By Thanh Truong, NBC News Correspondent

JACKSON, Ga. – On Highway 36 in Jackson, Ga. the truck stop across from the Georgia Diagnostic Prison is a busy place. On Wednesday morning truckers were gassing up; commuters were getting their coffee. For the most part it's an average day. But at 7 p.m. this evening, death row inmate Troy Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection inside the prison.
 
In the days leading up to Wednesday's execution, supporters of Davis staged mass marches, protests and rallies. Those calling for a halt to his execution include everyday people, death penalty advocates and opponents alike, from President Jimmy Carter to Pope Benedict. All of them saying there's too much doubt about Davis guilt for the state to move ahead with the execution.
 
Davis was convicted for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. At the time, MacPhail was off duty working a security detail. Investigators say as he got off his shift, MacPhail came across a homeless man being attacked. According to police, MacPhail went to his aid but was shot in the face and chest.

Witnesses put Davis and another man at the Burger King parking lot in Savannah. They testified Davis was the triggerman. Prosecutors presented shell casings at the trial. They said those casings matched those of a previous shooting earlier that night. Davis was convicted in that previous shooting. In 1991, Davis was convicted for the MacPhail murder and was sentenced to death.  

Years of appeals
Davis has maintained his innocence through the years. Seven of the nine witnesses who testified against Davis later recanted or changed their statements. Several claimed police coercion. One of those witnesses, Jeffrey Sapp, said, "I got tired of them harassing me… I told them that Troy told me he did it, but it wasn’t true… I didn’t want to have any more problems with the cops, so I testified against Troy." 
 
Davis' defense also claims a lack of physical evidence. The murder weapon was never recovered.  All of it was presented during previous appeals and attempts at a retrial. Those attempts failed.

Prosecutors have been resolute. Joining them are the police and family of MacPhail. All say they have no doubt that Davis is the killer and deserves death.       

Davis had one last chance at clemency on Monday.  The Georgia Pardons and Parole Board heard from both the defense and prosecution. On Tuesday it denied Davis clemency. With virtually all of his legal options now exhausted, Tuesday's decision was seen as the one final shot to have Davis's sentence commuted to life in prison instead of death. Georgia's governor can not intervene. 

Two different visions of justice
Now in a matter of hours, the years of appeals, moral debates about the death penalty and pleas from both families will come to a head. I've spoken to relatives of both Davis and MacPhail. All want justice, but their visions of justice differ. 

Before the clemency hearing Davis's nephew, DeJuan Davis-Correia told me the justice they were seeking would help both families.

“We have the utmost respect for that family. I also pray at night for that family. We hope they find understanding in their hearts that we are actually trying to get the wrong person out of jail and the right person in," said Davis-Correia. 

Following Monday's hearing the family MacPhail left behind expressed their feelings. Joining his widow Joan, were his son, daughter and mother. After years of delays and hearings, they said they were thirsty for justice, not blood.

“We have lived this for 22 years. We know what the truth is and for someone to ludicrously say he [Davis] is a victim? We are the victims. Look at us. We have put up with this stuff for 22 years and it's time for justice today," said Joan MacPhail

Davis has declined to request a specific last meal.  

AP

Casey Anthony during her murder tiral in Orlando, Fla.

Lilia Luciano, NBC News correspondent

MIAMI -- Lies and imaginary friends permeated Casey Anthony’s first-degree murder trial this summer. Now that it’s over and Anthony roams free, the fantasies are coming back to haunt her.

A hearing is set to begin Friday morning in Orlando in which Judge Belvin Perry will put a price tag on her lies. He’ll decide how much, if anything, Anthony should reimburse the state of Florida and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for the fruitless chases by investigators as they followed her made-up leads about the whereabouts of her daughter, Caylee, who was later found dead.

"Imaginary" people are also seeking damages.

A woman named Zenaida Gonzalez filed a defamation lawsuit claiming Casey Anthony stained her name when she used it to identify "Zanny the Nanny," whom she claimed kidnapped Caylee in 2008.

Anthony’s civil attorney. Charles Greene, claims the suit is unfounded since the name Casey Anthony gave officers back in 2008 was "Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez" and the plaintiff is named simply "Zenaida Gonzalez."

A common misconception when it comes to Hispanic names is that when faced with three names, many assume "the name in the middle" is a "middle name"… Wrong. In the case of "pretend-nanny" Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, "Fernandez" would be her last name, her father’s name -- if, of course, she had been a real person. Gonzalez would have been her mother’s name.

Gonzalez "does not call herself Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez because that’s not her name … nor does she have a good claim for defamation being that she can’t point to any particular statement about her," Green says, adding that he’s confident the case won’t reach court.

For Gonzalez’s attorneys, the key is is the source of the name. They claim Casey snatched that name from a visitor log their client signed at the Sawgrass apartments in Orlando, the same place Anthony told police she had last seen Caylee alive, placing Gonzalez at what was then suspected to be a crime scene.

A judge ruled Thursday that Anthony must show her face Oct. 8 to give a deposition in the lawsuit. She’ll do so from an undisclosed location via videoconference, and her testimony will remain sealed for a month.

Anthony was acquitted of murder, but she was found guilty of providing false information to law enforcement; among those lies: the nanny tale. Now Anthony is appealing those charges, and her attorney says she’ll likely wield her Fifth Amendment right to avoid giving any statement on her video deposition.

If the lawsuit fails, as Anthony’s attorneys expect, we may never know just how much imagination went into Casey Anthony’s initial defense. If it goes to trial, actress Juliette Lewis, a name Anthony used for a make-believe co-worker, may also have a shot at cashing in on this unfortunate story.