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US court rejects death row appeal | US court rejects death row appeal |
(30 minutes later) | |
The US Supreme Court has rejected a final appeal against the death sentence by Troy Davis, who was convicted in 1991 of killing a policeman in Georgia. | |
Several key witnesses have recanted their evidence since the trial. | Several key witnesses have recanted their evidence since the trial. |
Davis had been granted clemency twice before, once less than two hours before he was due to be executed. | |
Meanwhile, Ohio has executed a man by lethal injection despite his claims that his obesity meant the method would be inhumane. | Meanwhile, Ohio has executed a man by lethal injection despite his claims that his obesity meant the method would be inhumane. |
Davis has admitted being present at the scene of the killing of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia, in 1989, but has always denied that he was the murderer. | Davis has admitted being present at the scene of the killing of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia, in 1989, but has always denied that he was the murderer. |
At his trial, nine witnesses gave evidence that he was the man who shot Mr MacPhail, but most of the prosecution's witnesses have since recanted or contradicted their testimony. | At his trial, nine witnesses gave evidence that he was the man who shot Mr MacPhail, but most of the prosecution's witnesses have since recanted or contradicted their testimony. |
Davis's lawyers also say post-trial information has emerged implicating another man as the gunman. | Davis's lawyers also say post-trial information has emerged implicating another man as the gunman. |
Pope Benedict XVI and former US President Jimmy Carter are among those who have appealed on his behalf. | |
But on Tuesday, the US Supreme Court rejected a request by Davis for a review of the case, clearing the way for his execution. | But on Tuesday, the US Supreme Court rejected a request by Davis for a review of the case, clearing the way for his execution. |
'Painful death' | |
Later, authorities in Ohio executed Richard Cooey, a double murderer weighing 121kg (276lb), after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal for a stay of execution. | |
Cooey had claimed that his obesity would make it hard for prison staff to find a suitable vein to administer the injection. | |
He had also said that medication he was taking would interfere with the lethal dose, causing him to suffer an "agonising or excruciatingly painful" death. | |
A spokesman at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville said Cooey had died at 1028 (1428 GMT). |
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