Death is so...final.

A man who could very well be innocent of murder is just hours being put to death by the State of Georgia.

Troy Davis is accused of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989. Unanswered questions surround the case, raising doubts about Mr. Davis's guilt.

Much of the case rests on the eye witness testimony of nine witnesses, seven of whom have recanted their original testimony. Yet tonight the Georgia Board of Pardons refuses to stay Mr. Davis's execution. 

For a moment set aside the usual anti-death penalty arguments: the fact that murder is barbaric, that the United States is just one of two Western countries (along with Belarus) that continue using capital punishment, that the death penalty is disproportionately kills African American and Latino men (which, under any other circumstance, would be considered a public health issue).

The fact remains that the circumstances surrounding this particular case leave way too much doubt in the minds of most thinking people to proceed with his execution.

The NY Times makes the argument eloquently.