A small group gathered in silence on the steps of Memorial Tower on Wednesday evening to mourn for Troy Davis, a man executed in Georgia on Wednesday night for the 1989 murder of a police officer.
Though the University’s support group was low in number, they were joined by thousands nationwide who also believe Davis was innocent.
The group began praying at 6 p.m., the moment when Davis was supposed to be executed. Minutes later, Davis’ death was temporarily delayed by the U.S. Supreme Court after Davis filed an emergency appeal. However, the appeal was denied after a three-and-a-half-hour debate, and Davis was executed Wednesday at 11:08 p.m. EST.
Matt Novak, coastal environmental science sophomore, first heard of Davis’ case in high school through Amnesty International, a human rights advocacy group. Novak said he and classmates wrote letters to Davis, who later wrote back. Novak continued his correspondence with Davis through high school.
“The three hours the Supreme Court spent deciding gave me hope,” he said. “I was shocked when they denied position.”
Je’da McGlothan, communication studies junior, said she organized Wednesday’s gathering after she learned of Davis’ case through Twitter. She said she researched his case and was moved by the overwhelming opposition to his guilty sentence.
Davis was convicted of killing a police officer and sentenced to death in 1991, according to The Associated Press.
Mark MacPhail, an off-duty Savannah, Ga., police officer, was shot on Aug. 19, 1989, in a Burger King parking lot. Davis was in the parking lot when he allegedly pistol-whipped a homeless man after he refused to give beer to Davis and an accomplice.
MacPhail attempted to help the homeless man when Davis reportedly shot the officer to death, prosecutors said.
But in the years since Davis’ trial, seven of nine witnesses retracted their testimonies that convicted him. Three jury members from the original trial have said they regret their guilty vote in light of new information, and many who did not testify now claim another individual admitted to the crime.
Since his conviction, Davis received nationwide support from figures including former president Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, Rev. Al Sharpton and former Justice Department and FBI officials. Claims of wrongful conviction have been upheld by his supporters through numerous legal attempts to exonerate Davis.
The execution had been rescheduled three times since 2007. Davis and his attorney Stephen Marsh’s most recent appeal for clemency was denied on Tuesday by a Georgia pardons board. Supporters then resorted to drastic measures to halt the execution, holding numerous rallies and encouraging Georgia state workers to strike.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People looked to President Barack Obama to stop the execution by asking for a federal investigation into the supposed wrongful conviction. As of Wednesday night, Obama had not been involved.
MacPhail’s family still supports the conviction and lobbied the rejection of Davis’ appeal for forgiveness on Monday.
Novak said he does not think MacPhail’s family will find peace from the execution, but he hopes Davis’ family will be able to move on.
Rev. Clee Low of the Shilo Missionary Baptist Church in Baton Rouge lead those gathered on campus in prayer for “Davis’ soul,” his family and the MacPhail family.
“We cannot forget about the victim and his family,” Low said. “Both sides experienced loss.”
Virginia Richard, international studies senior, said she relied on Facebook to spread word about Davis’ possible innocence and her opposition to his execution.
“You can’t execute a man just to have someone to blame,” she said, exasperated.
 
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Contact Brian Sibille at [email protected]