WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Supreme Court has granted a condemned Georgia inmate 's request that his execution be delayed as he attempts to prove his innocence . Troy Davis has always maintained his innocence in the 1989 killing of Officer Mark MacPhail . The inmate , Troy Davis , has gained international support for his long-standing claim that he did not murder a Savannah police officer nearly two decades ago . Justice John Paul Stevens on Monday ordered a federal judge to `` receive testimony and make findings of fact as to whether evidence that could not have been obtained at trial clearly establishes petitioner 's innocence . '' Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer supported the decision . Sonia Sotomayor , who was sworn in August 8 as the newest member of the high court , did not take part in the petition . Davis ' case has had a dramatic series of ups and downs in the past year . He was granted a stay of execution by the Supreme Court two hours before he was to be put to death last fall . A month later , the justices reversed course and allowed the execution to proceed , but a federal appeals court then issued another stay . The high court 's latest ruling means Davis will continue to sit on death row . Stevens said the risk of putting a potentially innocent man to death `` provides adequate justification '' for another evidentiary hearing . His supporters in June delivered petitions bearing about 60,000 signatures to Chatham County , Georgia , District Attorney Larry Chisolm , calling for a new trial . Chisolm is the county 's first African-American district attorney . Davis is also African-American . Davis has always maintained his innocence in the 1989 killing of Officer Mark MacPhail . Witnesses said Davis , then 19 , and two others were harassing a homeless man in a Burger King restaurant parking lot when the off-duty officer arrived to help the man . Witnesses testified at trial that Davis then shot MacPhail twice and fled . But since his 1991 conviction , seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted their testimony . No physical evidence was presented linking Davis to the killing of the policeman . The Georgia Pardons and Parole Board last year held closed-door hearings and reinterviewed the witnesses and Davis himself . The panel decided against clemency . MacPhail 's mother , Annaliese , told CNN at the time , `` This is what we were hoping for , and I hope pretty soon that we will have some peace and start our life , especially my grandchildren -- my grandson and granddaughter . It has overshadowed their lives . '' After the justices in October refused to grant a stay of execution , Davis ' sister , Martina Correia , told CNN she was `` disgusted '' by the decision . `` It does n't make any sense , '' she said . `` We are praying for a miracle or some kind of intervention . We will regroup and fight . We will never stop fighting . We just ca n't be discouraged . The fight is not over till it 's over . '' Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas objected to the court 's decision Monday , calling it a `` fool 's errand . '' `` Petitioner 's claim is a sure loser , '' wrote Scalia . `` Transferring his petition to the [ federal ] District Court is a confusing exercise that can serve no purpose except to delay the state 's execution of its lawful criminal judgment . '' Ten days after the high court refused last October to intervene , a federal appeals court in Georgia granted a temporary stay of execution . Since then , further appeals by Davis ' legal team have dragged on for nearly a year . Prominent figures ranging from the pope to the musical group Indigo Girls have asked Georgia to grant Davis a new trial . Other supporters include celebrities Susan Sarandon and Harry Belafonte ; world leaders such as former President Jimmy Carter and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu ; and former and current U.S. lawmakers Bob Barr , Carol Moseley Braun and John Lewis .
Supreme Court 's latest ruling means Troy Davis will continue to sit on death row . Davis was convicted in 1991 of murdering a Savannah , Georgia , police officer . Since his conviction , 7 of 9 witnesses against him have recanted their testimony . Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas objected to the court 's decision .