offduty police officer in 1989. working to stop the execution. also have breaking news on the other big story. the release of two american hikers in iran. josh fattal and shane bauer were escorted to their family. we'll begin with the extraordinary troy davis take. i want to go straight to david mattingly outside the prison in jackson, georgia. there seems to be increased activity in the last hour. apparently family members arriving, a lot of state police arriving. what is your feeling about what may be going on? >> well, there's a tremendous show of force here. it continues to grow as the minutes go by. i want to let you take a look at this. this is a rare sight in georgia to see this many officers in this much riot gear standing guard. they are standing at the gates of the facility where the execution is supposed to take place. they have been staring intently across a four-lane highway. i'm going to show you this now. across the highway to give you a lay of the land. there are hundreds of supporters for troy davis standing over there. they've been over there for hours. they've been holding signs. they've been chanting. but i have to emphasize, they've been orderly and peaceful. and yet hour after hour there are more and more officers gathering here just a few moments ago there were about 20 patrol cars with the georgia state patrol coming in here with their sirens on and with their lights flashing. those officers have now joined the ranks there. easily more than a hundred uniformed and armed officers. and for a short time ago, we saw several of them passing out those plastic handcuffs that they would use in riot situations. again, at this point there's no indication that this crowd is out of control. over the past week i've watched the demonstrations for troy davis continue here in the state of georgia. they've always been orderly and peaceful. and now at this hour as we continue to wait for word from the supreme court, the crowd has been strangely quiet for the past few minutes. they're starting to pick up just a little bit, but everyone wondering what is about to happen next. >> david, stay with us. i want to bring in senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin to explain. a pretty complex situation here. just explain in simple terms what you think is happening on the legal side of this process. >> well, this has been an extraordinary legal drama. a murder in 1989, a trial in 1991 and 20 years of litigation that has continued all day today. at about 5:00 this afternoon eastern time, the georgia supreme court denied a stay of execution to troy davis. at that point his lawyers instantly hit send on an application to the united states supreme court for a stay of execution. there are nine justices. five justices are necessary to grant a stay. for more than three hours now we have heard nothing from the united states supreme court. georgia would be within its rights at this very moment to execute troy davis. the order said they would execute him as of 7:00. but georgia is saying we are not going to do this until we hear one way or the other from the united states supreme court. and this is an unusually long delay from the united states supreme court to fail to act on a stay of execution. all we can do is wait. >> jeffrey, i mean, there are two arguments here. one is about whether he's guilty. he was obviously convicted but there are elements of doubt being raised about that guilt. secondly about the whole nature of the death penalty. i heard you earlier on cnn saying murder cases are dropping in america and so are executions. which i thought was an interesting overview of where we are with that part of it. but tell me from a legal point of view, when you studied everything to do with this case, what's your feeling about the original conviction of troy davis? >> it's a problematic case. one of the things we've learned in the criminal justice system over the past 20 years is how unreliable some of the things we thought were very reliable. this is a case based almost entirely on eyewitness testimony. eyewitness testimony is problematic. this case also had in it what's known as a jailhouse snitch. a fellow prisoner who said that troy davis confessed. even at the trial that testimony was widely regarded as worthless. jailhouse snitches are notoriously awful and unreliable witnesses. but this case is about eyewitness identification. and that's why it's been such a problem for so long. >> jeffrey, thank you. now i want to bring in reverend rafael warell. obviously a difficult time both for troy and his family. what is the latest that's going on? >> indeed it is a very difficult time. this has been an incredible night. i was standing with the family at about 7:00 p.m. by that time, of course, naturally we were expecting the worst. and suddenly we began to hear cheers from the crowd across the way. and the word came that the execution had been delayed. certainly we're glad that troy davis is still alive, but we are still witnessing in my estimation a civil rights violation and a human rights violation in the worst way unfold before our very eyes. this is troy davis' fourth execution date. i'm glad that he's alive, but that in and of itself is cruel and unusual punishment. america can do much better than this. >> obviously the family of the man who was killed that day believe adamantly in troy davis' guilt. do you believe aside from the fact that you're a pastor to troy davis, a personal friend of his, i mean, can you understand how the family feels? they're going through a different emotion this evening. >> i am a pastor and pastor to the family. i've gotten to know them in the context of this case. i'm from savannah, georgia. i know something about the culture of that city. which even to this day in some ways is still very much rationally divided. as a pastor i empathize with the pain of the macphail family. i have stood with mothers as they've had to deal with the unspeakable horror of burying their children rather than having their children bury them. what is absolutely certain is the pain of the macphail family. what is absolutely uncertain is mr. troy davis' guilt. and in that regard because we are