Justices Stay Execution with Two Hours Left

WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of execution on Tuesday for a Georgia inmate convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, two hours before the scheduled execution.

Troy A. Davis, 39, was convicted of murdering Mark MacPhail, a Savannah police officer.

The justices issued the stay without explanation. The case made national headlines, according to The New York Times, after seven of the nine witnesses at Davis' trial later recanted their testimony, with two saying they testified against the defendant under police pressure.

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