Thanks to the commenter who let me know that Troy Davis was granted a stay of execution by the U.S. Supreme Court last night just hours before he was to die.
Now let’s hope he doesn’t have to go through this again.
This is what I always wonder in these cases: Why does the victim’s family always seem to want someone executed for the crime, regardless of evidence that seems to clear the person who is sentenced to die? I don’t think, were I in that situation, that I’d be happy thinking the wrong person might suffer for the crime. Somehow that doesn’t seem to me like justice, or anything that would help me sleep better at night. True, I’m horrified by the death penalty in any case, but it is true that I don’t know how I would feel if something happened to someone I love.
Still, I can’t see how anyone would benefit from this man being put to death when 7 witnesses against him have recanted their testimony.
The thing I don’t think that they realize is that even if the were execute the right man, it will not bring the the satisfaction that they are looking for. Their loved one is still dead and cannot be brought back to them. This is just a fact. Death of another will not heal their pain.
I agree absolutely. I’d like to see a survey in which a number of these family members of victims are interviewed a year after the killer of their loved one was executed. I’d bet they’d report that the peace and closure they’d hoped for just didn’t happen. To me it always sounds like vengeance. I don’t think you can get to peace through vengeance.
The blogger and first two commenters mention satisfying the need of the family for vengeance or for closure, and I assume that’s true.
But I also speculate that the State of Georgia was rushing to finish the execution before the U.S. Supreme Court could review it, at least partly to pacify the Savannah law enforcement community and the Georgia law enforcement community generally. I hadn’t heard of the Troy Davis case before it was mentioned on the Feministe blog about 3 weeks ago (or thereabouts). But I live in the state of Georgia, and it’s been my experience from reading in the press that, if a Georgia law officer is murdered in the line of duty, the Georgia law enforcement community expects the State government to take decisive action. Otherwise I have no way of explaining why the State of Georgia was so determined to execute Troy Davis ahead of the upcoming Supreme Court review.
I belive that Troy Davis is innocent, and its just a shame that those WHITE fokes wanna see him die just so they can say well we killed another NIGGA