I type this post with a heavy heart. I’m sure many have heard about the controversial execution of Troy Davis last night after he exhausted all appeals, including going to the United States Supreme Court. I followed the case all through out my class yesterday and was really hoping the US Supreme Court would stay his execution. Whether one is for or against the death penalty is not the issue. When the state puts a person to death, there needs to be 100%, unquestionable, absolute certainty the person dying is guilty. There were too many holes in the case against Troy Davis. Seven of nine witnesses recanted, including one who says the person who did it was bragging about it and threatened her to finger Troy Davis or he would kill her. There was no physical evidence or DNA linking Davis to the murder of Police Officer MacPhail. I don’t know whether Troy Davis was completely innocent. But I was nowhere near 100% convinced he was guilty and for that reason alone I did not want him executed.
Based on his final letter to the world in thanks for supporting and fighting for him, it’s clear that Troy knew what the global community knows–that the battle for his life or death was bigger than him. He was not the first and will not be the last. This case has sparked an international outcry over the death penalty in the United States, which remains the single industrialized country to retain it. Many within the US will point to the racial politics at play. How those found guilty of killing white victims are more likely to be given the death penalty than of crimes against black victims, and the disadvantaged and poor are more likely to be sentenced to death because of their lack of resources.
Interestingly I’ve read of some people considering changing their view on the death penalty as a result of this case. Surprisingly I don’t have an opinion over whether the death penalty is constitutional or not. My perspective goes a lot deeper. This morning a fellow law student of mine brought up a good point. Troy Davis had 22 years and multiple opportunities to reverse his conviction and was not able to, so it’s impossible to argue he was denied Due Process. I immediately wondered, what does it then say about our legal system that we can have standards in place to make sure we don’t wrongly punish someone for a crime, yet manage do so anyway? My explanation: man is inherently imperfect, therefore anything created by man is inherently imperfect.
Laws, governments, congressional bodies, legal procedures, these entities are all imperfect, which means justice in the human sense is imperfect–because it can punish the wrong person and let someone who actually did commit a crime go free. Although as I said I have no opinion on the death penalty other than its misapplication based on race and class, I will say that a government’s decision to use the death penalty is on the moral conscience of that entity and anyone who makes decisions in its name. If Troy Davis was truly innocent, his blood is on the hands of the Georgia Pardons & Parole Board, the Georgia & US Supreme Court justices and anyone else who had the power to stop his death and didn’t. My colleague also pointed out it is not unconstitutional to wrongly execute a prisoner. Even so, the conscious decision to end someone’s life (in this case via state execution) is a karmic decision. One that anyone who makes these kinds of decisions will have to answer to God for. Supporters of the death penalty remind everyone that polls say the majority of Americans support it. Then the Americans in favor of it will face the karmic affects of their belief, since beliefs affects actions.
The silver lining here is that the country is having a serious discussion on the death penalty, its inequalities and the isolation of America for continuing to use it when most of the countries that we consider ‘civilized’, have abolished it.
I can only imagine Troy Davis’ last thoughts as he was strapped to the gurney for 3 hours waiting to hear if he would live or die. This after languishing in prison for 22 years. I truly hope/believe he has found peace with the Divine.
I am almost in tears as I read this. Beautifully written, exquisite phrased and argued, sincerely said. May Allah forgive us all, for truly many, if not most of us, have no understanding of what we do.
Thank you so much for such an insightful and touching post.
Peace and blessings.