Republican Congressman and Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr wrote that he is "a strong believer in the death penalty as an appropriate and just punishment," but that the proper level of fairness and accuracy required for the ultimate punishment has not been met in Davis's case. A last-minute emergency stay, issued by the Supreme Court less than two hours before Davis was scheduled to be put to death, halted the execution. Lawyers for Davis argued that lower courts had failed to permit a hearing to carefully examine the recanted testimony and four witnesses who implicated Coles. Lawyers for the Georgia attorney general's office argued that most of the affidavits had already been presented and reviewed, and that questions about the quality and credibility of the witnesses were raised at the initial trial. On October 14, 2008, the Supreme Court declined to hear Davis's petition, and a new execution date was set for October 27, 2008. Third execution date On October 21, 2008, Davis's lawyers requested an emergency stay of the pending execution, and three days later the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution to consider a newly filed federal habeas petition. Davis's supporters continued their appeals and actions; these included rallies held worldwide, a petition with 140,000 signatures presented to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, and an appeal from the European Union calling for the death sentence to be commuted. In contrast, the Chatham County prosecutors asserted that Davis was guilty and deserved the death penalty. Oral arguments were heard by a three-judge panel on December 9 in Atlanta. Davis's lawyers again argued that exculpatory affidavits proving Davis's innocence had not been examined in a court of law; they noted the witnesses who had implicated Coles, and that his photo was not included among those shown to witnesses in the case. The Senior Assistant Attorney General argued that, in extraordinary cases, evidence of wrongful conviction could be heard at this stage of the appeals process, but that in this case the recantation evidence was untrustworthy, and are generally regarded with the "highest suspicion." Multiple courts and boards had also previously declined appeals. During the hearing, judge Joel F. Dubina commented: "As bad as it would be to execute an innocent man, it's also possible the real guilty person who shot Officer MacPhail is not being prosecuted." Another judge, Stanley Marcus, noted that two of