davis "a lie." and said there was no was doubt troy davis is guilty. they said, "we're ready to close this book and start our lives and we need to go ahead and execute him." the execution of troy davis was scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight. just moments before that time, news broke that officials at the georgia prison in which troy davis is being held and in which georgia has its execution chamber, officials at that prison had gone into what they call a temporary delay while they waited for word from the united states supreme court. not a stay, a delay. georgia is legally able to go ahead with this execution at this point, but they are choosing to wait for word from the u.s. supreme court. georgia is essentially saying, hold on a minute, not yet, we will wait to hear from the federal court. today, phenomenally, a group of retired prison officials from georgia, ohio, florida and california including the former warden of the prison in which troy davis is being held and in which he would be killed, all former prison officials with experience

troy davis you believe he is in the execution chamber? >> under georgia procedures, an hour before -- 6:00 p.m. eastern -- he was eligible to be given sedatives infravenously. that would mean the needle was in his harm r arm. certainly by 7:00 the needle would have been in his arm. if they were following the normal procedures. so i guess they are just waiting there. i mean, it's got to be a gruesome, awful scene for all concerned. and including the witnesses which include at least some members of officer mcfail's family. >> and we're going to talk to officer mcfail's mother coming up shortly tonight. jeff, just stay there. david mattingly is on the scene. what is the scene where you are? >> well, anderson, just a couple of hours ago hundreds of supporters for troy davis started massing across the street from the gates of the prison. and they're still out there. i'm going to step out of the way so you can get a look at them. they've been very orderly, they've been peaceful. but they have been very clear in their opinion. they have been sup

davis the entire time, it seems. once he was declared dead, we were ushered out. >> how would you describe the mood? >> somber, how olympics? it was just a somber somber event. we were all waiting 4, 4 1/2 hours in the prison with no details on what was happening. when we were ushered into the prison itself, we knew th that -- we assumed at least the supreme court had rejected his final appeal. >> we saw two. the officer's brother, his name was william -- mark macphail jr. >> he maintained his innocence until the end? >> no. mark macphail leaned forward through the whole process. his uncle, william macphail, sat back and neither seemed to move at all. >> they spent the entire time just staring at troy davis, never turned their heads, never did anything but stare ahead. then, when it was over, as they were leaving, they hugged somebody and seemed to smile about it. the macphail family, at least, they seemed to get some sat faction from what happened. >> who was there from -- >> pardon? >>. >> who was there? >> mark ma

davis' body now? >> we saw a butts county coroner truck pull up to the death chamber minutes before we walked in. so, i'm assuming it is going to go out to the coroner. thank you. >> and there you have the word from a number of media observers who traditionally are allowed in to witness these executions and report back to other members of the media. troy davis executed tonight by lethal injection, declared dead 20 minutes ago, 11:08 p.m. eastern standard time. when asked if he had anything to say davis lifted his head up off the gurney, addressed the macphail family, said he was sorry for their loss, but he was innocent and asked his friends and family to keep working on the case. according to the media members, his family members were not present, only his attorney was. the entire lethal injection process took 15 minutes. the warden pronounced him dead at 11:08. 29th inmate put to death by lethal injection in the state of georgia. we are going to have continuing coverage 37 we're going to take a shor

is life davis as the man believed to be wrongfully convicted davis is a black man found guilty of killing a white police officer in georgia is scheduled to die by lethal injection tonight now this despite a number of appeals calls from amnesty international the pope former president jimmy carter and in davis' case there was no physical evidence that he committed the crime no d.n.a. evidence seven of the nine witnesses in the case recanted five say they were coerced and many of his supporters feel the case of troy davis showcases the unfair justice system in the united states. there's ever to be a first because. they are very. risky. now that was in washington d.c. right now you're looking at live pictures outside of the prison in georgia where troy davis is scheduled to be executed reportedly there are about one hundred fifty people right outside the prison and then across the street reports on the ground thousands more are out there so far from what we're hearing there is no word on from the supreme court yet on the final. the final plea for davis to not be executed now we will go back t

