A last-ditch effort to save Troy Davis from execution has turned to Twitter and Facebook.
Davis was convicted and sentenced to death row in 1991 for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in Georgia. Since then a number of witnesses have recanted their testimony, but the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied Davis clemency. He's scheduled to be executed Wednesday.
Change.org, NAACP and Amnesty International have organized campaigns that allow people to use text messages to join petitions. And the organizations urged supporters to tweet with the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt -- a nod to the Georgia Parole Board's 2007 ruling not to proceed with the execution unless there is "no doubt as to the guilt of the accused."
Davis's lawyers said last week that three jurors from the trial have issued sworn statements saying they believe too much doubt exists now to continue with the execution.
As news of the clemency denial spreads Tuesday, a Twitter search for #TooMuchDoubt turns up a steady stream of petitions on Davis's behalf.
The NAACP also asked supporters to change their Facebook profile picture to the image above, a photo of Davis with the message "Too much doubt; Save Troy Davis."
The victim's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the execution should remain on schedule. “He’s guilty,” she said. “We need to go ahead and execute him.”
Davis, 42, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday in Jackson, Georgia.