davis got a fair trial deeptd six was the right one with. we are now joined, continue to have the live shot outside the jackson, georgia, prison, continue to show you if we can, maybe naught up on the screen, also the scene outside the supreme court that we have been watching, protesters have also gathered. joining us now is also with us, senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and bj bernstein. jeff, in terms of the lethal injection, the process, it -- that itself is a process filled with controversy? >> these right. lethal injection was developed as a supposedly more humane alternative to electrocution and the gas chamber. but in recent years, lethal injection itself has become very controversial, not as simple al thing as someone would assume to put someone to death intra venously. many of the states use what's known as the three judge cocktail that has been problematic. some of the drugs that have been use ready not available in sufficient quantities this three-judge -- three-drug cocktail has been challenged as inhumane. in fact, the united states supreme court in a very controversial case in 2009 called bays v reese addressed the issue of whether lethal injection was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth amendment. and the court said, no, but it was a 5-3 decision, as i recall, and it is just -- it's -- it's in and of itself, controversial and sometimes not so simple. sometimes, it takes a couple of minutes. sometimes it can take half an hour. sometimes it can take longer. so, you know, the fact that the execution may be beginning now, i hate to be sort of macabre about this, but we don't know how long it's gonna take. >> bj, have you ever witnessed an execution? >> i have not and i pray i never have to i just think it -- there's so many emotions going on now where you see officer macphail's mother and the interview you did with her and you feel for her and her loss, yet at the same time, we are about to take another person's life and, you know there's been part of the controversy people have talked about, again who shall live and who shall die, so to peak? why is someone like the manson alive for life in california and yet troy davis is about to be put to death? there's -- there was another execution tonight in the state of texas of the white supremacist who drug the man down the street and we didn't have that same outrage. so it brings up a lot of issues that i think this case is at the national forefront and may reopen the conversation about the death penalty and the appropriateness of it and what are we really trying to accomplish? other countries, our canadian friends are, they don't have the death penalty, a lot of countries are scratching their head wondering why we are the land of the free that we are ruled by justice and have extraordinary protection and freedoms and yet, our government still can put someone to death? >> i want to show you a picture of the location where reporters started to gather where there will be a press conference to announce when troy davis has been executed. prison officials will come out and will make a statement, obviously, we will bring that to you live. jeff toobin, do you really believe this has certainly ignited a debate about the death penalty, but these debates have been going on now in this country for decades. is this some sort of watershed event or change something? >> i don't think so support for the death penalty today is 60%. ten or 15 years ago, it was 70%. now that's down and a lot of change in the altitudes about the death penalty those do with the fact there is just less crime in the united states than there used to be. in the early '90s, there were about 300 death sentences every year. last year 112. in the early '90s, one year, 98 people are were executed, last year, 46 people were executed. all the numbers are heading in that direction, but the movement for the absolute abolition of the death penalty is not really that strong in this country. barack obama is for the death penalty, most major political figurers are for the death penalty, not as big a political issue as it once was but doesn't look like it is disappearing any time soon. >> a lot, jeff that this has taken 22 years since -- since the officer was killed, 1989 he was killed. two years later, troy davis are was convicted of the crime, but that this debate has about going on over troy davis ever since he was convicted 20 years ago. that's right. >> and i think one subject we haven't talked about too much tonight but is inseparable from the subject of the death penalty that is the subject of race. that has about a human theme of the death penalty in the united states. you know, a lot of people think that african-americans are sentenced to death more often than whites are. that is actually statistically not true, but what is true is that people who murder white people are sentenced to death much more often than people who murder black people. and this, of course is an african-american, troy davis, who murder eared white police officer, and blacks who murder whites are statistically sentenced to death most of all. and that's just a significant fact, i think, about the the death penalty. >> roland martin is joining us outside the u.s. supreme court. roland, are there still a lot of