I know that many of you have worked your hearts out trying to halt the unjust execution of Troy Davis last night. If you cried when you heard the news of his death, you are not alone. The theory of capital punishment in the US is that the appeals and reviews are so exhaustive that the possibility of executing an innocent person is nil. If ever there was a case that disproves the theory, this is it. While we lack absolute proof that Troy was innocent, the preponderance of the evidence indicates that he was. The problem with the theory is that it fails to account for the party of death. The preponderance of the evidence did not matter to the Republicans who control the government of Georgia. This execution is America’s shame. Look at the company we keep! China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen and the United States lead the world in executions. It is long past time for America to join the civilized world and outlaw capital punishment.
Despite evidence that threw into question the veracity of Troy Davis’ conviction, pleas from a former president and the Pope, and even a last-minute review by the US Supreme Court on Wednesday night, Davis was executed by lethal ejection shortly after 11 p.m. on Wednesday evening in Georgia.
Davis, whose case we wrote about in full detail here, was convicted on 1991 on charges that he murdered a Savannah police officer. Davis had put off eating his final meal in the expectation that he would be granted a stay of execution—as he had three times before in the past—but by Wednesday morning, he had exhausted all of his options, and a standing offer to submit to a polygraph test was rebuffed by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. The final lethal injection was delayed for more than three hours as the state waited to hear from the United States Supreme Court (which dismissed the appeal without dissent).
By now, you probably know the facts: Of the nine witnesses to the murder, seven have since recanted, and in doing so alleged that they were coerced into identifying Davis. Police tainted the identification process by pointing out Davis’ face before he ever appeared in the lineup; new psychological research suggests that the officers went about identifying the suspect in exactly the wrong way. Ballistics evidence used to convict Davis has since been debunked. Another witness has since emerged as a plausible suspect in the murder trial. Three jurors on the case now say that if they knew then what they know now, they would not have voted to convict. Davis was quite possibly innocent, but that was hardly the point. As expressed by the popular Twitter hash-tag, the problem was simply that there was #TooMuchDoubt…
Inserted from <Mother Jones>
Davis maintained his innocence until the very end.
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Such barbarity! My heart goes out to both Troy’s family, because of their loss, and the family of Officer MacPhail, because they may one day realize the horror that they called for and witnessed the death of the wrong man.
Sadly, there was no way Georgia could commit a murder without Rick Perry getting a taste of blood as well.
Lawrence Russell Brewer, one of two men sentenced to die in the 1998 Jasper dragging death of James Byrd Jr., is dead.
His execution was set at 6 p.m. tonight. Officials pronounced him dead at 6:21 p.m.
Several of Byrd’s family members, including two sisters and a niece, witnessed Brewer’s execution.
Additionally, Brewer’s mother, father and brother were in attendance…
Inserted from <The Beaumont Enterprise>
Please don’t think I am trying to compare Brewer with Troy Davis. Brewer is one of three racists who beat Byrd up, urinated on him, chained his legs, and dragged him to death behind a pickup truck, because he was black. There is no doubt about his guilt. I have no sympathy for him whatsoever. Nevertheless, I maintain that his execution was also murder.
If we keep executing the Brewers, the risk is too high that we will execute another Troy Davis. Furthermore, to commit the ultimate act of violence against a defenseless person is the most hypocritical possible way to say that killing is wrong. Even Byrd’s family knows this, and they opposed the execution to their great credit.
Today, I’ll be talking to a man who spent over ten years on death row. I know this will give him nightmares. I can’t help thinking what a waste killing him would have been, because he has dedicated the rest of his life in prison to help others learn from his mistakes.
To all of you who campaigned to prevent Troy’s murder. I share your grief.
19 Responses to “Georgia commits murder”
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I’ve never understood America’s obsession with judicial murder. Does it make any difference to crime rates? I doubt it.
Jack, states that murder criminals have higher violent crime rates than those that do not, with few exceptions.
In Canada, the death penalty was abolished on 14 July 1976. Until the last executions in 1962, there were 710 executions, all done by hanging, from 1859 onward. The last executions were on 11 December 1962, and a moratorium established in 1967. One person who was sentenced to death in 1959 for the rape and murder of a 12 year old girl, was Steven Truscott, age 14. His sentence was commuted in 1960 and he was to spend a lifetime in jail. He appealed his conviction in 2001 and was acquitted in 2007. The Ontario Court of Appeal awarded him $6.5 Million in compensation in 2008. An innocent man spent almost 50 years in prison for a crime he maintained from the start that he didn’t commit. And there are others such as David Milgaard who were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, who only through hard work had their cases appealed and convictions overturned.