and supporters of davis are hoping that their votes will be what it takes to prevent davis' execution. t.j.? >> i want you to stay around for two conversations i'm about to have, one of them with the mother of the officer killed. also this morning, coming up next, reverend war knock, head of ebenezer baptist, he'll be in the parole board hearing telling them why they should spare troy davis' life. he's with me next. stay here. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and powerful devices like the motorola photon 4g. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorit

you know what options are still left for troy davis as the governor nathan deal the u.s. supreme court president obama or are we pretty much at the end is it possible the roles were as and not know what what is thrown or legal measures there are to not know but they merge the state supreme court could take place something happened similar in texas just last week a man was dying and made a last minute ruling what's interesting here is that people who are strong advocates the death penalty said no not in this case and so is there's almost unanimous position now there's a certain sensitivity in the system to the policeman with losses life life was taken from him but then you should not use troy davis as a as a trophy as a substitute thaw a life that was taken away and there's more evidence that someone is alive would be that then troy davis and so this is a kind of moral outrage is not medicine given national disgrace the whole world is watching and weakens america's moral authority around the world apropos of that and perhaps you've seen this. last weekend i flew out to mad

davis' nephew. his earliest childhood memories are prison visits to see his uncle. are you 100% convinced he is innocent? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: when i say the name troy davis to you, what goes through your mind? >> the man who killed my father. that's what goes through my mind. it's a man who took him from me. >> reporter: mark macphail jr. was 2 months old when his father, mark macphail, was murdered. what is your memory of your father? >> i grew up my entire life not knowing my dad. it's tough for a 5-year-old to ask his mother, why don't i have a daddy? it's tough to talk about it. >> reporter: even today? >> even today. >> reporter: the conviction of troy davis has been growing for years. larry young was the homeless man beaten in the fight that ended with macphail's death. he testified he saw davis fire the gun, but then in 2007, young said this to cbs news. you don't know who killed the officer? no idea? >> no idea. i don't even know who he -- >> reporter: young now maintains he had medica

davis insisted he was innocent. the pastor has never told this story to a reporter before was stunned the d.a.'s office never interviewed him. you're with this man for four hours. they never interviewed you? >> never talked to me. >> what he said? if he had a weapon? if he admitted anything? >> nothing. and this is the one case where nobody wanted to know. and i don't think now looking back that anybody cared. >> reporter: the pastor is one of many who now believe facts be damned, troy davis is going to be arrested of murder. as for the savannah police, they have always said their witness interviews were taken properly, no coercion and prosecutors have stood by the conviction. but a number of witnesses have signed affidavits changing their original testimony. dorothy farrell is one of them. a former prison inmate. she writes, "i was scared if i didn't cooperate with the detective, then he might find a way to have me locked up again. so i told the detective that troy davis was the shooter." >> this just in the suprem

but the man who prosecuted davis stands by his case. >> there are two troy davis cases. there is the legal case. the case in court. and the public relations case. we have consistently won the case as it's been presented in court. we have consistently lost the case as it's been presented in the public realm on tv and else where. >>> prominent figures from former president jimmy carter to pope benedict have asked georgia to spare davis's life because of doubts about his guilt. >>> president obama and benjamin netanyahu are going to discuss -- mahmood abbas is set to declare palestine a state. president obama will personally press abbas to work for state hood through negotiations with israel. the two meet later this afternoon, and just a few moments ago, president obama spoke to the general assembly. >> peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the united nations. if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. ultimately it's the israelis and the palestinians who must live side by side. ultimately it is the realitilies and the palestinians not

davis the entire time, it seemed. and once he was declared dead we were ushered out. >> how would you describe the mood? >> somber. how else? it was just a somber event. we were all waiting for about 4 1/2 hours in the prison with no details on what was happening. and then when we were ushered into the prison itself we knew that -- we assumed at least the supreme court had rejected his final appeal. >> [ inaudible ] >> his brother named william and-mark mcfail jr. >> no. mark mcfail leaned forward through the whole process and his uncle, william mcfail sat back. neither seemed to move at all. >> they spent the entire time just staring at troy davis, never turned their heads, never did anything but stare ahead. then when it was over, as they were leaving they hugged somebody and they seemed to smile about it. so the mcfail family, at least, they seemed to get some satisfaction from what happened. >> what was there from the mcfail family? >> pardon? >> who was there? >> mark mcfail jr., his son, and the officer's brothe

