Troy Davis was executed in the US state of Georgia late Wednesday, bringing to a close a racially-charged case that has spanned two decades and drew international condemnation.

Originally scheduled for 7 p.m. local time, the execution was delayed while the Supreme Court deliberated an appeal by Davis' lawyers submitted an hour earlier, which it eventually rejected.

International protests

Davis was convicted in 1991 of shooting a police officer who intervened in a fight outside a Burger King restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, in 1989.

Despite his conviction, many remained unconvinced of his guilt. Much of the prosecution's case relied on eyewitness testimony rather than physical evidence.

"There are still serious doubts about his guilt," said Markus Löning, Germany's junior minister for human rights. "An execution is irreversible - a judicial error can never be repaired."

The case was plagued by accusations of racial bias because the murdered police officer was white and Davis was black.

Davis was the 35th person to be executed this year in the United States.

Author: Sarah Harman (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler