RIP Troy Davis. September 21, 2011 - 1108PM
God bless the dead.
There’s a certain perverse curiousity about the last minutes of a person’s life. I’ve had the misfortune of personally witnessing the last moments of somebody’s life and since that time I’ve often recounted those final hours, minutes, and seconds over and over again.
As of the beginning of this writing, Troy Anthony Davis, is counting down the final minutes of his life. By the time I’m finished, he’ll be dead. And I find myself imaging what that’s like. I can’t help it. Knowing your end is near and knowing the exact time you will move on is a punishment no person should know. Especially this person because based on every recount and recollection of this case, there is absolutely no reason that this man’s life should be history.
None.
It sickens me. It saddens me. I recognize that when a situation touches you that you’re more likely to think irrationally. But because of this case, I’m completely opposed to the death penalty. Since the Innocence Project has come to fruition and proven how many people were falsely convicted (273) I have come to not only not believe in the justice system, I’m downright afraid of it. I’ve always thought that it didn’t have my best interests in mind for racial reasons. But at this point, Troy Davis’s case proves that no matter what evidence you do or don’t have, once somebody decides you are guilty, well you’re guilty.
The State of Georgia decided that this man was supposed to die for a crime for which his guilt was in complete question, even though people from the prison system and politicians who support the death penalty in the state have asked for clemency.
I feel sick. I’ve shed a tear behind this man I don’t know and it’s because of just how unfair it seems. Every person behind bars isn’t innocent. And I have no idea if Troy Davis is either. But as the twitter hashtags and signs and slogans have indicated, there’s too much doubt about this guilt. Try the man again. Let him stay in jail…alive, while we take another crack at it. But to actually kill somebody, especially in this circumstance is not what even the most rightwing, death penalty advocate would want. Nobody ever wants to kill the wrong person for justice.
I don’t know how much information the individuals who have to administer the lethal injection have about the case or how they feel but I truly feel sorry for any prison staffer who has to partake in this execution.
And to be fair, let me say I truly feel for the family of the slain police officer. At the end of the day, they lost a father who was really doing nothing more than being a good guy and doing his job while he was off duty. A crime was committed and the responsible person should be paying the price. I sympathize with their plight because the entire case has flipped into not being about the slain officer. But if potentially killing the wrong man is more important than getting actual justice then we’re all worse off. Including the family of the slain officer. Ironic since the police officer’s job was to seek justice.
1108pm. The moment when every statement about our country’s belief in truth, justice, and the American way was proven to be bullshit.
The thing is, as a Black man I never believed in it anyway. And yet I’m still disappointed. I still WANT to believe that all the evidence in the world would keep me alive. What I hope more is that the memory of Troy Davis causes people to continue to care and make some sort of difference. In fact, what concerns me most is that our general short memory doesn’t make this week the last time we hear about Troy Davis. We tend to care while something seems to matter and then its on to the next thing. But this case is bigger than Troy Davis which I think was evidenced by the huge amount of attention this case drew. I hope somehow it stays that way, though my optimism has short legs.
God bless the dead.
RIP Troy Davis.
RIP justice…again.
How a man can be killed even though nobody is positive he did it, I’ll never know. But I’m also not that flawed. I hope this is a wake up call to somebody. I hope.
What are your thoughts? Please, share it all.
-PANAMA JACKSON