davis' body now? >> we saw a butts county coroner truck pull up to the death chamber minutes before we walked in. so, i'm assuming it is going to go out to the coroner. thank you. >> and there you have the word from a number of media observers who traditionally are allowed into witness these executions and then report back to other members of the media. troy davis executed tonight by lethal injection, declared dead 20 minutes ago, 11:08 p.m. eastern standard time. when asked if he had anything to say davis lifted his head up off the gurney, addressed the macphail family, said he was sorry for their loss, but he was inspect, asked his friends and family to keep working on the case, according to the media members, his family members were not present, only one of his attorneys was. the entire lethal injection process took 15 minutes. the warden pronounced him dead at 11:08. 29th inmate put to death by lethal injection in the state of georgia. we are going to have continuing coverage, going to take a shor

global press coverage and prompted worldwide protests his death so will the execution of troy anthony davis ignite a battle to end the death penalty in america and the collapse of our judicial system in america is even more evident the recent case of pows of save the idea man labeled as the dirty bomb and tell you how our ports in with an equal justice american so this. you need to know this troy davis died last night at eleven o eight pm and dine with him was the legitimacy of our criminal justice system it was minutes after the united states supreme court unanimously denied a last minute appeal for a stay of execution davis was stretched strapped into a gurney and wheeled into the death chamber as an eyewitness to the execution noted davis used his final words to once again proclaim his innocence. he wanted to talk to the macphail family and say that despite the situation you're seeing he was not the one who did it he said that he was not personally responsible for what happened that night that he did not have a gun he said to the family that he was sorry for their loss but also said that

>> we are hearing the conference from some quarters of troy davis. -- from some supporters of troy davis. >> he said the incident that night was not my fault. i did not have a gun. that is when he told his friends to continue to fight and look deeper into this case so you can really find the truth. for those about to take my life, may god have mercy on your souls, may god bless your souls. and to the macphail family he said, of course, i did not personally kill your son, father, and brother. i am innocent. >> you have been to an execution. >> supporters and reporters who were present at the execution, relaying to the public the last words of troy davis. we understand that he maintained his innocence to the last, urging the macphail family, the family of the murdered policemen, to dig deeper into the case, that he did not kill their son, brother, their father, and effectively that he died an innocent man. >> ok, jane, thank you very much about the latest, troy davis has been executed. >>> the top story, the palestinian bid for statehood at the un general assembly in new york, and we will

troy davis' family is waiting. they know what they're up against here, but they obviously want to take time to get it right, and so we're simply waiting for the justices to act. >> and pete, what if they do grant the stay tonight? what happens next? >> reporter: that's an easy one, ed, what that would basically say is, there's a stay of execution in this case until we, the supreme court, decide whether we're going to take up the case. the lawyers will file briefs for both sides, several weeks would go by, a couple of months, maybe, and then the supreme court would say, okay, we're going to take it. the stay will continue until we decide the case or we're not going to take it, the stay would evaporate, and then the legal impediments would be removed for the state of georgia to proceed with the execution. now, i have to point out, ed, that there are no legal impediments now. the request to the supreme court for a stay doesn't, in fact, or legally stop the state of georgia from carrying out this execution, if it wants

troy davis is scheduled to be executed in nine minutes. davis has just filed a final plea, asking the united states supreme court to intervene and stop his execution. people all over the world have come together to condemn this execution as a horrific miscarriage of justice. this afternoon i was at the prison we were almost stopped from conducting a prayer vigil. >> you're not going to stop me no more. just moments ago we saw police at the scene getting ready for a possible disturbance at the prison. joining me now, nbc news correspondent tom trong reporting from outside the prison. tell me what the scene is like now? >> reporter: well, al, i can show you, as we get closer to 7:00, take a look at the show the force. i would imagine this is going to be kind of a preventative measure at this point. you can see the guards and multiple riot police, prepared for any possible outbreak of protesters' violence. and across the street you'll see the show of force of the prot t protesters and supporters for troy davis at this point. they've been gath

