LAST MINUTE

Troy Davis's Execution Delayed

While U.S. Supreme Court reconsiders execution stay.

After two earlier rejections by state courts, Georgia inmate Troy Davis's execution was delayed by the U.S. Supreme Court just minutes before he was set to die as the high court considers a stay of execution. Davis, 42, was convicted in the 1989 killing of a Savannah, Ga., police officer. Since his conviction, seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted their testimony, and he has always maintained his innocence. But while Davis’s many supporters cheered the decision, singing "We Shall Overcome" outside the courthouse, the delay is only temporary: it is pending the U.S. Supreme Court's review of the case. The stay came after a whirlwind day that saw Davis's request for a polygraph test denied by two Georgia courts, and an eventual appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court less than 45 minutes before his scheduled 7 p.m. execution.