I’ve not blogged in a while, mainly because all the writing I needed to do for my intense summer class killed any desire to write any additional pieces. However, I’m making an exception for this, because I really need to express how I feel about a particular issue that I’ve followed for the past 5 years or so. The campaign against the execution of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis.
I first heard of Troy’s case when I started attending the local Amnesty International meetings after watching the documentary ‘The Corporation’ where the then Secretary General Irene Khan made appearances speaking on the role of human rights being impeded by corporate interests around the world. Not going to delve into deeper discussion about that this time, but I had heard of Amnesty International before, but didn’t quite know what they did, so I signed up to receive newsletters via e-mail and just so happened that was when Larry Cox was appointed as the new executive director of the American branch and he was making his tour across the different regional offices, so the newsletter had an invite to drop by and meet other like-minded folks. So I went, met few people and got invited to attend one of their monthly meetings. That’s where I was introduced to the case of Troy Davis.
The case of Troy Davis. Troy is an African American man from Savannah, GA that was convicted of killing an off duty police officer back in 1989 and had been sentenced to death. I was a bit undecided on the whole for or against death penalty back then, so I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. I tended to think one should pay for their crime, so if you kill someone, you must be prepared for your life to be taken away too. So in that sense, I didn’t pay too much attention until I got curious and read a bit more about it.
Turns out Troy’s case was a bit different from other death penalty cases because the conviction was made without any physical evidence, no proof of gun that was used, no finger prints, no blood, no DNA and all the so called eye witness testimony was rather shaky. 7 of the 9 witnesses have later recanted their stories, alleging police coercion, while some said that they felt pressured by their parole officers to incriminate Troy. It’s even widely believed that the 2 that hasn’t recanted their story knows who did it and is covering for the real killer. It may even be that 1 of them, who was one of the first to report Troy, is the real killer. Members of the jury have even come forward and said that had they known that witnesses were coerced into making statements to incriminate Troy, they probably would still have convicted Troy of being guilty, but not make the recommendation for his death.
Of course, there are more details I’m omitting here, but since I’m not a legal expert, I’m not going to details about the proceedings, but do you really need to hear much more? I’m not expressing my support or opposition to the death penalty. If members of the jury decide to recommend the death penalty given there is unmistakable proof or witness for a crime, there’s not much we can do about it. After all, we have to respect the rules of the law, it’s the jury that decides, not public opinion. However, what grounds are there to sentence someone to death without any concrete proof? If death penalty is an option, it should only be exercised when there is absolutely no doubt about the guilty party. There have been too many reported cases in the last decade about innocent men being executed that were later proven to be innocent due to DNA mismatch, uncovering of planted evidence or worse, coercion by authorities in exchange for lesser penalties of an unrelated case. This is clear indication that the legal system isn’t perfect in order to continue using the death penalty as the ‘ultimate justice’, as Texas Governor Rick Perry says.
All these effort just to close a case so that the authorities can move on to the next? I understand and sympathize with the need for the victims to seek closure and nobody is denying that an innocent man died that fateful night in 1989. However, the death of an innocent man should not be used as an excuse to execute another potentially innocent man while the real killer roams unpunished.
Who knows, Troy could be lying about all this. Even if that’s the case, unless there is conclusive evidence, which there is none, a death penalty should not be given out just because of suspicion of guilt.
Why is this case so important? If such a set up can be used to sentence someone to death, which means that can potentially happen to any one of us if all that is needed are witnesses that will testify against you, who may be doing it because they need to have their own plea bargain and such. I don’t want to stress on the racial element here, but you can’t ignore the fact that Troy is an African American convicted of killing a white cop in a southern state of Georgia, in Savannah in 1989 which is reported to be pretty racist even by those living there. What glares at me are the politicians of the county that refuses to move the case along whenever there is another legal challenge and seems hell bent on making a political point. There is no doubt there are legal ramifications and motivations for this case, what could it mean for the career lawyers and politicians if they even give a hint of admission of guilt in that they could have been wrong in this case? There are clear external motivations driving this case here. But should it come at the cost of an innocent man’s life?
How about the fact that the state is using a new type of lethal injection that was imported so that they could continue executions? For a while, state executions were put on hold due to the state running out of one of the three chemicals used in executions. This new chemical pentobarbital (usually used to ‘destroy’ cats and dogs) has been reported to cause some unknown reaction when used, such as during the recent execution of Roy Blankenship. This is yet another indication that there are external interests in resuming executions at whatever cost possible, even if it results in a struggle. These chemicals are not supposed to cause any needless pain and suffering for the one being executed.
Why is this case so personal to me? Like Troy being a black man convicted of murdering a white cop in a southern state in the late 80s, I’m an adult male of Islamic descent in the era of the war against terrorists. I feel that if such a thing can happen to Troy, I could very well be arrested and put in prison (or Guantanamo) if all that is needed is suspicion to lock someone up and convict that person to death. I have said my share of controversial statements, but always vocal about my rejection of violence (though among friends who may or may not agree with me but understand where I’m coming from) and those statements can be twisted to make me look like a person with harmful intent if all that’s needed is to threaten someone with some legitimate cause for their concern to testify against me. No physical evidence required and the lawyers can design a jury of mistrusting, overly patriotic citizens to sway them to sentence me guilty. It’s that simple. It can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. Hence, you see people wearing the shirts ‘I am Troy Davis’ because that can happen to anyone. We are all potentially Troy Davis.
As I said, I’m not saying I’m for or against the death penalty. Just that we need to be certain of the person’s guilt before execution. An executed innocent man cannot be brought back to life. We shouldn’t be doing this because we want to close the case and move on and provide closure to the victim’s family while the real killer goes unpunished.
So, tell your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. There is too much doubt. Sign the petition asking for clemency. Call your representatives. Attend the rallies and the marches. Make your voice heard. This doesn’t just affect Troy, it affects all of us. This means legalized murder of a potentially innocent man. If you aren’t scared by that though and how it can and is abused, you should be. This sort of thing shouldn’t be happening in the country that touts freedom and justice for all.
For petition and other detailed info on Troy Davis, go to Amnesty International's page, click HERE. (http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/cases/usa-troy-davis?id=1011343)
For more info on the topic, see this report in Democracy Now!, click HERE. (http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/16/over_500_000_sign_petition_to)