asked troy davis if he had any statement. davis made his statement. they ordered the procedure to go on. they asked if he had a prayer first. there was no response. warden stepped out of the death chamber and then it started. [ inaudible ] >> there was a member of the medical staff in there and also somebody else who was out of our eyesight, off to the side. so there were two other people in the death chamber with him. one was a medical attendant who was monitoring the thing the whole time. monitoring the lethal injection. then somebody off to the side. once the procedure was over, two doctors came in. both used stethoscopes. one checked vital signs, eyes, pulse and the like. then they nod in agreement and that's that's when the warden pronounced him dead. [ inaudible ] >> what was it like to be a witness for this execution? >> somber. i mean, none of these ares as easy. it was very quiet. much more so. the only sound where we were sitting was the sound of the air conditioner. people weren't moving. i mean, it was not even casual movement. i think eve

foreign policy chief responded to the news of davis's jeff yesterday by saying of the e.u. opposes the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and by calling for a universal moratorium so what america ever signed on to something like that might trade davis finally change our society or is this notion of seeing justice carried out that way to integrate well joining me to discuss it as james who knows host of the bottom line and reform school on petey the james i want to thank you for joining us tonight and i guess first if we can just start with where you fall in this entire discussion from what i understand you support the death penalty but in the particular case of troy davis you were against it. well i think there's a real looking at this oftentimes gets swept under the rug and we're dealing with the things here you because it is a contentious issue there's a lot at stake in of course the downside is if you ask some people and i think there are two claims at work the first claim is that there are some crimes that are so heinous that the only commensurate penalty is

well troy davis the prisoner was scheduled to be executed tonight at seven pm in georgia by the u.s. for many believe what for what many believe is a murder that he did not commit a wrongful conviction is what many people think this is reports are coming in that his execution has in fact been delayed as georgia waits for the supreme court to act this after davis filed a last ditch plea at the eleventh hour asking the u.s. supreme court to stop his execution and it's not just davis that's still hopeful his supporters to have been fighting for his life. that they could we were. going to. protests and vigils have been taking place all day all over the world right there you're seeing washington d.c. outside of the white house but protests have been taking place abroad too in places like hong kong and france protesters are calling for the state of georgia to spare troy davis is life davis if you don't know is a black man guilty of killing a white police officer in georgia he's scheduled to be killed by lethal injection as i told you earlier tonight this despite a number of appeals calls f

we're talking about troy davis. set to die wednesday for the murder of a police officer 20 years ago. most of the witnesses have changed their story. the sister of troy davis is live with us this hour. first, what does it take to be a hero? some say it's your address. we'll discuss the interesting results of a in uh study up next. or just a new word? maybe you want to know more about anatomy, or astronomy. you could master something new, or uncover a hidden talent. there's never been a better time to learn. wait a second... with olay challenge that. new regenerist wrinkle revolution... relaxes the look of wrinkles instantly, and the look of deep wrinkles in 14 days. ready, set, smooth... regenerist. from olay. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa auto repair. gary... he hung up. ...why do we have so many a's in our name? so we're listed first in the phone book. ya know, gives us an edge. you know fedex can, give us an edge. how? well, fedex ships auto parts from factories around the world, they clear em through customs, and that'll

thank you for having me thank you for joining us i gave a brief summary of the troy davis case davis case you want to fill this in a little bit who are the people who recanted their testimony who are the people who have come forward and and said no he didn't do it who are they saying did it. well you you filled it in very well. the even at the time of the trial and initially before when it was being investigated sylvester coles was thought possibly to be the man who committed these crimes he himself went to the police and implicated troy davis and he's one of the two people who have not changed his testimony for obvious reasons but as you pointed out in addition to the seven. of nine witnesses who have now either recanted completely or contradicted their earlier testimony. numerous people have now come forward to implicate sylvester coles even more so at the very least it raises the strongest doubts about whether troy davis really committed this crime and certainly it ought to give pause to the parole board before it orders at this execution be carried out if in fact in my mind it ra

