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Georgia inmate Troy Davis has been executed for the killing of an off-duty police officer in a case that has drawn worldwide support over his claims of innocence.

Davis was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m. Wednesday.

The execution came after the U.S. Supreme Court late Wednesday rejected an 11th-hour request to block the execution of Davis, who convinced hundreds of thousands of people but not the justice system of his innocence in the murder of an off-duty police officer.

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MacPhail was working security at a bus station on Aug. 19, 1989, and rushed to the aid of Larry Young, a homeless man who prosecutors say Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. When MacPhail got there, they say Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King parking lot. Others have claimed the man with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer.
No gun was ever found , but shell casings were linked, prosecutors say, to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted. Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter. However, no other physical evidence was found, including blood or DNA, that would tie Davis to the crime.

Several witnesses have recanted their accounts that it was Davis who pulled the trigger, and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Still, prosecutors and MacPhail's family have staunchly backed the verdict and state and federal courts have repeatedly upheld his conviction.

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It was the first time in 50 years that justices had considered a request to grant a new trial for a death row inmate. It set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling his attorneys must "clearly establish" Davis' innocence — a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt.