Last night Troy Davis was executed... and the debate will go on as to whether or not an innocent man was put to death.
This meaningless death points out the absolute cruelty and enormous waste of money when the death penalty sentence is applied... yet in this country, we continue to view this barbaric exercise as "justice."
If we observe the issue from an alternate perspective, the death penalty serves no purpose... it's been proven time and again that it deters no one from taking another's life. The real victims are those who go to the death chamber declaring their innocence, as did Troy Davis. Even to the end, when asked whether he wanted to make a statement, Troy insisted the wrong individual was being executed, creating a cloud of lingering doubt over whether the state executed the wrong man. Even if the individual actually responsible for the slaying at last steps forward, no one in this state-sanctioned murder will be held responsible... and few will really care because in this country many still believe in the "old testament" form of justice... an eye for an eye.
After Davis was executed, his attorney Jason Ewart remarked "I had the unfortunate opportunity tonight to witness a tragedy, to witness Georgia execute an innocent man. The innocent have no enemy but time, and Troy's time slipped away tonight."
Today, those individuals who supported a commutation in Troy's sentence will mourn his death, and the deaths of others in similar circumstances who face the ultimate "sentence" with little recourse to alter the outcome.
Related to this... as I watched the recap, one thing struck me... the cavalier attitude of some reporters covering the event making statements like "the 'cop killer' was at last executed." I wondered how these remarks could have been made as there was no hard evidence presented at the trial to [without a doubt] convict Troy Davis... no weapon was found... the testimony presented was based solely on eyewitness accounts and jailhouse "snitches," potentially tainted by police intimidation.
The wife and parents of the slain officer remarked that the right man was executed for the crime. I wonder if they can really live with the fact that there is a tremendous amount of doubt surrounding this sad, shameful Georgia episode.
And I wonder if justice was truly served... If there is a God, may he have mercy on our collective "soul" as we continue to perpetuate this cruelty on our fellow humans.
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