News

The second season of Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama "The Newsroom," which wrapped last night with an episode entitled "Election Night, Part II," continued to weave in the real news stories the show has used as guideposts along its rerunning of recent history -- the Mitt Romney campaign, the execution of Troy Davis, the Trayvon Martin shooting and, most crankily, the start of the Occupy Wall Street movement. But this season the series took as its backbone a fictional story (inspired by fact) -- that of Operation Genoa. It's one the "News Night" team followed, researched, built up and finally reported on -- a blockbuster report about a rescue mission that supposedly involved U.S. use of sarin gas on a village full of civilians in Afghanistan, but that turned out to be false. It was, as "The Newsroom" so often is, a combination of smart and exasperating, a plot...

Occupy Wall Street! Operation Genoa! Uganda! Mitt Romney! Troy Davis! Netflix splitting into two companies! (Yep, a passing reference was made to that quickly aborted blunder). "The Newsroom" has had a lot going on across the first two episodes, so much so that Aaron Sorkin felt compelled to rewrite and reshoot large portions of them as he got started on work for the third episode. In many ways, "Willie Pete" does feel like a very conscious pivot point episode, one where the focus shifts primarily to the character relationships and ditches covering a breaking news story, a least for the moment. The result? Probably the weakest episode of the new season thus far, and one that strains to reshuffle the deck only to leave everything exactly where it was when it started. Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels)/Mackenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer)/Nina Howard (Hope Davis)/Reese Lansing (Chris Messina) Okay, so...

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

There is a concept out there called the Bechdel Test. The test is applied to various works of fiction, usually movies and TV shows, and it asks whether, within that work of fiction, two women are able to have conversations that are about something other than men. Not surprisingly, a great many works of fiction fail this test.

The Newsroom is, alas, generally one of those that fails and fails hard. Even in an episode like this one, where we had women discussing 9/11, civil rights issues, Occupy Wall Street, political events in Africa and a (fictional) Us military opperation where the military is accused of using nerve gas on a civilian population, well…even then the show still managed to work in conversations about men.

Now let me stress that this was a decent episode. It was fascinating to see Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) dealing with...

Review Mark Harrison 23 Jul 2013 - 06:50

Was The Newsroom always this dull? Mark isn't captivated by this week's episode, The Genoa Tip...

This review contains spoilers.

2.2 The Genoa Tip

'Do you ever think Will might just be a douchebag?'

This week's quote is a pretty loaded question, and one that may have met with giggles from The Newsroom's less favourable critics. After opening the season on a foreboding note, the framing device of the deposition room gives way to a more sprawling narrative in this second episode.

Considering that we already know that the titular Genoa tip is going to play a big part in the season arc, it seems to play in the background of a very busy episode. But despite some very nice character development in this week's instalment, we also find the show falling back into some bad habits.

At the top of the episode,...

Jeff Daniels

The Newsroom, Season 2, Episode 2: “The Genoa Tip″

Written by Dana Ledoux Miller, Adam R. Perlman, and Aaron Sorkin

Directed by Jeremy Podeswa

Airs Sundays at 10:00 Pm Et on HBO

The second season premiere of The Newsroom last week hinted at a major catastrophe that engulfs the station, but buried amidst the discussions of the events that led to lawyerly intervention was the question of why Will McAvoy and the news crew would take on such a volatile story in the first place. This week’s episode dives deeper into the psyche of the individuals who comprise the news team, and their emotional and psychological state leading up to the Genoa revelation, in an episode that unfortunately brings back large chunks of previously problematic storylines, but nonetheless gives a better idea of what makes certain characters tick.

The varied professional scenarios that engulfed Will, Don, and Maggie...

Considering that the episode was called The Genoa Tip, a surprisingly slim amount of time was spent on this thing called “Genoa,” which is supposed to be at the heart of this year’s storyline on The Newsroom. Instead, we get more Maggie drama, and talk of drones and other types of executions.

