scene to investigate and was shot and killed. 1991 troy davis was convicted for the murder based on eyewitness testimony. seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted or changed their testimony raising doubts that have gone global. joining us is david mattingly. also senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. jeff, what is happening right now? explain this. the state won't go forward with this until they get word from the supreme court? >> right. what happened this morning was troy davis' lawyers filed suit in the trial court in georgia saying we want a stay of execution based on false testimony given in a hearing that took place last year. late this afternoon the georgia supreme court -- excuse me. first the trial court denied the stay. late this afternoon the georgia supreme court denied the stay. at around 6:00 eastern sometime, an hour before the execution was supposed to take place, troy davis' lawyers went to the u.s. supreme court asking for a stay. we have not heard anything from the supreme court now in about two hours. and georgia prison authorities have said they are not going to proceed with the execution even though they now have the right to. even though 7:00 eastern has passed, they are not going forward with the execution as long as the supreme court has not acted. it's a little surprising that they haven't acted yet. they usually act promptly. but we are literally on hold at the moment. >> how does that work? it's not like the supreme court all the justices are just sitting around. are they all spread out? how do they make these decisions? >> they are. and there is a unit within the clerk's office at the supreme court that does nothing but death penalty cases. there is a procedure in place. they know when an execution is coming. it is often the case that the justices are around the world. i remember i was once with justice anthony kennedy in austria and he excused himself to go communicate with the clerk's office about a death penalty case. this is something that they do all the time. or not all the time, but several times a year. and usually it's handled pretty promptly. but the fact that we have now gone more than an hour past the scheduled time, it suggests that there is perhaps some difference of opinion in the court. it suggests that either the court as a whole or one justice might be writing something about this case. there is -- you know, it's hard to know what's going on. but the court doesn't like to delay things unnecessarily especially when you consider what an awful scene it must be in the death chamber as they wait with troy davis strapped to the gurney. about whether to apply the drugs. >> right now there's a vigil rally in jackson, georgia, that we're showing you live pictures of. jeff, on two fronts there's things happening. troy davis you believe he is in the execution chamber? >> under georgia procedures, an hour before -- 6:00 p.m. eastern -- he was eligible to be given sedatives infravenously. that would mean the needle was in his harm r arm. certainly by 7:00 the needle would have been in his arm. if they were following the normal procedures. so i guess they are just waiting there. i mean, it's got to be a gruesome, awful scene for all concerned. and including the witnesses which include at least some members of officer mcfail's family. >> and we're going to talk to officer mcfail's mother coming up shortly tonight. jeff, just stay there. david mattingly is on the scene. what is the scene where you are? >> well, anderson, just a couple of hours ago hundreds of supporters for troy davis started massing across the street from the gates of the prison. and they're still out there. i'm going to step out of the way so you can get a look at them. they've been very orderly, they've been peaceful. but they have been very clear in their opinion. they have been supporting troy davis, some of them perhaps for the last 20 years. there was a tremendous crescendo of emotion at we approached 7:00, the original time of troy davis' execution. then there seemed to be a lull, a period of confusion about what may have happened. then there was a period of elation as the crowd realized -- or getting word that they were getting some sort of delay in this case as the supreme court looks at it. while they're gathering across the street, look over here. we have riot police, guards in full riot gear. helmets, visors, batons. all of them standing here waiting and watching the people across the street. i have to tell you, anderson, in the week and a half that i have been paying very close attention following the demonstrations of this case, every single troy davis demonstration has been peaceful, orderly, and there's no indication tonight that that's going to change. but we see this extraordinary show of precaution here with these officers standing at the gates of this facility perhaps anticipating that that large crowd won't be content to stay on the other side of the road for the rest of the evening. we'll wait. we'll watch just as everyone else is doing. >> and jeff toobin, you said that the supreme court justices could be all over the place. but do they communicate with each other? do they reread research material on the case? i mean, what is the decision-making process? >> they get the briefs. both sides now have filed briefs. the troy davis lawyers have filed a brief saying why they're seeking a stay. the government very recently just filed -- i just read it. it's about a page and a half. it's a very short response. but the justices always are reachable electronically. and they know several days in advance when an execution is scheduled. so they tend to work their schedules so even if they are not in washington, they are someplace where they can get the e-mails. and what happens at that point varies. if all nine justices e-mail back to the clerk's office that they have no objection, then the execution just proceeds. it starts to get more complicated if one or more of them has an objection. and then there can be. telephone calls among the justices, there can be e-mails among them. if there is disagreement, things can get very complicated and things can take a lot of time. we're now at an hour and eight minutes past the execution date -- execution time. that's not a long time, but