people out there? >> well, absolutely. you got about 100 or so people here. they are gathered around listening to broadcasts on their cell phones. they are, of course, standing here waiting for the word when troy davis actually is put to death. you have had a number of people who have come and gone and folks, you know, lighting candles, they have been praying, it is extremely quiet out here. not much noise at all. also, you look over my left shoulder, you got about seven supreme court security guards who are standing of out here as well. you don't have a significant police presence along this street but again, folks carrying signs, wearing "i'm troy davis" t-shirts, again, expressing their view point. anderson, if i could talk on a couple of thing also jeff said, i think it is important there is no doubt that people have conflicting feelings when it comes to the death penalty, when they see a case, anger with the casey anthony, people say how dare she get away with that but you look at this particular case. but also, i think what's important, it's also generational issue and what we have seen consistently is that when you have seen these individuals, especially in texas, being let out of prison after serving 20, 25 years, it begins to raise a lot of questions in people's minds as to how folks are convicted. and so i do believe that we are in a situation where one or two cases could certainly be the tipping point to cause a different generation's reaction when it comes to the death penalty and so no one case, i don't think can do it, but i think as bonnie said earlier, this generation never really has had that strong, visceral reaction when it comes to these type of cases but i do think that there's a lot more awareness and people are making some serious, you know, raising some serious concerns. at one point, i tweeted earlier, anderson, that's this. if you care about this case, if you care about justice why do we, as americans, try to get out of jury duty, because we say, oh, no, i don't want to have do that but we question a jury's decision. this should tell any american, if you care about justice, to don't try to run out on jury duty. you need to say, hey, i'm following serve because i might be the difference makary dozen whether someone who is innocent or guilty being put to death. >> bj, at what point will we know -- how soon after the execution does word come out? >> pretty -- right afterwards. i mean, someone from the department of corrections will come out and making the announcement. we will know shortly after ter occurs. >> david mattingly, you are standing by waiting the final word from the prison. where are you in location in -- where is that scene which we see which is a podium in relation to where the protesters and those keeping vigil have been? >> all those shots you have seen the heavily armed prison, the riot gear outside the gates, we are just on the other side of the gates now, setting up a podium, expecting the inevitable announcement from a prison official once the execution is complete. i have been walking around on the ground here looking at groups of demonstrators in the areas that they have been designated here by the prison officials and i have to say that everyone appears to be emotionally and physically weary at this point. everyone very quiet, not nearly the spirited group that we saw several hours ago. they know the cause that they were fighting for, to have troy davis sentence commute, exonerated, perhaps to have him exonerated, they know now that they have failed, there is no other recourse for them to take they all seem to be waiting for the inevitable word here. >> we are going to take a short break. our coverage continues in just a moment. so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? 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>> if you want more exact quotes, we can give them to you. i'm ron da cook with the atlanta journal constitution. he said the incident.that night was not my fault. i did not have a gun. and that's when he told his friends to continue to fight and look deep near this case so you can really find the truth. for those about to take my life, may god have mercy on your soulsmaker god bless your souls. and to the macphail family, he said, of course, i did not personally kill your son, father and brother. i am innocent. >> you have been to an execution. you have been to a few before. how, if at all, was this different? >> there was more security than usual at this execution. >> speak up. >> there was more security than usual at this execution but otherwise, it went as other executions have gone here. there was height and security but the prison folks here are profession as and they have done this before. and it went pretty much as planned. i have the execution starting at around 10:53 and he was declared dead at 1 11 1 dead at 1 11 11:08. he was defiant until the very end, maintaining his innocence until the very end. he spoke quickly. he looked at one of his attorneys sit october second row. he appeared to glance at the attorney, who nodded at him. mark macphail was sitting in the front row and he was looking at -- mark was looking at mr. davis the entire time, it seemed. and once he was declared dead, we were ushered out. >> how would you describe the