AP
Georgia has had its share of chances to spare Troy Davis' life. Despite persistent doubt that the death-row inmate is guilty of the crime of which he was convicted, the state has scheduled his execution four separate times. It's now slated for this Wednesday, September 21, at 7:00pm local time. (No word yet as to whether they plan to videotape it, as they did another execution earlier this year.)
His latest appeal was denied again this morning:
Georgia's pardons board rejected clemency for Troy Davis on Tuesday, one day before his scheduled execution, despite high-profile support from figures including an ex-president and a former FBI director for the claim that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989...
The decision appeared to leave Davis with little chance of avoiding the execution date. Defense attorney Jason Ewart has said that the pardons board was likely Davis' last option, but he didn't rule out filing another legal appeal.
Mr. Davis' supporters are legion. Along with organizations like Amnesty International, they include: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former FBI director William Sessions, 51 members of the US Congress, many celebrities and activists (including the Wu Tang Clan), the entire European Union and our guest last week, former President Jimmy Carter. Oh, and a man named Pope Benedict XVI. But Georgia and its Republican governor, Nathan Deal, have remained steadfast. Why?
I'm not suggesting the state should bow to the pressures of Mr. Davis' supporters, just because. This isn't about trusting his word that he's innocent. It's about trusting the evidence. What is so incredible about this case is not that the state of Georgia doesn't believe he's innocent. It is the ironclad certainty that he is guilty. Guilty, despite all of the faulty witnesses and misstatements and utter lack of forensic or DNA evidence. #TooMuchDoubt, indeed.
I'm reminded of Texas Governor Rick Perry, stating at the recent Republican presidential debate on MSNBC that, in essence, he trusts the system implicitly, and that he "hasn't struggled" with the record number of prisoners Texas has killed during his administration. Clearly, those decisions aren't weighing on Mr. Perry's conscience. But when it comes to state-sponsored killing, can we afford to let it be about conscience at all? Morals and personal conviction can be as different as fingerprints. Facts, however, should not be so elastic.
I get why the family supports the execution, I truly do. I've been in their shoes, convinced that the death of the person who murdered my loved one is somehow justice manifesting itself. But in terms of the state, justice isn't justice if it's blind to the facts -- or the doubt.
ONE MORE THING.
Via Amnesty International's Facebook page, a message today from Troy Davis himself:
"The struggle for justice doesn't end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I'm in good spirits and I'm prayerful and at peace. But I will not stop fighting until I've taken my last breath."
On tonight's show, we'll have much more on this case. We hope that you tune in.
Leave a Comment:
How sad. The state is going t o murder yet another person who isn't guilty and haven't received a fair trial. This is a good reason why we should stop state sponsored executions all together. Murdering someone because they may or may not have murder someone is never justice--its revenge.
Nice summary, Jamil.
This is probably the most profound explanation I've read for why this is so resonant with so many. #TooMuchDoubt is about as accurate as a hashtag can be.
Hmmm, here's a thought... or suggestion. Whenever a person is sentenced to death in this country, the following individuals should all have their names entered into a "lottery", so if evidence is presented later and proves that an innocent person was executed then one of those people will get to pay the price for being wrong... State Governor, State Prosecutor, the judge, all of the "expert" and other witnesses as well as the police investigating the case... I think that's fair, lets see how many people still want a death penalty, especially if THEIR life is on the line too.
Taking a life for a life never works. It's wrong no matter what is our motives.
“The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”
—James Madison, Speech in the Virginia State Convention of 1829-1830 baabaa
I get that the family has accepted Mr. Davis as their loved one's killer. I get that they need to not question that. But that cannot blind the rest of us to facts. There's a reason we don't allow families to sit on juries.
When I have been in a jury pool, they always ask if I know anyone involved, even a witness.
The family may believe they will have peace if Mr. Davis is killed; I remain skeptical that this will truly be the case.
Sometimes there is no real justice, but there can still be injustice in such cases.
Give it up. Let him die for what he did. Then, go on with life tomorrow.
Too much doubt to let it be.
You'll find, with our so imperfect justice system, most states have laws stating a person cannot sue for false arrest, wrongful conviction or wrongful imprisonment. If out system was just, fair, equal and so imperfect, there would be no need for such laws.
To blatantly ignore the truth, justice, and basic human dignity in such an unconscionable way is simply intolerable and monstrous behavior. This is the result of a political culture in which governor s brag about how many of their own constituents they have put to death and where a debate crowd cheers that number. This flagrant injustice is purely anti-American. What kind of country have we become when Americans can be executed with so little accountability?
http://www.sunstateactivist.org
This new petition by Troy Davis's sister, Kimberly, offers one last attempt to help Troy Davis live past tomorrow morning.
Add your name to the 50,00+ signatures. You'll be asking Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm to petition the judge to vacate the death warrant against Troy.
You can sign that petition here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/chatham-county-district-attorney-request-that-troy-davis-death-warrant-be-withdrawn
The page will not accept the form, saying only 'there was a problem."
No one in Georgia is going to step in to stop the execution because they do not want to give their political opponents an issue. I would be very surprised if the Republican governor grants clemency and commutes the sentence to life in prison. But that really depends on whether the governor is more interested in his reelection than justice.
Mike, Mike, Mike. You know the answer to THAT one. Of course, he's more interested in his re-election.
Not to defend Nathan Deal who is a real piece of work, but the governor of Georgia does not have the power to grant clemency or any authority over the death penalty. All appeals and requests for clemency are decided by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole.
It seems to me that if there is the slightest chance that he is not guilty or did not get a fair trial there would be no execution. When in doubt don't you think it's better to reason on the side of caution after all this is the death penalty? I just don't get it!
Order has become more important than the rule of Law.
Reason has taken a back seat to emotion.