We pick up pretty much where we left off last week. Jim is in his self-imposed exile covering Mitt Romney’s primary swing through New Hampshire. Cameron, the campaign’s press flack, still won’t let Jim ride on the bus, but one of the other reporters twists Cameron’s arm, allowing Jim to ride along. Jim, now free of the bus flap, tries to get one-on-one time with the candidate, but Cameron is no help. I hope Jim gets more to do out of this adventure than be a tool for pointing out how the Romney campaign was run by tools,...

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 2, Episode 2 of HBO's "The Newsroom," titled "The Genoa Tip."

Things that are right with "The Genoa Tip":

The Genoa tip itself.

Even though we know it's all going to fall apart, the story of the supposed American war crime in Pakistan continues to intrigue. We get to see the continuing rehabilitation of MacKenzie's character as, instead of being a kooky disaster zone, she displays the kind of sensible news chops one might see in a tough, experienced journalist. The plot seems mostly cribbed from an infamous CNN scandal from the '90s, but that's Ok; it remains the most interesting portrait of actual newsgathering in the show thus far, and it's somewhat encouraging that it is the framing around which the entire season appears to be based.

Things that are wrong:

Basically everything else.

The rest of...

The Newsroom's second installment of the season had "The Genoa Tip" gaining traction, Occupy Wall Street catching fire, and Maggie Jordan barreling head long into a downward spiral.

What's posted on YouTube stays on YouTube, at least for the five days it takes for them to process a removal request. But as a journalist shouldn't Maggie know that once something is posted on the internet it never truly disappears?

Speaking of which, can we stop with Maggie's YouTube video? It was annoying enough the first five times we had to hear it.

Poor Mags couldn't handle sleeping in her own bed once Don had left so she ended up hiding out on Sloan's office floor. Yeah, that was kind of pathetic.

Sloan was a supportive friend, but at the same time you could see the wheels turning in her head as she processed the fact that Don was now officially single.

The Newsroom and House of Lies' second seasons will both air in the UK in August, it has been confirmed.

Both shows will first be available for viewers on Sky On Demand from August 20. They will air on Sky Atlantic later in the month.

The Newsroom is Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama series, which stars Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer as the news anchor and exec producer at fictional cable network Acn.

Series two will feature the News Night team covering events between August 2011 and November 2012, such as the administration's anti-terrorism policy, Occupy Wall Street, Troy Davis, Trayvon Martin, Benghazi and the presidential election.

John Gallagher, Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn and Sam Waterston have all returned for the show's second run.

House of Lies is a dark comedy about the team at Galweather & Stearn management consultancy, which includes Don Cheadle's Marty Kaan and Kristen Bell's Jeannie.

In my adopted home, the Us, capital punishment is still the norm in many states. After Troy Davis' execution, I had to take a stand

In the UK, it's the human rights violation that it's still socially acceptable to support: the death penalty. You can be pro-capital punishment and not get ejected from a dinner party. It's probably not going to cause outrage if a social gathering throws out a "we need a strong deterrent" line, or if someone says "it's what they deserve, an eye for eye."

Which, in a sense, is slightly strange. It's nearly 50 years since there was capital punishment in Britain and knowledge of it is increasingly filtered mainly through films like Let Him Have It, or Pierrepoint, or 10 Rillington Place. As it happens, these films, plus others like Dead Man Walking, hardly present an unproblematic view of the penalty, so why do people – quite a few,...

By Shakira Atitebi

A flight attendant was the latest subject of a Twitter outburst episode from Alec Baldwin after the actor was booted from a plane at Los Angeles International Airport for playing Word with Friends on his cell phone as his plane was about to take off for New York.

Baldwin took to Twitter and said, "Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing Words W Friends while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt."

Baldwin's rep told People magazine, "Alec was asked to leave the flight for playing Words with Friends while parked the gate. He loves WWF so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it." Baldwin caught a different flight to New York after the incident and was sure to tweet that the flight attendants on his next flight looked "smarter."

He later added, "Last flight w American. Where retired Catholic school...