davis was due to be executed at 7:00 p.m. am i right to assume he had eaten his last meal, he was prepared and taken down to the place where he would be executed? >> reporter: he has, martin. and we haven't gotten confirmation from that. as you can imagine, the georgia department of corrections went through the process as this was going to move ahead. there's been some type of stay or delay at this point. i shouldn't use the word stay. there's been a delay in the execution. the georgia department of corrections right now is just waiting to hear from the u.s. supreme court and we understand that he did decline, troy davis did decline when offered th his faly today from 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. family and friends. he declined that choice for a last meal. instead, he had the prison standard, as they call it, of a cheeseburger, baked beans and potato potatoes. martin? >> thanh, stay with us. we'll be back with you later in the program. joining me now, nbc news justice correspondent, pete williams. and, pete, why has it taken until toda

if we execute troy davis tonight -- and i say we for good reason. these executions are carried out in the public's name, we could well be making another mistake. >> reverend sharpton, i have great respect for your passion. i don't always agree with you, but let me ask you about this case. when you got into this case and sympathized enough to visit with the accused. when you sat down with this fella. i remember "shaw sharon redemption" they say everybody says they're innocent. when he told you he was innocent, what made you believe him? >> what made me believe him was what happened before we went in. we've been accused of jumping into cases without tag our time, so i did a lot of deliberation and had the general counsel do it before i even went in to see troy. when we saw the recanting of seven witnesses. i went to savannah and had a rally. we talked to people on the jury. you had people on the jury that convicted him that said if they knew the ballistics that they were told that was on some of the shells did not match what they were told were troy,

across the street you see the supporters of troy davis. there are hundreds of them over there carrying signs continuing to chant. a little bit quieter than they were at 7:00, but nonetheless they are making their presence known. over here to the left, we still have the line of police officers in riot gear possibly anticipating some of those demonstrators trying to invade on to the property of the georgia prisoner here. but so far everything remaining peaceful. everything remaining orderly. everything, candy, remaining on hold. >> david mattingly in jackson, georgia for us. he will be there as long as this takes. jeffrey toobin is with us once again. first of all, by my calculation, the supreme court has had this for more than an hour. what do you make of the time frame? >> they've actually had a couple of hours now. the georgia supreme court denied the stay late afternoon and basically at that point troy davis' lawyers hit send on their documents to the supreme court. over an hour before the 7:00 scheduled execution. so they have now had a

davis spent six hours today with family and friends. when he was offered a choice of a last meal he declined it. davis instead was served the prison standard meal of a cheeseburger, baked beans and potatoes. brian? >> thanh truong in jackson, georgia, starting us out. thanks. >>> overseas tonight after two years and two months in captivity in iran, those two american hikers have been freed. their families received the first glimmer of real hope days ago. it came up during an interview of the iranian leader mahmoud ahmadinejad by our own ann curry who pressed him on the subject. ann is here in the studio for the end of this chapter. ann? >> that's right, brian. good evening. it was a very emotional day for two young americans and their families, a day for everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. finally, long awaited joy as the jet landed in oman. shane bauer and josh fattal ran down the steps to a crush of waiting families and news cameras. free men after 781 days in an iranian prison. >> we are so happy we are free and so relieved we are

here's chip reid. >> nearly two years ago it looked like charlie davies would never play soccer again. >> many people doubted me. in my own head, i knew nothing would keep me from getting back on the field. >> davie, a star forward for the u.s. national soccer team, was horribly injured in a car accident near washington, d.c., that killed another passenger. davie's right leg was fractured in three places, his eye socket shattered, his bladder lacerated, his nose and left elbow broken. several days after the accident, davies woke up in a hospital, unsure where he was and what had happened. >> the first thing i saw was about 36 staples starting from my belly button. >> reporter: when davies' doctor assessed his condition, the outlook was bleak. >> the injuries i had, basically it would be a long shot if i could ever, you know, run again, just run again. >> reporter: he underwent four months of rehabilitation at the washington medical center and slowly got back on the field. >>it's been less than two years since the accident, and not only is charlie davies back on the field, he's leading

