The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a federal court to hear new evidence in the case against Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis.

In 1991, Davis was found guilty of the murder of an off-duty police officer in Savannah, Ga., based solely on eyewitness testimony. Since then, seven of the nine non-police officer witnesses have taken back their testimony against Davis. Many of the witnesses claim to have been pressured into providing damaging testimony against Davis by police officers eager for a conviction.

His case has drawn international criticism from the NAACP, members of Congress, and world leaders, including the European Parliament, Desmond Tutu, and Pope Benedict.

The Court granted Davis a stay of execution on September 23, 2008, but refused to hear the case requesting a new trial at that time.