Submitted by Charlie McCormick
lethal injection
Killing a cop is certainly a crime worthy of the death penalty, but it appears the justice system in Georgia has an emphasis on the ‘system’ and a bit light on ‘justice’.
This appears to be the situation with Troy Davis who is scheduled to be executed in Georgia for the killing of a police officer in 1989
With no physical evidence linking Davis to the crime, he was convicted on the testimony of 9 witnesses, 7 of whom have now retracted their statements. 1 witness who has not retracted their statement is believed by many to be the actually gunman. It makes for a much weaker case for conviction, and the developments certainly warrant the sentence being reduced to life without parole.
If the witnesses were lying then or lying now, there’s a lot of liars involved in the original prosecution
There are only hours to go before the Davis execution, and nothing written here will have any impact on whether last ditch efforts prevent this execution; but, I wanted it on the record.
Morally, I have no major objections to killing someone. I often want to kill people, whether it being driving on the road, standing in line, or a host of more valid reasons. It’s the type of killing I can understand and relate to: passionate, emotional, impulsive.
The organized killing of a human being orchestrated under the guise of an effecient and objective system of justice is something entirely different. Leaving aside the argument that there is no reason to believe the government is effecient at anything, the organized and methodical killing of a human being should only be implemented when there is no doubt about their guilt.
There is no doubt in this situation that doubt exists in good portion with respect to Davis.
This leaves us with the reality that in the ‘justice system’ the ‘system’ is of more importance than ‘justice’. Davis has exhausted all avenues for appeal, the Georgia governor has no authority to stop the execution, the president has no authority to stop the execution, and a beaucratic board – which has the power to stop it- has refused any further consideration.
The list of those advocating for a reprieve in Davis’ sentence cross party lines, and include many law enforcement leaders such as former FBI Director Sessions who was appointed by Ronald Reagan.
The execution of Davis will take place because the ‘system’ demands it, and this is distressing, perhaps even more so than the killing of a potentially innocent human being. It exemplifies a people who prefer to worship at the altar of the system, to put their faith in the system, who believe salvation will come from the system, and who have foresaken the primacy of justice.
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