ATLANTA, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Thousands of people took part in coordinated rallies in Atlanta and around the world Friday to show support for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis.
Davis is just days away from his scheduled execution but his supporters say recanted testimony by some witnesses means there is reason to doubt his guilt in the 1989 slaying of Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Those supporters not only include groups such as the NAACP and Amnesty International but Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Desmond Tutu and former President Jimmy Carter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
This week, 663,000 petitions asking that Davis' life be spared were presented to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. The board meets on Monday.
The support for Davis, 42, doesn't sit well with Anneliese MacPhail of Columbus, the slain officer's 77-year-old mother.
"It makes me angry. They better learn that he is guilty," she told the newspaper.
Kimberly Davis said her brother was buoyed by the show of support. "He didn't know he had that many supporters," she said. "He feels his voice is finally being heard."
Time is running out for her brother, who faces a lethal injection Wednesday night at the state prison in Jackson.
