ATLANTA - A Georgia man scheduled to be executed tonight for killing a police officer in 1989 won a temporary reprieve Monday evening after key witnesses from his trial recanted their testimony before the state’s parole board.

After a nine-hour clemency hearing, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted Troy Anthony Davis, 38, a 90-day stay while it evaluates and analyzes evidence.

By the time Davis heard the news, he had already been moved into a solitary “death watch” cell at the state prison in Jackson, about 45 miles south of Atlanta. Davis, who was to be killed by lethal injection at 7 p.m., still faces execution unless the parole board commutes his sentence to life in prison.

“We’re no longer under the gun,” said Davis’ defense attorney, Jason Ewart. “But we still have more convincing to do. It’s too soon for a celebration.”

A parade of witnesses joined Davis’ mother, sisters and pastor behind closed doors Monday. After five hours with Davis’ supporters, the board spent nearly four hours with prosecutors and the mother, widow and children of slain Officer Mark Allen MacPhail.

The five-member board deliberated for less than an hour.

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