A Serious Note

Hey all! Well, I know the last two posts have been about my weight loss, and I definitely plan on continuing posts about that journey. However, I have wanted to extend what I write about to other topics as well. I feel compelled today, to write about the execution of Troy Davis which will occur tonight at 7pm in Georgia. This man was convicted in 1991 of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989. However, after the trial, many witnesses recanted their statements and an eyewitness who implicated Davis actually admitted to committing the crime.

The media has been following this case for over a week now and as time ticks by, more and more people become enraged and protest on Davis’s behalf. The New York Times published an article earlier this morning about how the Georgia parole board decided against granting Davis clemency. Tonight he will be executed and Georgia is most probably killing an innocent man tonight.

But, I ask you, how is this case different than hundreds of others throughout states that continue the death penalty? Honestly, not so much different. This past summer I read a book called The Autobiography of an Execution by David R. Dow. This book is an account of actual cases. He is an attorney defending those who have been placed on death row in Texas. Dow’s agenda is clear throughout the book, he is against the death penalty. However, his thinking is not irrational. It makes sense.

His point is this: Why should we as human beings be able to dictate who should live and who should die? Us killing others makes us just as bad as those murderers and criminals. Also, we as humans are not perfect. We make mistakes, execute innocent lives and our own personal judgements influence the deaths of individuals. Dow is insightful and prophetic throughout the entire story. A quote from the book is below. I am not trying to influence people to agree with me or be against the death penalty. All I want is for you to think, “what if?” What if Troy Davis is innocent and his conviction was based on fabricated evidence? What if at 7pm tonight, an innocent man dies because governmental officers chose not to step in? What if this happens throughout the country more frequently than you realize? What if?

Excerpt from The Autobiography of an Execution: “I used to support the death penalty. I changed my mind when I learned how lawless the system is. If you have reservations about supporting a racist, classist, unprincipled regime, a regime where white skin is valued far more highly than dark, where prosecutors hide evidence and policemen routinely lie, where judges decide what justice requires by consulting the most recent Gallup Poll, where rich people sometimes get away with murder and never end up on death row, then the death-penalty system we have here in American will embarrass you to no end.”

Just remember to think.