Judge Assigned for Davis Hearing

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – The chief judge of Savannah's federal district court will determine whether new evidence shows that Troy Davis is innocent. Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail.

WABE's Odette Yousef reports.

Davis has sought this hearing for more than 10 years, and last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that he have it. Judge William T. Moore Jr. has been assigned to hear it.

WABE legal analyst Page Pate has argued cases in Moore's court:

PATE: I wouldn't say he's either defense-oriented, or prosecution-oriented. He's a very fair judge, and it's always been important in my experience with him, that he allows both sides to be fully heard.

Pate says that if Moore sides with Davis's defense, he'll face a unique challenge. He'd have to decide whether a statute that limits prisoners' rights to challenge their sentences in federal court is constitutional.

PATE: this is truly uncharted water, and I don't think there's any district court judge in the country who's ever been in the position that Judge Moore is now in.

The date of the hearing has not yet been set.

Odette Yousef, WABE News.