I am glad that Canada abolished the death penalty. Had Truscott’s sentence not been commuted and had Milgaard been accused and convicted just a few years earlier, both innocent men would be dead. Instead, both these men are still alive living quietly. Once a life is extinguished, it cannot be brought back. When new evidence is uncovered that speaks to a miscarriage of justice, there is no saying “Sorry, we made a mistake.” and everything is restored.
For Troy Anthony Davis, there is no going back. When he is finally cleared, and I believe he will be, the victim’s family will have to live with that knowledge for the rest of their lives. The Board of Pardons and Paroles, the judges, the District Attorney, the Governor will all have to live with the fact for the rest of their lives that they participated in the murder of an innocent man. And it didn’t have to be that way had they truly cared about the law and looked at the evidence and used common sense (that was obviously not so common).
Be at peace Troy Anthony Davis. Your fight might have ended, but there are others that will take up the fight to clear you and to abolish the barbaric practice of capital punishment, state ordered murder.
Congrats to Canada for being a civilized nation.
“”The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice
(Clarence) Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied,” read the
statement issued at 10:18 p.m. ET.”
Clarence Thomas has no compassion or sense of justice.
RIP Troy. We tried to help you.
Judge Thomas will have much to answer for— The death Penalty is Murder–
Wait till you guys see what Scalia said!
The DP deters no one, solves nothing, and amounts to State-sponsored revenge. Clearly, this is an unconstitutional relic that should be put into the museum of history.
JR, it’s nice to be in complete agreement again,
Sadly the hate manifested in lynchings that led to Billie Holiday’s iconic rendering of “Strange Fruit” are still alive today. In memory of Troy Davis, murdered by the state of Georgia:
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs
Compelling!
Strange fruit indeed! Southern justice never ceases to appall me! The perryberry falling from the “bush” getting cheers for executing 235 people – a somber admission to say the least – and all “guilt” absolved in the “old testament” of the bloody document — it makes me rife with bigotry against those who dwell south of the Mason Dixon line – while I know there are some people down there who have “minds” and “consciences”, who actually don’t need to relish in vengeance! Yes there are heinous crimes committed and if the perp is put to death I won’t “miss” them, however as long as there is ONE innocent man executed, or even if there is the slightest element of doubt as to the guilt of a convicted murderer, captial punishment is abhorrent to me – even if guilty does it really make us a better people to seek blood? To my mind it puts us in the same category as the perp. Each person in the state of Georgia – any state for that matter that has committed acts of vengeance is guilty of the one murder of the innocent person who has “accidentally” faced unjust death. That is the barbaric quality of capital punishment – I refuse to support this demented blood thirsty means of justice – I’ve always been – I don’t like torture either! I would find myself in hypocritical if I actually had to execute the members of the prior administration – who in my mind are worthy of capital punishment – but push comes to shove – just send them to international court – it is a sad human condition that produces evil beings that perpetrate monstrous acts from the likes Cheney, Bush and Brewer’s – I “repent” for the death wish that my fantasy life calsl for when I think of these pieces of crap! Hopefully this will have some affect on the elections and the fecal republicrap matter that is giving O a run!
Lee, I have no desire to see them killed. I would be happy to see them rehabilitated.
I should have read this last post before delivering it – – ugh! hard to read through the typo’s!
I am the King of Typo!
PS, you can now edit your comments here,
Those on the far right who applaud the use of the death penalty are NOT pro-life. They are pro-DEATH, and each of them can, and will, go straight to hell.
The Republicans are the Party of Death!
Billie Holiday used to end her shows with the performance of “Strange Fruit” (cited above with lyrics), and reported vomiting after every rendition. As Troy said to the MacPhail family members present at the time of his death, Officer’s MacPhail’s murder was a horrible thing. Yet is a sad showing of the human condition when the exacting of vengeance obfuscates the concern for getting it irrevocably wrong.
Billie, I share your sentiments.
I was eleven when she died, so I never saw her perform. She was ahead of her time.