After much controversy and twenty two years on death row, Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection on September 22, 2011 at approximately 11:08pm. Davis was convicted of shooting and killing police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. He was originally set for execution in 2007 but the state parole board granted him stay due to some doubt by the members. This also occurred in 2008 by the Supreme Court stepping in. His last attempted for stay was denied after four hours of deliberation by the Supreme Court. Many believe that this was not only a battle over the death penalty but a matter of racial barriers in the justice system. Davis’ lawyers, 630,000 petitioners, and a list of people, such as former President Jimmy Carter and 51 Congress members, all asked for clemency. His conviction came after a severe lack of evidence and many witnesses recanting their stories. Leading up to his death, Davis claimed his innocence and told the MacPhail family that they had the wrong man.
This case plays on many global social issues such as race and cruel and unusual punishment. While gathering information and hearing the case on television last night, it is clear that racial boundaries still very much exist. Recently in another controversial case, Casey Anthony was released due to lack of evidence in the disappearance of her daughter. That same lack of evidence in the Davis case went unnoticed and cost, possibly an innocent man , his life. Even the vigil efforts of his lawyers still could not get Davis the fair trial that he is promised in his constitutional rights. All because Davis killed a white officer he gets to pay with his life. This brings up the issue of cruel and unusual punishment. Who in this world has the right to say whether someone dies or someone lives? Who makes the decision that a black man dies because he possibly shot a white cop? Like a wise man once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/us/final-pleas-and-vigils-in-troy-davis-execution.html?ref=us
1 comment:
I also wrote a blog on the topic of troy davis, and found many similar conclusions regarding race, discrimination, and equality. I also found it very interesting that another case similar to troys had a very different outcome because the defendant was white. It is sad how facts just arent enough sometimes to prove someones innocence, and also how discrimination and privilege play a role in dire situations.
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