The supplementary title for Werner Herzog’s new documentary about capital punishment is “A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life.” These clauses are placed in a perplexing order that seems, at first, to run in reverse. However, when viewing the film, it becomes abundantly clear why life is not necessarily a linear trajectory that ends in death, with all the mutual exclusivity implied in the assumed separation of these categories. Instead, Into the Abyss argues that death is something one perpetually lives with, especially the certain knowledge of impending death in the case of state-run execution or in the memory of death when one’s loved one has been murdered. The certainty and harsh reality of death not only plagues the prisoner and the victim’s kin, but also profoundly effects a large array of individuals involved directly or indirectly with every heinous crime and execution. The timing of the release of Into the Abyss is...

"Bigger and here to stay, Doc NYC returns for its second year to spread the gospel of nonfiction, showcasing 52 features in what's becoming the city's mainstream fall complement to Moma's more international and experimental Documentary Fortnight," writes Nicolas Rapold in the Voice. "Boldface names Werner Herzog, Barbara Kopple, and Jonathan Demme come bearing new work; anticipated favorites such as The Island President and an Eames doc will be rolled out; a memorial tribute to the late Richard Leacock burnishes another vérité legend; and a host of often issue-oriented other films await presumably sympathetic perusal."

The festival opens this evening with Into the Abyss, "Herzog's best documentary in many years," at least for Amy Taubin, writing for Artforum. "Herzog's subject is state-mandated execution, which he addresses via a case of triple homicide that took place in Conroe, Texas…. The movie is all the more haunting for being so straightforward in its narrative organization,...

Bob Krasner John Grisham

John Grisham isn’t sure that there will be another John Grisham.

The bestselling author, who recently published a new novel called “The Litigators,” says that his early success was driven, in part, by word-of-mouth in brick-and-mortar bookstores. With many such stores closing down in the face of the e-book revolution, he says things have changed.

“Spreading the word on a good book may be more difficult without the bookstores,” Grisham said in a recent interview in New York City.

The subject of the death penalty has been a hot button issue for both pro and anti parties alike and with the lines clearly dividing the two, Werner Herzog’s newest documentary Into The Abyss: A Tale of Life, A Tale of Death will either reinforce or challenge your beliefs of a state’s right to kill.

In the film Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog (Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, Grizzly Man) returns with Into The Abyss: A Tale Of Death, A Tale Of Life, a riveting examination of a horrible crime which probes the human psyche to explore why people kill–and why the state kills. In intimate conversations with those involved, including 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry (who was scheduled to die eight days after his interview with Herzog), the filmmaker achieves what he describes as “a gaze into the abyss of the human soul.” As he’s so often done before,...

I imagine that most of our readers have strong feelings about the death penalty, one way or the other. It's not the sort of topic that leads to indifference. Whether you support or protest the right of a state to kill specific citizens that are convicted of heinous crimes, I expect there will be something in Werner Herzog's new movie to challenge your opinion. And what good is an opinion if it can't take a challenge? Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life is a documentary that follows the stories of a few death row inmates in Texas. Herzog talks to the inmates, and to some of the officers who investigated their crimes, as well as others who are involved in the lives and crimes of these inmates. By many accounts the film is a very even-handed look at those sentenced to die, and I...

Michael Moore plays at being a regular Joe, but he has developed an image and reputation as one of the loudest voices on the American political left. His career began with Roger and Me in 1989, but his Oscar-winning 2002 film Bowling for Columbine cemented his position as a liberal provocateur. The three major documentaries that followed, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story further developed his identity as a filmmaker, but also made him as controversial on the left as he is on more conservative political sectors. In Capitalism, that last 2009 doc, Moore said that he would not make another film until others took the stage to fight against the issues that he has tackled in documentaries. The Occupy Wall St. protests and subsequent 'Occupy' movement across the Us and other countries seem to be exactly that force he was hoping for. And so Michael Moore, the director, now says he's on his way back.

There was a time when Hollywood challenged the smugness of its audiences. Not any more

It's a hard time to be a stereotypical southern racist in America. They've elected a black president; the racist thug put to death in Texas for a particularly grisly hate crime had his thunder stolen by the more controversial execution of a black Troy Davis on the same day (the final insult for a white supremacist); and the whole of your nation is demonstrating their indignation at your racist ways by going in droves to see The Help at the local cinema.

