A clemency hearing has been scheduled for a man who is set to be executed for the murder of a Savannah police officer amid continued claims by human rights advocates that he may be innocent.

A lawyer for 38-year-old Troy Davis will tell the state Board of Pardons and Paroles on July 16th why his client's life should be spared.

Absent a reprieve or a successful last-minute court challenge, Davis will be given a lethal injection the next day at the state prison in Jackson. He would be the second person the state has put to death so far this year.

Ahead of the hearing, Amnesty International and other Davis supporters plan a news conference Tuesday outside the building housing the parole board to explain why they believe Davis may be innocent of the August 19th, 1989 murder of Officer Mark MacPhail.

Following the event, the group will deliver to the parole board roughly three-thousand letters and postcards in support of clemency for Davis.

Davis' supporters cite race issues and witnesses who have recanted their testimony in the case. Some of those witnesses are expected to be at the news conference.

Supporters also say Davis, who is black, was convicted of killing MacPhail, who was white, without any physical evidence. They also say several witnesses have implicated another man in the murder.
     
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