USA - Georgia. The state Board of Pardons and Paroles today refused to grant clemency to Troy Anthony Davis

The state Board of Pardons and Paroles today refused to grant clemency to Troy Anthony Davis even though 7 of the 9 witnesses against him have since recanted. Troy Anthony Davis, 38, is set to be executed at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at a prison in Jackson, Ga. On Aug. 3, 2007 the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear Davis' appeal for a new trial or a court hearing to present new evidence, but it scheduled to hear Davis' appeal Sept. 29. Davis' attorney, Jason Ewart, said he would file an emergency stay with the high court, asking the justices to take up the case as soon as possible. A Chatham County jury convicted and condemned Davis in 1991 for murdering Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail on Aug. 19, 1989. The prosecution offered no murder weapon, DNA or fingerprints tying Mr. Davis to the killing but instead relied heavily on testimony from witnesses. Since the trial, 7 of the 9 key witnesses have recanted, saying they were bullied by investigators into lying under oath. 1 of the 2 who did not change their story, Sylvester "Redd" Coles, was at the scene and later told police Davis was the shooter. New witnesses now say Coles confessed to them that he killed MacPhail, and others say Coles had a gun immediately after the shooting,  contrary to what Coles testified at trial. Mr. Davis, 39, is scheduled to die by lethal injection in Jackson, Ga., on Sept. 23, unless the United States Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal. On March 17, 2008 the Georgia Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, rejected Davis' request for a new trial after reviewing the recantations.