The story that has so captured America's heart – to the tune of 156m box-office dollars – is set in 1960s Mississippi and focuses on the heroic actions of liberal-leaning Southern belle Miss Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan. Recently graduated from university, Skeeter should be hunting for a husband, but instead selflessly devotes her time to writing...

Alec Baldwin – one of the many stars who spoke out against last week’s execution of Troy Davis – has written a scathing piece in the Huffington Post about the death penalty.

“All human beings are capable of the darkest and most hate-fueled emotions,” he wrote. "And sometimes, it feels good. It feels right. Here in New York, to follow the home invasion/murder trial of the Petit family in Cheshire, Connecticut, is to make one pine for a day when the death penalty could be rightfully applied. To hear the testimony, to learn of what happened to this mother and her two young children, is to die a little inside. To read of the smug demeanor of Joshua Komisarjevsky, the defendant currently on trial, and of his Manson manque posturing and utter humanistic bankruptcy is to make one want to throw the switch on this guy personally. And with the...

Film-maker asks for Here Comes Trouble to be withdrawn in protest over Troy Davis execution

Michael Moore has attempted to pull his new memoir Here Comes Trouble from every bookshop in the state of Georgia following the execution of Troy Davis last week.

The film-maker posted a statement on his website in which he said that he would ask his publisher to remove the book – published earlier this month – from shops in Georgia, "and if they won't do that I will donate every dime of every royalty my book makes in Georgia to help defeat the racists and killers who run that state".

Moore also called for a general boycott of the state. "I encourage everyone I know to never travel to Georgia, never buy anything made in Georgia, to never do business in Georgia," wrote Moore. "I ask all Americans with a conscience to shun anything and everything to...

Alec Baldwin has poured his outrage over the recent execution of a Death Row prisoner into an article for a U.S. publication, rallying against capital punishment.

The actor was among a number of stars, including Mia Farrow and Kim Kardashian, who spoke out against plans to execute Troy Davis, who was convicted in 1991 of killing an off-duty police officer.

Davis protested his innocence right up until his death by lethal injection last Wednesday and his execution sparked outrage among those who believe he was wrongly convicted, including filmmaker Michael Moore who has since called for a mass boycott of Georgia, where Davis was put to death.

Baldwin, who vented his anger on Twitter.com after Davis' execution, has now written about his concerns over capital punishment in an article for the Huffington Post.

He writes, "Supporters of the death penalty often seem to me like the opposite side of a coin. Where they contend that death penalty opponents are soft on crime and coddle the murderers of police officers, their opposites see them as those supporting a system that they largely have faith in, yet if a few innocent convicts get put to death?... Well... nothing's perfect. I'll make a deal with you. You don't imply that I'm indifferent to the murder of a police officer and I won't imply that you're willing to kill innocent men by way of a racially tainted legal system."

The 30 Rock star goes on to insist the death penalty should be abolished, adding, "It's justice we're after. So, if you take away the death penalty, there's justice all around. Because life in prison without parole is the worst possible sentence. Have you ever visited a prison? Ever been escorted around and spoken to inmates about what goes on there? How they feel? I have...

"The death penalty costs us more money than it costs to house an inmate for life. We don't want to kill innocent people. And we don't need to kill the guilty ones either. Prison itself is the death penalty. In the slowest of slow motion."...

Actor Alec Baldwin set a .Saturday Night Live. record for hosting on this past Saturday night. Baldwin, who recently lit up Twitter over his anger for the Troy Davis death penalty case, hosted .SNL. for the 16th time. In his monologue, Baldwin poked a bit of fun at another prolific SNL host, Steve Martin: .When you think about it, time is on my side. What is Steve, 100? So no matter how many times he hosts, I.ll catch up,. said Baldwin, who is about a decade younger. He said he and Martin are friends and noted, .when I hosted the Oscars, Steve was a big help.. Martin appeared on stage and poked Baldwin right back, .I wanted to...

