis’ life.

• July 16, 2007: With Davis' execution set for the next day, the state parole board issues a stay.

• March 17, 2008: By a 4-3 vote, the Georgia Supreme Court upholds Davis' death sentence, rejecting his request for a hearing.

• Sept. 12, 2008: The state parole board declines to grant clemency to Davis.

• Sept. 19, 2008: In a letter, former President Jimmy Carter tells the parole board that its decision not to grant clemency “risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice.”

• Sept. 23, 2008: Less than two hours before Davis' scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court grants him a stay.

Sept. 28, 2008: MacPhail's mother, Annaliese, reacts angrily to the latest stay: "My son is dead. Theirs is still alive. That's just the way I feel."

• Oct. 14, 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Davis' appeal.

• Aug. 17, 2009: The U.S. Supreme Court orders a federal judge to hear evidence in Davis' case.

Sources: AJC files, Georgia attorney general's office, Associated Press, troyanthonydavis.org, markallenmacphail.org