mood? >> somber. how else? it was just a somber, somber, somber event. we were all waiting for about four, four and a half hours in the prison with no -- no details on what was happening. and then when we were ushered into the the prison itself, we knew that -- we assumed at least that the supreme court had rejected his final appeal. >> [ inaudible ]. >> [ inaudible ]. >> no mark macphail leaned forward through the whole process and his uncle, william macphail, sat back and neither seemed to move at all. >> they spent the entire time just staring at troy davis, never turned their heads, never did anything but stare ahead. then when it was over, as they were leaving, they hugged somebody and they seemed to smile about it. so for the macphail family, at least, they seemed to get some satisfaction from what happened. >> who was there from the macphail family? >> pardon? >> who was there again? >> mark macphail jr., his son, and his brother -- and the officer's brother, william macphail. >> [ inaudible ] >> he was saying he was inspect. he said to the macphail family, again, that he was not the one responsible for what -- he was not personally responsible for what happened that night. he said that he did not have a gun. he said that he was not the one who took their son, father, brother and he said he was innocent. he was strapped to gurney when we walked in. and went the warden asked if he had to make a statement, he lifted his head up and looked directly at the front row, write is where the macphail family and friends were sitting, said i want to address the macphail family and made sure they heard what he had to say, which was that he claimed he was inspect. he was not responsible for what happened that night in 1989. he did not have a gun. he was not personally responsible for the death of officer macphail. i mean, i'm paraphrasing, but this is what he was saying, then he addressed his friends and family, tell them to keep praying, keep working, keep dig nothing this case. then he said to the staff, he said to the people who are about to take my life, may god have mercy on your souls and may god bless your souls and that was it. >> [ inaudible ] >> we couldn't see their faces, they were seeing in the first row, we did not see how they reacted to t all i can say is watching them while this was going on, they never turned their heads, they never waivered the entire time they stared at him flew the glass as the execution was taking place [ inaudible ]. >> i have no idea. we weren't there. >> [ inaudible ]. >> i didn't see anybody. just the attorney for him. >> which attorney was there? >> no, jason uert. >> [ inaudible ] >> that i don't know. i don't believe did he have a last meal and i don't believe he made a final statement when he was going to be given the opportunity to record one, you but he did make the statement, as we said, while he was strapped to the chair, strapped to the gumny and again, addressed it had right to the macphail family first to let them know he said he was innocent. >> did he not eat his dinner. and he did not take the ativan. >> he was offer bud they did not, started an execution, he blinked rapidly for some period of time and then he went out. they checked him for consciousness. warden came back into the death chamber, went back out again. then they started the lethal mixture and again, whole thing took about 15 minutes, 11:08, the warden came in and pronounced him dead. >> did he make the final statement on the couch -- >> on the gurney? >> he was strapped to gurney when he came n everything that happened, he was already strapped to the gurney. we came in the wand was in the room with him, another prison official, medical attendant plus one that was off to the side and then troy davis strapped to the gurney. the warden read while we were there, read the order from the chatham county judge, asked troy davis if he had any statement. davis made his statement. they ordered the procedure to go on the he asked if he had a prayer first. there was no response. wand stepped out of the death chamber and then it started. >> [ inaudible ] >> a member of the medical staff informs there and also somebody else who was out of our eyesight off to the side so there were two other people in the death chamber with him. one was a medical attendant who was monitoring the thing the whole time, monitoring the lethal injection and then somebody off to the side. once the procedure was over, two doctors came in. both used stealth scopes. one checked vital signs, eyes, pulse and the like and then they nod in agreement and that's went warden pronounced him dead. >> obviously this is a highly publicized case. [ inaudible ] what was it like to be a witness for this execution in particular? >> somber. i mean, none of these are easy. it was very quiet, much more so the only sound where we were sitting was the sound of the air conditioner. people weren't moving. i mean, it was not even some casual movement. i think everybody in there understood the enormity of what was going on and acted accordingly, it was very, very quiet, very respectful and very somber. >> make any physical gesture s? >> the lethal injection started at 10:53. he turned his head very slightly to his left the same minute that the lethal injection started. the next minute, i hav