Georgia executes inmate; supporters claim injustice

GREG BLUESTEIN AP 09/21/2011 14:11

Defiant until the end, Troy Davis was executed Wednesday night for the murder of an off-duty police officer. He convinced hundreds of thousands of people around the world, but not a single court, that he was innocent.

As he lay strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, the 42-year-old told relatives of Mark MacPhail that he was not responsible for his 1989 slaying.

"I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun," he insisted.

"All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth," he said.

Davis was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. The lethal injection began about 15 minutes earlier, after the Supreme Court rejected an 11th-hour request for a stay.

"Justice has been served for Officer Mark MacPhail and his family," state Attorney General Sam Olens said in a statement.

The high court did not comment on its order, which came about four hours after it received the request and more than three hours after the planned execution time.

Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf, and prominent supporters included an ex-president and an ex-FBI director, liberals and conservatives. His attorneys said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed all or parts of their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him - three times on Wednesday alone.

Davis asked his friends and family to "continue to fight this fight." Of prison officials he said, "May God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls."

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