The past few weeks, the debate over the death penalty has rocketed back into the forefront of the public consciousness starting with the cheering at a Gop debate and culminating with the outcry over the execution of Troy Davis. Today, Touré focused his segment on The Dylan Ratigan Show and came out clearly against capital punishment. He began by saying that, while he was almost always proud of his country, this past week was not one of those times.

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore is calling for a mass boycott of the U.S. state of Georgia after officials executed convicted murderer Troy Davis amid a storm of protest.

Davis was placed on Death Row in 1991 for killing an off-duty cop, but many of his supporters claimed he had been wrongly convicted and he protested his innocence right up until his death by lethal injection on Wednesday night.

Kim Kardashian, Mia Farrow and Alec Baldwin were among the stars who urged Georgia officials to call off the execution, and Moore is now urging his famous friends and members of the public to join a complete boycott of the state.

He is also demanding publishing bosses pull his newly-released memoirs, Here Comes Trouble, from the shelves of bookshops in Georgia.

In a post on his official website, Moore writes, "I encourage everyone I know to never travel to Georgia, never buy anything made in Georgia, to never do business in Georgia. I will ask my publisher to pull my book from every Georgia bookstore. And if they won't do that, I will donate every dime of every royalty my book makes in Georgia to help defeat the racists and killers who run that state. I ask all Americans with a conscience to shun anything and everything to do with the murderous state of Georgia."...

Kim Kardashian has been taken to task for her support of executed murderer Troy Davis by an angry Twitter.com follower.

The socialite was among a group of celebrities urging Georgia officials to scrap Wednesday night's execution, and she tweeted her relief upon hearing that Davis' ultimate death sentence had been delayed.

She wrote, "There's still hope! The Supreme Court has delayed Troy Davis's (sic) Execution for 1 hour to review his case!!!"

But the delay was short-lived and Davis, who was convicted in 1991 for killing an off-duty cop, was administered a lethal injection and died at 11.08pm local time.

As the news of the execution broke, Kardashian tweeted, "Such an injustice!!!! Troy Davis was executed! My prayers are with the Davis Family! #RIPTroyDavis."

But not all her followers appreciated her sentiments - @kbeanie83 raged, "@KimKardashian Troy Davis is a guilty piece of s**t, how can you support him? Like father like daughter apparently!"

Kardashian's late father, attorney Robert, represented O.J. Simpson during his mid-1990s murder trial.

The socialite's only response to the terse tweet: "Wow".

It was a bad start to Thursday for Kardashian - she also revealed via Twitter.com that sister Kourtney had given her the flu.

Coincidentally, the two biggest stories yesterday both came from Georgia. It's not easy writing about the demise of R.E.M. when it came on the same day as the vastly more tragic and infinitely more undoable demise of Troy Davis. There can be an R.E.M. reunion whenever three or four guys feel like it, whereas Troy Davis can reunite with nobody; that pretty much overshadows a mere band breakup. But I'm a music writer, and there's no denying that R.E.M. was very important to me. So here goes.

I believe that one's reaction to R.E.M. depends on when one became aware of it. There is no way to say this without sounding like a cranky old man (you kids get off my lawn!), but unless you were a music fan when they first appeared, at the least it must be more difficult to appreciate just how boldly different they were from everything else outside Athens,...

Coincidentally, the two biggest stories yesterday both came from Georgia. It's not easy writing about the demise of R.E.M. when it came on the same day as the vastly more tragic and infinitely more undoable demise of Troy Davis. There can be an R.E.M. reunion whenever three or four guys feel like it, whereas Troy Davis can reunite with nobody; that pretty much overshadows a mere band breakup. But I'm a music writer, and there's no denying that R.E.M. was very important to me. So here goes.

I believe that one's reaction to R.E.M. depends on when one became aware of it. There is no way to say this without sounding like a cranky old man (you kids get off my lawn!), but unless you were a music fan when they first appeared, at the least it must be more difficult to appreciate just how boldly different they were from everything else outside Athens,...