Too many people take opinion to be fact. And, fact checking? Let's leave that to Fox News and their ilk.
This is what's wrong with America.
Jamil, your boss Rachel was in Georgia very recently. I wonder if she was able to get any "on-the-ground" real time additional information on this important case, and why the political oligarchy there refuses to ensure real justice is not ignored?
When I was in college I took some criminal justice courses. On the first day, the Professor said, "is the justice system just? NO. Is the justice system fail? NO. Is the justices system legal? Sometimes but no often." It has nothing to do with justice. We have turned into a revenge society. We elect DA's on conviction records. Many time the police get a suspenct and gather "evidence" against that person, guilty ot not. SAD, but true.
If what you say is true we stop executions altogether.
A lot of truth to what you write, larry74.
Here in San Francisco, there is always much hand wringing over the low conviction rates. However, witnesses won't come forward due to fear of retribution. It is hard to get a jury pool as so many don't speak English well enough to get selected. Then you get jury members who don't believe such-and-such is a crime, and won't vote to convict.
I think when people talk about having peace after a suspect is executed, they are really seeking revenge. Nothing can bring their loved one back, but taking another life, especially a possibly innocent life, certainly doesn't seem to make anything better from my perspective.
The justice system tries to maintain the facade that we are rehabilitating people to return them to society as a better person. Nothing could be further from the truth. We moved from a rehabilitation philosophy to punishment since the Nixon administration used law and order as a campaign issue and subsequently used by the Republican party. Our whole system punishes the offenders with more than just prison terms; there are the consequences for having a criminal record such as inability to get a job. And then people wonder why there are repeat offenders.
Consider the number of people exanerated in TX alone. 76 that were on death row. Nationwide in the last 10 yrs. it's something like 300. I don't beleive in capital punishment, but even more so knowing how the justice system works. I've seen Judges, "control" the verdict just by the directions he/she gives the jurors.
Thank you, Rachel, for bringing attention to the plight of Troy Davis. When you look at the insistence on the State Of Georgia to execute this man, it shows you just how this system works when Casey Anthony had to be found "not guilty", and yet they are 100% certain that this man did what he did despite 7 of 9 witnesses alleging their testimonies were coerced...
Well, so much for society's fundamental values! I wonder what it's like to be so absolutely certain that you are 100% correct when it comes to killing someone.
These same folks proclaim to have such high moral standards when it comes to what We the People should or should not do - e.g., using birth control! as in MS - or who can marry whom, but have no ethical/moral problem with inserting the Needle in the face of overwhelming doubt.
So glad I'm me and not them.
http://www.georgia.gov/00/ gov/contact_us/0,2657,1659 37316_166563415,00.htmlWrite to the governor NOW and ask that the sentence be commuted so further investigation can take place.
georgia.gov - Contact Governor Deal
www.georgia.gov
Welcome to georgia.gov, the State of Georgia's official website. For online access to Georgia government.
To the point of justice for the surviving loved ones, I say what if it is NOT the right person being executed. This might diminish your sense of justice, wouldn't it? What if the witnesses are wrong or were convinced by police this HAS to him, because the police arrested him? What about the other person who basically said, "it wasn't me, it was him" to save his own @55?
I hope there is a change of sentencing in this case.
But I oppose death penalty by the state. I have already heard all the pro death penalty arguments.
I doubt that the family cares. They just want someone--anyone--executed for the murder of their family member. Whether its the right person or not is immaterial. To them, it balances out the scales of "justice."
Republicans are not about justice, truth, freedom, or the rule of law, they are simply all about power and control.
mpguy: you forgot about greed, empire, and grinding the faces of the poor.
Thanks, Bob. The petition is on Change's home page:
Executing a black man is always a political winner in Georgia. There's no need for the Governor's office, Pardons Board, nor any other state entity to do anything about this because killing one black is just like killing another. In the view of most Southern whites, all black men are alike. They figure he probably killed somebody else anyway, so the execution is warranted.
According to the law, if there is a reason of doubt.... STOP!!!!! If this man dies, everyone involved should be jailed!!!!!!!! Republicans and their "right to life scams" make me sick...........
Face reality - Troy Davis is a black man guilty of killing a white cop in Georgia - did you really think he was going to get his sentence commuted even though the "evidence" screams innocent - unfortunately for US all, I don't think so!!
There is a case, I don't remember where, that a black man was taken to jail on a dui charge. There was a murder of a white man discovered. The black man was charged with the murder. The coroners report gave the time of death as the same time the black man was in jail. He was convicted and awaits execusion. I have NO faith or trust in our currant justice system. It's more "injustice." And no we don't "rehabilitate" anymore. Lock em up, turn em loose and expect good results. Keep dreaming. Criminal record, in most cases, rule out getting a job. People will survive by any means.
Rachel,
I would like to know are any of the members of Georgia's Pardons Board black?
Also is there any connection between Judge Will Not Budge and the police where this happened? Was there an agreement between the judge and the police back then to protect each others mistakes or criminal cover-ups ?
Its not just race, black, white or hispanic, it is about money. If you have the funds a fair trial is possible, if no funds are available you are at the mercy of the justice system. Until we have qualified public defenders and the few that are usually buried under heavy case loads, things will not change. Until we have D A's more interested in justice, instead of making news and attaining political office, things will not change. Until we have cops, more interested in truth instead of just closing the case, things will not change. As long as we have prisons for profit, the prison population will continue to grow. This injustice is a heavy burden for the tax payers and we should demand better results. Those without money have little or no chance for a fair trial.
How many people do you know of who served no time because they had the money to hire a good attorney, but were guilty of a crime? How many are serving time or unjust sentences for petty crimes, because they were without funds? And how many have been executed that were innocent?
This case exemplifies this quote from the Devil's Advocate: