Last-minute reprieve
The week's news at a glance.
Atlanta
Just hours before he was to die by lethal injection, condemned killer Troy Davis won a 90-day reprieve from the state parole board while it considers new evidence in the case. Davis, 38, was sentenced to die for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. The prosecution relied on the testimony from nine witnesses, seven of whom have now recanted, saying they were pressured by police to implicate Davis. “I’m one step closer to freedom,” Davis said from prison. MacPhail’s widow said the board’s decision signaled to “all criminals that it is perfectly fine to kill a cop and get away with it.”
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