ATLANTA -- A federal appellate court has stayed the execution of condemned murderer Troy Davis.

A three-judge panel from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the execution Friday of Davis, who was convicted of the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.

The state had ordered Davis be put to death Monday.

LINK: Website Supporting Troy Davis

"Amnesty International is heartened to learn of today's stay of execution from the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals," said Wende Gozan Brown of Amnesty Internation. "Until this point, the compelling issues in this case have been virtually ignored, leaving Georgia vulnerable to the possibility of killing an innocent man. The Court must be commended for serving as the fail safe for justice."

Davis' supporters have called for a new trial because seven of the nine key witnesses against him have recanted their testimony, and the doubts about his guilt have won him the support of former President Jimmy Carter and other prominent advocates.

The panel ordered both sides to draft briefs to address whether Davis can be executed if he can prove his innocence.

Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of 27-year-old officer Mark MacPhail, who was working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station.

Davis was also granted a stay of execution in September -- just hours before he was set to be put to death. Ten days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to order a new trial in the case.