Alec Baldwin isn't just using his Twitter to complain about a bad cup of coffee. Like many other celebs, the actor began sending off a barrage of tweets yesterday about the case of Troy Davis, the Georgia inmate executed yesterday for the 1989 killing of an off-duty policeman—despite doubts about whether Davis was the real killer. And Baldwin has yet to stop. What's he saying? The politically active performer, who will be hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, began his tweets yesterday when he was tuned into MSNBC and learned that the state was going ahead with the execution. "Davis may be executed within the hour," he wrote. Baldwin then tweeted over 20 more...

HollywoodNews.com: Celebrities like Kim Kardashian have been expressing their anger over Troy Davis’ execution, and now Alec Baldwin is letting everything loose on Twitter.

Baldwin went after a number of issues in regard to the man some believe has been wrongly convicted of killing an officer, states RadarOnline.com. As officials have commented that there is reasonable doubt in the man’s case, Baldwin simply stated, “U don’t want 2 kill an innocent man.”

However, Baldwin also attacked the family of the officer who was killed: “Wonder if the MacPhail family will seek death penalty for Us leaders who killed thousands of Us soldiers and countless innocent Iraqis.”

Do you agree with Baldwin’s comments?

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Alec Baldwin and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin are embroiled in an ugly Twitter feud over the execution of Troy Davis.

Baldwin had been posting many tweets opposing the execution, which was carried out on Wednesday night. Malkin wrote a tweet mocking Baldwin, saying, "Waiting for Hollyweirdo @alecbaldwin 's 'I am Troy Davis' tweet..."

That's when things got pretty ugly. Baldwin responded angrily, and asked his followers to tweet their outrage at Malkin. Thousands of them did, with some deeply offensive results. By Thursday morning, Malkin and Baldwin were still attacking each other.

Below, see the series of tweets in the fight.

[View the story "Baldwin vs. Malkin" on Storify]

Related Video:...

U.S. Supreme Court denies Georgia death-row inmate's last-minute appeal for stay of execution on Wednesday night.

By Rob Markman

A protestor reacts to news of the U.S. Supreme Court's appeal decision

Photo: Jessica McGowan/ Getty Images

In the end, the spirited rallies, petitions, vigils and digital support on Twitter weren't enough to save death-row inmate Troy Davis. The Georgia inmate, convicted of killing police officer Mark MacPhail, was put to death by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m. Et on Wednesday (September 21).

Individuals present said that Troy Davis maintained his innocence to the very end and told his friends and family to keep praying, according to CNN. The execution was earlier scheduled for 7 p.m. Et on Wednesday, but Georgia state officials delayed it as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on whether to grant Davis' request for a stay of execution. At 10:21 p.

More than 500 demonstrators showed their support for Troy Davis outside the Georgia prison where he was brought to the death chamber on September 21, as he claimed one last time he didn’t kill police officer Mark MacPhail, CBS News is reporting. “I am innocent,” he said moments before his execution. “All I can ask…is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth.” However, prosecutors and MacPhail’s family believe justice has been served. “I’m kind of numb. I can’t believe that it’s really happened,” the police officer’s mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said. “All the feelings of relief and peace I’ve been waiting for...

Emporia Telecom

Are you too dumb for your smartphone? Which NBA players are bolting for China? And why did the veteran rock group R.E.M. break up after a 31-year run? A look at the most interesting posts from the Wall Street Journal blogs.

Are You Too Dumb for Your Smartphone?: Some older people may not be using smartphones because they’re afraid of looking stupid if they can’t operate them properly. Can this problem be solved? [Tech Europe]

Babies Born...

In a case that has drawn worldwide attention, Troy Davis was put to death by lethal injection in Georgia on Wednesday night, 20 years after being convicted of the 1989 murder of a Savannah police officer. Davis, 42 proclaimed his innocence to the end, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final request for a stay of execution. He was declared dead at 11:08 p.m., four hours after the scheduled execution time - and less than an hour after the court delivered its decision, reports The New York Times. Strapped to a gurney, Davis told the the family of Mark MacPhail...

