The US Supreme Court Tuesday rejected the latest attempt by Troy Davis, a black man convicted in the southern state of Georgia of killing a white police officer, to stop his execution.

On September 23, the court halted Davis's execution two hours before he was scheduled to die as it considered his request for a new trial. Davis has maintained his innocence and several witnesses at his 1991 trial have since recanted.

But Tuesday, the court refused to consider the constitutionality of executing a person when there is new, substantial evidence to show he was not guilty of the crime, thus opening the way for the state to reschedule his execution.