davis was in the crowd but denied he was the killer. seven of the nine prosecution witnesses have now recanted, four who said they saw davis pull the trigger and three who claimed davis told them he was the killer. all seven now allege pressure by police to blame davis. >> he tried to break up a fight, and the fight went bad and a cop got shot and then he got blamed for it. >> reporter: dejuan davis- correia is a nephew. his earliest childhood visits are of prison visits to see his uncle. are you 100% convinced he's innocent? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: when i say the name "troy davis" to you, what goes through your mind? >> the man who killed my father. that's what goes through my mind, is the man who took him from me. >> reporter: america mcphail, >> reporter: mark mcphail, jr., was two months old when his father, officer mark mcphail, was murdered. for you what has hurt the most? >> not having a father. i grew up my entire life not knowing my dad. that's tough for a five-year-old to ask his mother, why don't i have a daddy. it's tough

. >>> until the end, troy davis insisted he was innocent. davis was executed last night by the state of georgia for the murder of an off-duty police officer. hours before the supreme court rejected a final request for a stay of execution. the case garnered international attention because of what some believe to be inconclusive evidence. davis' final words were directed toward the prison officials who were about to put him to death. >> his last words were to them, may god bless your souls. then he put his head back down. the procedure began and about 15 minutes later, it was over. >> davis was sent to georgia's death row for the 1989 murder of mark macphail. the off-duty police officer was shot as he tried to stop the beating of a homeless man. davis acknowledged being at the scene, but denied he was the killer and maintained his innocence to the very end. >> he said that he was not personally responsible for what happened that night, that he did not have a gun. he said to the family that he was sorry for their loss, but also said he did not

none. >> troy davis maintains his innocent, the police officer's family maintains davis is the killer. his mother spoke with our t.j. holmes earlier today. >> it has been held. i would like to have some peace. i would like to have this situation over with. we are the victims. those people that recanted, why did they wait 17 years before they recanted? they should have done it, if they felt that way, earlier, not when the final time is coming now. i do not believe that. if they think they would have been coached. i think they have been coached by the wrong people. >> justice only comes for you and closure -- justice and closure only comes for you when troy davis is finally executed? >> i will never have closure. that can't be. but i may have some peace, which i hope for. >> mrs. macphail said when she heard the facts in the case she never doubted troy davis killed her son. we'll dig deeper into the case when our legal guys join us right after this. mom? he's here. nice wheels. oh, thanks. keeps me young. hello there, handsome. your dinner's in the microwave, dear. ♪ where do you want

their message -- spare davis' life. troy davis was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of savannah police officer mark mcphail after witnesses testified he shot mcphail. seven of the nine witnesses later recanted their testimony, and no dna evidence links him to the crime. >> it's over. it sounds terrible, but i can finally close this book and hopefully get some peace. >> reporter: after 22 years, officer mac phail's family maintained that he was innocent. >>> last night, writer at large frank rich talk good the impact he believes the death penalty has on the country. it was all in reaction to a letter written by a group of retired prison officials who asked the state of georgia not to execute troy davis. >> it's incredibly moving and powerful because these are people who actually execute the machinery of death, and this idea that whatever the circumstances or whatever seems somehow the righteous sense of justice, the people who do this are not going to be marred or hurt by it or haunted by it. it's pre

uninterested in troy davis and that's the us media despite the fact that davis has been fighting for his life since the early ninety's the mainstream media has consistently turned a blind eye to his case and the injustices of our judicial system in general so if more people knew about davis's case they could have stood up for him or at least raise awareness about the judge who sentenced him to death only on faulty eyewitness testimony but all those years they didn't do it and now it could be too late for troy davis. i think that it's safe to say that jesus christ they were the most pick that individual of all time throughout the centuries the artistic version that stayed roughly the same his scaly his gentle sad unkind but there's a growing movement both here in the u.s. and of the u.k. to change that to make jesus more macho more tough one ourselves even taking it as far as creating paintings where jesus is a tattooed biker and a boxer so we don't make this movement is it just another way to make religion sexy and try and sell it to more people particularly men or is there something