it would have been long enough for simply all of them to respond and say go ahead. so it does suggest they are taking this seriously. and there may be some disagreement. >> right. jeff, stay with us. david mattingly will stay with us as well. we'll be back with you in a minute. while supporters anxiously awaited word from the supreme court, the family of officer mcfail believe davis is guilty. joining me now is the victim's mother. thank you so much for being with us. when you hear now there is a delay, what is going through your mind? >> anderson, i'm absolutely devastated. because i want it over with. we find him guilty after the first trial. just all these decisions they have made through the courts, they've been through the courts four times in georgia through all the courts. they've been through the supreme courts three times. so this delay again is very upsetting. and i think really unfair to us. >> this has been going on for more than 20 years. >> we want this closed. that's right. and anderson, i am devastated. i like to close this book. and we feel him guilty. the evidence and everything we have seen, that i have seen because i've been to all the trials, he is guilty. and i believe in that. so does the rest of my family. >> other family members of yours, i believe, are attending the execution. you chose not to. why? >> yeah. i don't get any satisfaction on seeing that. i decided to stay home right from the beginning. that doesn't help my feelings and my hurt and all that at all if i see that. >> you know, obviously, those who have come to support troy davis or believe he was wrongly convicted, they say seven of the nine people who originally gave eyewitness testimony have either changed or recanted. what do you make of that? >> well, the thing that got me is why did they wait 17 years to do that? they had the chances when all the hearings and the court sessions were going on for four times. they could have been there and said well you know i don't believe in it or i maybe was wrong. but now at the 11th hour, they come up with all these recantations after 17 years? i don't believe it. if they said i don't remember, i can accept that. it's been a long time. but not to say that they didn't think that really did happen. >> i'm sorry. what do you want people to know about your son? to remember about your son? >> my son was a wonderful person. and i'm not saying that just because i'm his mother. he was an army soldier, airborne ranger. he spent six years in the military. then he choose the police department. he was a wonderful father and husband. and he was out there to help a homeless man that was beaten to the pulp that evening. so i don't think what happened was fair. and i don't think everybody knows that troy davis shot somebody earlier that evening in the face. and the casings from the shells match those casing and then the ones they found by mark. so i think that that is good evidence if you ask me. >> and are you -- i mean, are you waiting by the phone? are you waiting by the phone now? i can't imagine what this evening is going to be like for you. >> yes. it is hell. yes i'm waiting by the phone. i'm waiting for the phone call where they say go. she said i should hear it within the next 30 minutes. and i'm waiting for it. >> i'm sorry there's a satellite delay so i don't mean to be stepping on what you're saying. if you get that call that -- >> my family is all up there. >> your family is all there. if you get the call that it is a go and troy davis is executed, what do you think you're going to feel when you get that word? do you have any sense? >> i am almost sure i feel relief and peace. which i need. because i have been through hell. especially the past couple years when everything was building up and we had to go to court again and again. so i need some peace. i really do. and it's not a party for us at all. he did not have to do that. that was his choice. to shoot people that night. which was one of them was my son and then the other one. i don't think we're wrong at all. >> i know it's an extraordinarily difficult time for you. i appreciate you coming on to tell us your perspective. thank you so much. >> well, anderson, i was proud to talk to you. thank you too. >> thank you. i wish you peace. more coming up as we wait to hear what the supreme court will say about davis' scheduled execution. let's bring in jeff toobin. jeff, no matter what side of this debate or case one is on, it is extraordinary this has been going on for, what? more than 22 years now. or 22 years. what does that say about this system that is in place whether you are for execution or not? >> the system is broken. i mean, this is the problem. this is one of the problems with the death penalty. is that we have this somewhat contradictory attitudes about it. we want certainty, we want this punishment. but as the supreme court has said many times, death is different. the level of certainty we want and the level of fairness we want in a death penalty case is different from any other kind of case. so there is more scrutiny and more lawyers and more procedures in death penalty cases. so you have the situation where executions if they take place are -- can be 20 years after the crime. this is unusual for a lot of reasons. but the length of delay is not all that unusual. and the suffering that puts on the victim's family, on the witnesses, and on the family of the defendant. and the defendant himself. it's just awful. >> we're going to have more coming up as we wait to hear what the supreme court will say about davis' scheduled execution. want to take a closer look at the case. in case you have not been following irt. we talked to his mom about the seven witnesses about the recanted testimony. we want to show you in detail about this case. that's coming up. let us know what you think. we're on facebook. follow me on twitter right now. we'll have more breaking news. also a short time ago president obama wrapped up his meeting with abas. he's trying to get him to delay. we'll talk it over with our analysts. also tonight, another high school student taking his own life. we told you jamey rodemeyer's story last night 14 years old committing suicide. he was bullied again and again. doesn't have to be this way. we're going to talk to jamey's participa parents and sister. r from a lexus crash test genius. 