The death penalty remains a controversial issue worldwide. According to an Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] report [text, PDF] the number of countries using the death penalty dropped [JURIST report] in 2009 but more than 700 people were executed in 18 countries, with the most executions carried out in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Last August, US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia [official website] heard a habeas petition from Troy Davis who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering an off-duty Savannah, Georgia, police officer. In a rare move, the federal court heard the habeas petition after Davis had exhausted his state remedies under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act [text], but the court sided against Davis saying that he failed to prove his innocence. Law Offices of the Southern Center for Human Rights [official website] Executive Director Sarah Totonchi argues [JURIST commentary] that the "'Troy Davis' case illustrates that U.S. courts simply cannot provide the certainty necessary to impose an irreversible punishment; therefore the death penalty must be abolished."