davis's case and mr. buck's case and countless other cases have demonstrated is that the death penalty is not applied, is not issued, is not rigorously looked at in a fair and even- handed way. and the barriers to that fairness, prosecutorial misconduct, police misconduct, abuse of discretion by prosecutors and judges and racial discrimination as well as discrimination in terms of poverty and resources have really undermined the fundamental fairness i think we can all demand from our criminal justice system snarls charles simpson, he mentioned fairness. does that change the nature of this debate or is this the debate we've been having for a while? >> we've been having this debate, gwen, and polling this issue since 1936. support for the death penalty has been universally high. recently 64% of americans in the latest gallup poll support the use of the death penalty. i agree with my friend vince in the sense that when a state-- and 4 states have the death penalty-- decides to offer the ultimate penalty for

after years of trials appeals and pleas davis is now scheduled to be executed in the state of georgia at the end of the month it's a case that we told you about before where the inmates accused of shooting off duty police officer mark mckay macphail and savannah bus station now since day one davis has maintained his innocence but several eyewitnesses identified davis at the time as the shooter during this trial and he was sentenced to death however no physical evidence has ever been presented tying him to the shooting back in two thousand and ten a u.s. district judge heard from two original witnesses who came forward admitting that they falsely incriminated davis but despite the revelations of the several witnesses and fabricated their testimony the judge called the new evidence smoke and mirrors and not strong enough to prove davis innocence now last year i spoke with georgetown professor christopher chambers on the judge's ruling. do went through this weird machinations and sent it back to the court not for a trial but just for the judge to say who proved to me you're innocent geor

we're we're the frog in the slowly heating water or the it's you know that is that that it was davies was the guy who came up with a concept of the j. curve where expectations diverge from reality yet at a certain speed then you'll have a social explosion but if they diverge from reality at a much slower speed multi-generational speed then you simply have people living relatively quietly in poverty and in the slums of mexico city folks will absolutely be i mean the the working class in terms of manufacturing has been under results since that for decades and so. if another mill closes or another steel plant closes and you have you know more men out of work in a small town there is no i think that's not a population that's that's easily radicalised so it sounds like what you're saying is that without without a galvanizing moment without a you know like in greece they they just chop thirty thirty thirty six thousand government lawyers off the rolls and it will show up in the streets or madison without focal national focal point there's you know the war in iraq we're a million people mist

and ordered -- said that davis was guilty. but in a case with no dna and in a case with -- just based on eyewitness testimony, with this much uncertainty, it's really a chilling thought to think he may be executed. >> do you think it could be postponed again? >> you know, it really seems like they're close to out of options this time. there's a hearing on monday. the execution is scheduled for wednesday. there's a hearing on monday on the board of pardons. but the board of pardons has never in the past in georgia stepped in on this case before. and i don't think they're going to step in again. i don't doubt that his lawyers, who are incredibly determined, will try some last-minute gestures with the district court, court of appeals, supreme court. but i think this may be it. >> the burden on him is to prove innocence, not reasonable doubt? >> that's right. the courts -- one of the curious facts about our law is that, the supreme court has never said it is unconstitutional to execute an innocent person. you would think they woul

they constantly believed in davis' guilt. at the end, they said they felt the board was listening to them and apparently so. the board siding with prosecutors and the family in this case. davis will go on with his lethal injection appointment, which is 7 p.m. tomorrow night. >> we will hear from mark macphail's mom later in the hour. her reaction to the fact that troy davis will die tomorrow. david, thanks. >>> also right now the campaign trail and michele bachmann taking part in a round table forum in iowa. rick perry holding a news conference in new york. he is joined by american jewish and israeli leaders. >>> a leading topic will undoubtedly be a litmus test for many jewish voters. this week at the united nations a showdown is looming over palestinian statehood an the u.s. allegiance to israel is being tested. jim acosta is following that from washington. >> reporter: koorm. that's right. texas governor perry is the gop front runner and is expected to talk about the issue, the palestinian statehood request. down the stree

troy davis' guilt. and in that regard because we are america, we can ill avoid to execute this man. >> can i ask you. this is a difficult question for you but i want to put it to you. do you believe that he's 100% innocent or do you simply believe there is enough doubt about the evidence that led to his conviction that should prevent an execution taking place? >> well, i think that both would be grounds for halting an execution. that is the ultimate punishment. it is irretrievable. most of us are horrified by the notion of someone spending 20 years, 30 years in prison only to be discovered later that they are innocent. imagine taking someone's life. there is no way to correct that. i will say to you that i have spent hours with mr. troy davis over the course of the last few years. he is a man of deep faith. even on monday when i met with him he talked about this being a journey, a spiritual journey for him. he maintains his innocence. as his pastor i believe that. but the question for the criminal justi

