He has been sentenced to death for killing a police officer. But since his trial new evidence has surfaced. As Scott Lemieux says, for very stupid reasons this new evidence cannot be heard and Troy will executed, perhaps as soon as today:
I recently posited elsewhere that the exceptionally odious Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act was the worst legislation signed by Bill Clinton, although there are many more candidates for the title than a Democratic President should allow. At any rate, a man who is very likely innocent is about to be railroaded to the death chamber because he's now statutorily barred from presenting evidence that 7 out of the 9 witnesses -- essentially the entire case against him -- have recanted, a tragic absurdity that underscores the appalling nature of the habeas corpus restrictions Clinton signed. Amazingly, this case has attracted relatively little attention from people making (stupid and offensive) analogies between the Duke lacrosse players and the Scottsboro Boys, although this case is rather more analogous.
Washington Post discusses the case today, too.
It doesn't actually matter to me whether Davis is guilty or not. It's important for the new evidence to be considered. A rule which makes that impossible is ultimately going to cause the executions of innocents, and Davis might very well be one of those.
You can go to this site to protest on Davis' behalf.