Stars including Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin and Soulja Boy have criticised U.S. officials for allowing the execution of Death Row prisoner Troy Davis to go ahead.

Davis was convicted in 1991 of fatally shooting off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, despite prosecutors failing to find a murder weapon or any physical evidence linking him to the crime.

His lawyers maintained their client is a victim of mistaken identity and celebrity supporters, including Davis' family friend Big Boi, hip-hop mogul Russell Simons and Salman Rushdie, all spoke out to urge authorities in Georgia to stop the execution, which was scheduled for 7pm local time on Wednesday night.

The execution was delayed following a string of last minute appeals, but after several hours of deliberations, Davis was put to death by lethal injection.

A witness to the execution revealed that Davis "went very quietly" and maintained his innocence to the bitter end, telling the MacPhail family "to dig deeper into this case to find out the truth".

A host of celebrities who have been following the case subsequently bombarded Twitter.com with complaints over the execution.

Farrow writes, "'To those who are about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls'. - Troy Davis' last words... I love my country but tonight we can only be stunned, saddened, disgusted and deeply ashamed."

Baldwin adds, "For all you blood-thirsty right wing trash out there tonight. The point is he may have been innocent. Ya (sic) get it now? Every sensible American is appalled when (a) police officer is killed. But the attendant charges are grave. U (sic) don't want 2 (sic) kill an innocent man."

Other stars to weigh in on the debate include Soulja Boy, who writes, "Rip Troy Davis... that s**t crazy", while Simmons is pleading with those outraged with the decision to not retaliate in anger: "Although we're disheartened by decision of Supreme Court about Troy Davis, Please do not react with any sort of violence".

The newly married reality TV star urged her twitter followers to support convict Troy Davis, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection in the state of Georgia tonight (21.09.11), for the killing of police officer in 1989.

She tweeted: “I want to vent about the execution of Troy Davis! He is getting the death penalty tonight but I believe he is innocent!!! (sic)

“All he wants is a polygraph test 2 prove he's innocent & the judicial system can't give that to him? (sic)

“Everyone google Troy Davis & read his story! No One should die by lethal injection when there is this much doubt! (sic)”

Troy has claims he is the victim of mistaken identity but his pleas for clemency to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles have been rejected.

Unless there is a last minute intervention, he will be given the death penalty for the shooting of off-duty policeman Mark MacPhail,...

Troy Davis was executed today by the state of Georgia despite the mounting controversy surrounding his case. Davis' attorneys had filed an appeal challenging evidence and witness testimony that had linked Davis to a 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer in Savannah, Georgia. Indeed, seven of the nine individuals who had testified against Davis have since recanted their stories. The White House has refused to comment on Davis' case, saying that "it is not appropriate for the President of the United States to weigh in on specific cases." Meanwhile, Edward Dubose, head of the NAACP's Georgia branch, has called Davis' death a "murder" rather than an execution, and hordes of supporters have gathered at the prison where Davis was held to protest the state's decision to move forward with the decision to execute Davis by lethal injection.

Death Row prisoner Troy Davis' execution has been delayed following a string of last-minute appeals and pleas from celebrity supporters to keep the convicted murderer alive.

Actress and human rights activist Mia Farrow, Salman Rushdie, civil rights leader Revd. Al Sharpton, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and Davis' family friend Big Boi have all spoken out, urging authorities in Georgia to halt the execution, which was scheduled for 7pm local time on Wednesday night.

Davis was convicted in 1991 of fatally shooting off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, despite prosecutors failing to find a murder weapon or any physical evidence linking him to the crime.

His lawyers have maintained their client is a victim of mistaken identity.

A plea for clemency was rejected on Tuesday and one final appeal, filed on Wednesday morning, was also denied. Officials also refused Davis' last-ditch request for a lie detector test.

Reports suggest Georgia authorities are awaiting a verdict from the U.S. Supreme Court before deciding whether to press on with the execution by lethal injection.

Tweeting the news, Davis supporter Kim Kardashian wrote, "There's still hope! The Supreme Court has delayed Troy Davis's Execution for 1 hour to review his case!!!"...