and ordered -- said that davis was guilty. but in a case with no dna and in a case with -- just based on eyewitness testimony, with this much uncertainty, it's really a chilling thought to think he may be executed. >> do you think it could be postponed again? >> you know, it really seems like they're close to out of options this time. there's a hearing on monday. the execution is scheduled for wednesday. the board of pardons has a hearing but the board of pardons in georgia has never stepped in on the case before and i don't think they're going to step in again. i don't doubt that his lawyers, who are incredibly determined, will try some last-minute gestures with the district court, court of appeals, supreme court, but this may be it. >> the burden on him is to prove innocence, not reasonable doubt? >> that's right. the courts -- one of the curious facts about our law is that, the supreme court has never said it is unconstitutional to execute an innocent person. you would think they would have, but they've never held that. the

it's time to do what we can to for france for cases like that of troy davis he did not need to become a martyr in this cause against the family we need to work on these governors most. horrified look and. we have to give them a clue. tie in requirements for that family or to get rid of it completely life with no parole carol and is one of the states that ari officer often there's no reason for innocent people like troy davis to win to so much doubt they can't believe the supreme court could not step in and at least commute the sentence and the orders for more festive occasions i can't believe it but it's it's it's it's wrong on this rock. i could agree with you more ok to human life especially in a case where there is so much lingering doubt is wrong with the death penalty debate hits on a much more fundamental issue what kind of society do we want to be as i said in the segment last night taking another human life is simply inhumane no matter what the justification for maybe it's a violation of the first law of every human society don't kill other people so when we gave brutally even

very good news for davis has been executed his good karma execution was eleven away. and now i'm happy that this case got the attention that did that finally made the mainstream media raise the questions that they did the fact that a man whose guilt could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt he was executed but the most insane final power that a government holds that's scary that should be discussed but the problem here is the troy davis here isn't alone his story isn't a one off story that this never been seen before that is the mainstream media pick and choose what cases they want to get behind now meantime also i applaud them for realizing that this story was big it was a horrific example of what's wrong with our justice system i wish they would do it more often i wish but the investigative reporters who devote their time to exposing corrupt prosecutors corrupt cops discredited medical examiners i wish of those people got more air time on those cable networks i wish the fact that we have the largest known incarceration system in the world that every been registe

their message, spare davis' life. troy davis was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of savannah police officer mark macphail after witnesses testified davis shot macphail. but seven of the nine witnesses later recanted their testimony. and no dna evidence links him to the crime. >> it's over. it sounds terrible but i can finally close this book and hopefully get some sleep. >> reporter: after 22 years, officer macphail's family and prosecutors have never abandoned their belief that davis deserved the death penalty. kurt gregory, nbc news. >>> after spending more than two years locked up in iran, hikers josh fattal and shane bauer are finally free. yesterday they were released from prison into the arms of loved ones. nbc news tehran bureau chief ali aruzi has more from iran. >> reporter: after over 780 days in tehran's notorious prison, josh fattal and shane bauer finally get to taste freedom. during fast-moving events, their iranian lawyer was summoned to the judiciary to come and finalize their $1 m

absolutely i do think that should bother us you know in the court case of troy davis his. execution has been rescheduled four different times apparently he has exhausted all of his appeal options and it's unbelievable to me that a case like this could even occur and i believe that we have hundreds if not thousands of inmates right now in the united states who are probably innocent but you know are not getting their fair treatment in our justice system and i think it's ridiculous because we waste our resources on imprisoning innocent people and i think it shows you that what we have in the united states and possibly in other countries is that we want justice and we want justice so bad that we're willing to lock someone up just to say that someone is paying for a crime even if we don't have the necessary evidence to prove that that person is guilty for the crime that was committed and i think that's the case with troy davis and you know just to be clear i'm not saying that we should let troy davis go but i do believe that since there is new evidence suggesting that his convi