america, we can ill avoid to execute this man. >> can i ask you. this is a difficult question for you but i want to put it to you. do you believe that he's 100% innocent or do you simply believe there is enough doubt about the evidence that led to his conviction that should prevent an execution taking place? >> well, i think that both would be grounds for halting an execution. that is the ultimate punishment. it is irretrievable. most of us are horrified by the notion of someone spending 20 years, 30 years in prison only to be discovered later that they are innocent. imagine taking someone's life. there is no way to correct that. i will say to you that i have spent hours with mr. troy davis over the course of the last few years. he is a man of deep faith. even on monday when i met with him he talked about this being a journey, a spiritual journey for him. he maintains his innocence. as his pastor i believe that. but the question for the criminal justice system is not have we proven that he's innocent. the question is have you proven that he's guilty and clearly the state has not. and that's why we continue to get these incredible stays up until the last moment. >> it's an agonizing time for troy davis. whichever side of the argument you take. i mean, do you know in terms of the practicalties of his evening, had he had his last meal and was he prepared for execution? >> i do know that on the last time he received an execution warrant, he refused his last meal. i spoke tonight with his nephew, an incredible young man whom mr. davis has mentored from death row. he says his uncle said he would refuse his last meal again today. he has continued to insist that this is not his last meal. i must say to you that he shows faith that is just amazing even to me as his pastor. i was there to encourage him. he inspired me and in a real sense whatever the outcome tonight, he's rallied the world. and i think caused all of us to rethink the death penalty. people who were for the death penalty today i think will have to rethink this tomorrow. this is a water shed moment unfolding right before our very eyes. >> can i ask you. do you believe the death penalty is ever acceptable under any circumstances? >> well, as a christian, as a man of faith, and because i believe in the best of america i am opposed to the death penalty. but the extraordinary thing about this case is that people who are supporters of the death penalty, the likes of william session former head of the fbi, bob barr a congressman from georgia with whom i disagree about 95% of the time has gone public saying that this execution should not take place. we live in a sharply divided partisan time in which democrats and republicans cannot even agree on the debt ceiling in the midst of an economic crisis. yet bob barr and jimmy carter believe troy davis should not be executed. clearly the state of georgia needs to pay attention. >> thank you for your time. obviously it's going to be a difficult evening for you. we appreciate you taking time to talk to us. >> thank you so much for having me. we'll bring you all the latest breaking news from that story. the so far delayed execution of troy davis throughout the show. our other big story tonight is a happier one. release of josh fattal and shane bauer from an iranian prison after two years in captivity. my next guest is someone who escorted them to the airport. she joins me on the phone. ambassador, thank you for joining me. >> thank you for having me. >> we're watching these extraordinary scenes with the two young men coming off the plane to meet their families. scenes of utter joy as you would expect. how have they been today? you spent more time with them than anybody else. what's their mood been like? >> of course they were completely overjoyed. that this was all over. that they were about to meet their families. and it was just even on a personal basis, it is a real pleasure to see them and be there. that was great. >> do you feel they've been treated well? do they seem healthy to you? have they had to have any kind of medical treatment so far? >> they seemed well. they seemed strong. they had no immediate complaints. and i think they have been treated well in the sense of good food and a decent cell and everything. no complaints. >> can you confirm that the million dollars that was paid over came from the sultan of iman is that correct? >> well, these are the kind of things that i don't really want to speak upon the details of the release. in any case, everything fell into place. and the important thing is it was possible for them to finally be back after more than two years. >> and josh and shane, now that they've been freed do they accept they broke any law in iran? do they understand they may have done that even if it was inadvertent? >> well, you'll probably have to ask them yourself. of course in the short time they haven't talked about that. they have repeatedly said that they were in no intentions of entering iran. and if they did so through an unmarked border that they were sorry about it. but as you know the border between iraq and iran, it isn't necessarily clear where which country starts. >> i know you're a mother yourself, ambassador. how important was it to the two young men that their families were so determined to get them back and obviously tried everything they could to do that? >> this was a very, very important for them. it was hard in the beginning. they didn't get any information from the family nor contact with us. so they felt extremely isolated. they just told me how important it was this very first time to actually visit them and then later on it was possible to organize that they would receive letters from their families. and this was key to them. but being in prison they did not know everything that was going on over these more than two years. i'm sure they will discover now things they didn't know. we, of course, tried to keep them informed as much as possible. >> it's a wonderful end to what has been a long, drawn out and difficult story for the families in particular. thank you very much for joining me. >> thank you. now i want to turn to palestinian president mahmoud abbas. president obama had