Troy Davis

I've been avoiding posting anything controversial and I'm still going to do that for a while. But I'm reading about something this morning that is making me feel physically sick to my stomach, and I think it's important for me to share it.

A death row inmate, sentenced for killing a police officer, was executed last night in Georgia after lots of delays and appeals. Crowds of people were marching through the streets in protest--it seems there were several significant problems with the evidence against him, including six witnesses who say the police threatened them if they didn't choose Davis out of the lineup, and the fact that seven out of the nine eyewitnesses recanted their testimony after trial. (This editorial has the most complete list of all the other problems with the case.)

I want to point out something about the way this story is being handled. When I was reading this morning, the CBS, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, and CNN websites all featured Troy Davis on the front page before you even have to scroll down. (I included the links, though I'm sure the front pages will change in an hour or so.) Every one of those headlines was some variation of the phrase "Troy Davis executed," all using his name.

On the Fox News website I had to scroll down to the third page--past an article and photo criticizing Obama--to find the story. And the tiny headline said "Georgia executes cop killer." (Once you get into the articles themselves you can't really tell what site you're on anymore, since most of them, including Fox, just tweaked an AP article.)

This is a serious event, one that hundreds of thousands of people are upset about today. A man was killed by the state. Whether you approve of the execution or not, I think the issue deserves a little respect. Fox can't take one inch from the Republican debates for it? President Obama can't make even one statement about it?

Completely aside from all the questions about the morality, efficiency, or fairness of the death penalty itself, I find it disturbing that a man would be killed when there is this much reason to doubt his guilt. I feel so sad for a man who might have been innocent; for his sister and his niece, who last saw him when there was still hope the execution might be stopped; for his teenage nephew, who led a group of supporters outside the prison; for the family of the dead police officer, who still think, more than ten years later, that another man's death will bring them peace. It doesn't matter if they investigate this; even if he's found innocent, no investigation can give Troy Davis his life back. This is not a decision that Georgia or the Supreme Court can take back, and I hope we will remember their choice for a long time.  I am not proud of our judicial system today.