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or more host: do people use smartphones to do dumb things? man 1: send, that is the weekend. app grapgic: yeah dawg! man 2: allow me to crack...the bubbly! man 1: don't mind if i doozy. man 3: is a gentleman with a brostache invited over to this party? man 1: only if he's ready to rock! ♪ sfx: guitar and trumpet jam vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. breaking news tonight. displ delay in the scheduled execution of troy davis. that is on hold as the supreme court considers an appeal. gary tuchman has details on why this case has generated so much attention. >> reporter: it's anything but a routine question. >> how scared are you of possibly being executed? >> reporter: but it's relevant. because the man i'm talking to, troy davis, may soon be a dead man. a jury took just a few hours to decide his guilt. brenda forest was one of the jurors. >> he was definitely guilty. all of the witnesses, they were able to id him as the person who actually did it. >> reporter: there was no dna or physical evidence against davis. the primary reason he was convicted, witness testimony. the police officer's wife trusted the witnesses. >> they were just so adamant about what they saw, when they saw it. >> reporter: but this is how the juror feels today. >> if i knew then what i know now, troy davis would not be on death row. the verdict would be not guilty. >> reporter: what she knows now is this. almost all of the prosecution's star witnesses have changed their stories. some saying police pressured them to say troy davis did it. one of those people is darryl collins, a prosecution witness who signed a statement implicating davis. >> i told them over and over i didn't see this happen. they put what they wanted in that statement. >> reporter: macphail was working on offduty job here. he was providing security at night for this station and this burger king restaurant that is out of business. there was a homeless man in this parking lot that was being harassed. he yelled for help. the officer ran over and seconds later officer mark macphail was shot and killed. it was tragic, horrifying, and chaotic and two decades later it still is. the man who admitted harassing the homeless man told police he saw troy davis shoot the officer. posters went up a all over. racial tensions inflamed. >> my brother decided to turn himself in there was already a shoot to kill ord ter on him. >> reporter: he volunteered to pick him up and drive him back to surrender. he said he insisted he was innocent. the pastor has never told this story to a reporter before was stunned the da's office never interviewed him. >> you're with this man for four hours. they never skber viewed you? >> never talked to me. >> what he said? if he had a weapon? if he admitted. >> nothing. and this is the one case where nobody wanted to know. and i don't think now looking back that anybody cared. >> reporter: the pastor is one of many who now believe facts be damned, troy davis is going to be arrested of murder. prosecutors have stood by the conviction. but a number of witnesses have signed affidavits changing their original testimony. dorothy farrell is one of them. a former prison inmate. she writes i was scared if i didn't cooperate with the detective then he might find a way to have me locked up again. so i told the detective that troy davis was the shooter. and a witness named jeffrey sapp now writes the police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me to say troy did this. the only way they'd leave me alone is if i told them what they wanted to hear. tried to say sylvester coles was the killer. we talked to his family members but could not track him down. >> i don't believe that coles is the one that killed mark at all. >> back with us from the prison in jackson, georgia, is david mattingly and in washington jeffrey toobin. jeff, for viewers just joining, we're still waiting on figuring out what the supreme court is going to do. >> that's right. the -- there was a warrant today that said troy davis could be executed at 7:00 p.m. tonight. all of the courts -- >> jeff, let me jump in. david, what's going on? >> anderson, we're seeing a lot of georgia state patrol, it looks like, showing up here on the scene. there's sirens going, lights flashing. not exactly sure what they're doing here. they seem to be turning and parking creating a barrier to one side of the entrance of the facility here. we saw something similar to this a little while ago. looked like sheriffs deputy vehicles doing the same thing on the other side. it's like they're creating some kind of barrier, some kind of perhaps show of course. but they're coming in loud and with lights on for everyone to see. >> david -- david, are these vehicles already on the scene? or are they arriving new? >> no. these have just now arrived. the state patrol, the ones with the lights flashing, they just got here. about 20 minutes ago we saw a similar bunch of sheriffs cars, county law enforcement arrive and take their positions on that side of this gathering of all the officers here. over time the number of officers seems to be growing a little bit. but there doesn't seem to be anyone striking any sort of real defensive or active posture here. everyone standing, watching. and again, anderson, as we all are as the supreme court -- we're waiting on their ruling. everyone's just waiting. >> and david, does word get -- i mean, how do people outside hear information? is word just -- does somebody come out and make an announcement to the crowd? >> no. i assume they all have their contacts with their cell phones with the organizations that have been organizing these protests and these demonstrations all along. it is the -- like amnesty international, they're in close contact with the attorneys representing davis with the supreme court. they've got a very short line of communication. and once somebody knows, they spread it to that crowd. and word travels pretty fast. >> and jeff, how will we know when the supreme court has made a decision? >> they'll put the copy of the order up on their website. it's pretty straightforward. in these circumstances, the clerk's office gives the order to the public information