In October of this year, I wrote a blog post about the Troy Anthony Davis capital murder case.  At that time, Mr. Davis was scheduled to die, although his lawyers were actively seeking a stay in his execution.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals did, in fact, stay Mr. Davis’ execution, and on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit heard arguments as to whether Mr. Davis and his attorneys have presented enough evidence to continue the stay of execution and to permit defense attorneys to pursue different theories of appeal.

Note that the 11th Circuit panel was not deciding guilt or innocence or even whether a new trial was warranted.  They were considering a very narrow procedural matter – was there enough evidence to continue to the stay of execution so that Mr. Davis would have time to present an argument for a new trial.

A decision has not yet been issued by the 3 judge panel and there is no indication as to when it may be released.  In the meantime, Mr. Davis, his family and supporters will continue to hope for redress, and Officer MacPhail’s relatives will continue their vigil for closure.