I cannot recall how many times have I had conversations more or less heated with friends and family in the US. The subject: Death Penalty. The talks generally started when some controversial case of somebody to be put to death became front page in some newspapers. It is true that yearly several people in different states died that way but for Americans it is something that has become the norm and one does not talk much about it. Lately, with some cases that had turned wrong -unnecessary pain inflicted or an innocent person executed- more people are beginning to ask themselves if the death penalty should not be abolished. It is not an easy thing as there are also a great number of people who would never accept that, some of them after having someone dear to them killed by a criminal action. Being against the death penalty, I have been asked directly, “what if somebody would kill someone close to you? Wouldn’t you want the perpetrator executed?” Put it that way I admit that is hard to answer. Even so, I really don’t know what do we win by putting someone to death. Whose right do we have to do so? And of course, there is the main and ultimate question I always asked: are we 100% sure that the person to be executed is guilty? Would we want to have in our conscience the death of an innocent?
I am talking about this because an email I received from Amnesty International about Troy Davis. To be honest, not living in the US at the time he allegedly committed the crime, I had never heard about his case. And probably many people have not heard either. So, who is Troy Davis and what was his crime? According to Amnesty International, “Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing an off-duty Savannah police officer, despite the fact that police never produced a murder weapon and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime. Following his conviction, seven of the nine original witnesses have either recanted or changed their testimony in sworn affidavits; one of the remaining two is alleged to be the actual killer.” And yet his execution has been scheduled. The case has drawn attention, both in the U.S. and overseas where even Pope Benedict XVI has urged authorities in Georgia to re-sentence Mr. Davis to life in prison. Also and despite the fact that 20,000 supporters for Troy Davis called a rally the day before, on Friday September 12, 2008, the Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles denied clemency for Davis. An execution date has been set for 23 September 2008 at 7pm.
As I read this morning in an article written by Bob Herbert in The New York Times, “The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to make a decision on whether to hear a last-ditch appeal by Mr. Davis on Sept. 29. That’s six days after the state of Georgia plans to kill him.”
I don’t see where is the need for such a rush, specially when there is apparently an uncertainty about Mr. Troy’s guilt. We like to call ourselves a Christian nation, a compassionate one some politicians say. I believe if the execution goes as planned it is going to be harder to continue calling us so.
Please, if you agree in the postponement of the execution, go to Amnesty International, Online Action Center, and under “Urge clemency for Troy Davis” you will see what action you can take. Thanks.
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