Troy Davis

Yesterday, the state of Georgia may have executed an innocent man. May is the operative word here. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, Troy Davis is a black guy accused of killing a Policeman who had gone to assist someone being beaten.  Troy Turned himself in but claimed he did not do it.  It is a claim he took with him to his grave.  Seven of nine ‘Witnesses’ who initially gave statements implicating him, have since recanted their stories some claimed coercion by the cops. Despite all this and the lack of circumstantial evidence, he was still denied a new trial.  After numerous delays and letters from many VIPs including the Pope, the sentence was upheld and he was executed by lethal injection.

Now whatever happened to ‘Innocent until proven guilty?’.  OJ Simpson has taught me that if ‘it doesn’t fit, you must acquit’, so this means if Troy Davis cannot be linked to the crime by any evidence and statements saying he was were tainted, isn’t that a case for a mistrial even? Why go ahead with an execution on such doubtful grounds?  Two things come to mind here.  I do not like to go there but it begs to ask, would it have been different if Troy was a white man?  Would it have had a different outcome if it was just a normal Joe that was killed? In the very least, this man should have been given a life sentence so he could be around if and when it is found out that he was indeed an innocent man.

To touch on the DEATH PENALTY. I am anti death penalty for reasons including this.  It is a gruesome and barbaric act that we as an ever changing society, should have done away with a long time ago.  We could ban prayers in schools, change Christmas Tree to Holiday Tree, approve gay marriages and make other changes as we evolved but we drag along this savage practice that exposes our savagery and blood thirst.  If that is the system we rely on, it is failing us. Badly.

But that is just MY TAKE…