meetings with abbas and netanyahu. who close are the sides to doing a deal? a representative to the united states is here. thank you for joining me. >> thank you. >> a lot going on. the president met with both sides today. what is your understanding of how the meeting went with mahmoud abbas and the president? >> the president abbas met with president obama this evening and they exchanged views about the palestinian decision to go to the united nations to seek full membership at the international organization. it was actually a repeat of the u.s. previous positions which are very well known to the palestinian side. the president reiterated the support of the united states for palestinian state for the two state solution. and he expressed the u.s. opposition to the palestinian seeking full membership at the united nations. the u.s. believes it has to be the outcome of bilateral negotiations. at the same time president abbas explained to books. that the palestinian decision was made and that they are determined to go to the u.n. to seek a full membership. >> this is a political move, isn't it? because you know there's no chance of actually winning full membership. you know the americans are going to have to use the veto. so what is the real game that's being played here? what do you really hope to achieve this week if you can? >> actually what we are trying to achieve, we're trying to send a clear message to the international committee that the status quo on the ground cannot continue. israel is in a situation where they don't have to pay for the consequences of their occupation of the palestinian people and land. and therefore we have to change the dynamics. we are trying to evaluate the status of the palestinians to that of an entity to a state. which will enable the palestinians to be able to talk to the israelis at more equal footing. and the palestinian state will be an occupied area. there is a disparity that israel exploited in the last years of negotiations to its own advantage. >> i've heard the arguments on both sides. i've interviewed benjamin netanyahu. they say the security of israel is paramount to them. they said many people have been slaughtered. i have sympathy on both sides. what i feel like most people is right now with all this going on in the middle east, with all the uprisings, the arab spring, it really seems like there's never been a more important time than right now for this deal to be done. and i sensed that they feel, the israelis, that abbas is somebody they could do business with. i felt they could do business. but they were concerned about hamas there. they've said they don't even want abbas coming to the u.n. they are opposed to this. how can you deliver a peace process if you don't have hamas with you? >> i think this is an issue that has been brought over and over again by israel unfortunately to be used as a pretext not to move forward. the palestinian leadership president abbas has repeated to appeal everywhere inside the territories is responsible for conducting negotiations. and once we can conclude an agreement, it will go to the people for referendum. the issue is not hamas. it is israel refusing negotiations to end the conflict and to resolve all outstanding issues. ever since netanyahu took office two and a half years ago, he completely shunned all efforts by the united states, by the international committee, by the palestinians to sit down and discuss issues starting with security on borders in order to move the process forward. >> do you believe finally that a deal is achievable now? do you sense there is enough international will led by barack obama to get this done? >> well, i think if you are talking about from now until friday that the palestinian decision is clear. we are determined to seek full membership at the united nations. >> i'm more talking about could you get a peace deal done by christmas? could you do that? >> well, we have indicated that the day after we become a member of the united nations, we will engage in order to resolve all the outstanding issues. the idea of abandoning negotiations because of going to the united nations is totally a myth and the palestinian leadership has stressed that it will engage the israelis in meaningful negotiations after we become a full state. >> thank you very much. next a man who could be the republican nominee for president governor mitch daniels. 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[ male announcer ] call today for a free home loan review. we'll offer a free android smartphone to you! one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. o0 my grocery bill isn't wasteful spending. my heart medication isn't some political game. our retirement isn't a simple budget line item. i worked hard. i paid into my medicare. and i earned my social security. now, instead of cutting waste and loopholes, washington wants to cut our benefits. that wasn't the agreement. join the members of aarp and tell washington to stop cuts to our medicare and social security benefits. our morbidly obese federal government needs not just a behavior adjustment but surgery. >> that was indiana governor mitch daniels at this action conference. he's a man of strong views on the american economy. he joins me now. thank you for joining me. keeping the republic by trusting americans. america's best governor it says in the new york times. >> i don't know what made him say that. >> how are you going to keep the republic? >> i hope we're going to do it by first of all placing the future ahead of the present which is to say matching long-term means with ends. we're badly out of whack as we all know. huge debts today. like so many other developed countries. and worse still we've made unfundable commitments for tomorrow. the growth of the private sector. what's troubling me most, piers, is that it's not just our economy at stake. i think it's the whole american prospect, the american promise of upward mobility for all. and i go so far as to suggest really the whole project of governor of the governed here is on trial here. as philosophered predicting it would be. >> you're the knife and the blade when you worked for president bush. but this is a