Kim Kardashian is one of thousands who have taken to Twitter to voice their opinions about Troy Davis. Davis, who was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1989 but insists that he is innocent, is scheduled to be executed tonight in Georgia after exhausting the appeals process. His latest request, to be able to take a lie-detector test, was denied. And Kardashian, Rosario Dawson, Samantha Ronson, Sean "Diddy" Combs, John Legend and many of their fellow celebs are worked up over what they perceive to be a massive injustice. "I want to vent about the execution of Troy Davis! He is getting the death penalty tonight but I believe he is innocent!!! #TooMuchDoubt," Kardashian tweeted early...

HollywoodNews.com: Kim Kardashian is often promoting herself and her products on Twitter, but now she is using it to support a convicted death row inmate.

Kim recently spoke out on Twitter in regard to Troy Davis who some believe has been wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, states RadarOnline.com. “There is #TooMuchDoubt to kill Troy Davis tonight,” Kim posted on Twitter.

Kim continued posting about the matter in order to bring some attention to it: “All he wants is a polygraph test 2 prove he’s innocent & the judicial system can’t give that to him? Let’s make #TroyDavis a trending topic!”

Do you like that Kim is using Twitter this way?

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Kim Kardashian is trying to save a death row prisoner. The newly married reality TV star urged her twitter followers to support convict Troy Davis, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection in the state of Georgia tonight (21.09.11), for the killing of police officer in 1989. She tweeted: 'I want to vent about the execution of Troy Davis! He is getting the death penalty tonight but I believe he is innocent!!! (sic) 'All he wants is a polygraph test 2 prove he's innocent & the judicial system can't give that to him? (sic) 'Everyone google Troy Davis & read...

'It's just too much doubt,' Outkast Mc tells 'RapFix Live' of Georgia death-row inmate's scheduled execution on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Et.

By Rob Markman

Freeway

Photo: MTV News

With the planned execution of Georgia death-row inmate Troy Davis set for Wednesday (September 21), Big Boi and Freeway are asking people to pray.

"The best thing to do is you gotta pray," Big Boi said on Wednesday's "RapFix Live" via Skype from Atlanta. "Anything is possible; we're looking for a miracle right now."

In-house "Rfl" guest Freeway agreed with the Outkast rapper. "I think Big Boi said it the best: The best thing people can do is pray for him, man. The power of prayer is unbelievable, man."

Davis' lawyers have been fighting for a last-minute appeal on his behalf, hoping to be granted a clemency ruling that would spare him the death penalty after he was convicted in the...

Big Boi spreads the word about protests in Georgia before Davis' scheduled execution on Wednesday.

By Gil Kaufman

Protesters for Troy Davis gather in Atlanta on Tuesday

Photo: Jessica McGowan/ Getty Images

With his execution looming on Wednesday night (September 21), Georgia death-row inmate Troy Davis' lawyers have been scrambling to piece together a last-minute appeal on his behalf. Davis has been fighting to win a clemency ruling that would spare him the death penalty for the 1989 killing of Georgia police officer Mark MacPhail, a crime he claims he did not commit.

Time magazine reported that his lawyers offered on Tuesday to have him take a polygraph test if the pardons board would consider its results, and some of Davis' supporters have suggested asking President Obama to intervene in the case, though legal experts said that was unlikely. A Georgia appeals panel refused the polygraph request on Wednesday in what...

Will Troy Anthony Davis be executed? Is that really novelist Salman Rushdie on Twitter? And how much money is President Obama expected to raise among high-rollers in New York City? A look at the most interesting posts from the Wall Street Journal blogs.

Georgia Board of Pardons Denies Clemency for Troy Davis: The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied clemency for Troy Anthony Davis, a Georgia death-row inmate due to be executed tomorrow evening. [Law]

Yes, It’s...

On September 21, the state of Georgia is set to execute Troy Davis in the face of overwhelming evidence that he is innocent, and a number of celebrities are lending him their support through Amnesty USA.

Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in 1991. However, the case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state’s non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

Read more...