"Too much doubt": Justice Denied to American Citizen

11:00pm, Wednesday, September 21 marks the death of Troy Davis. Davis was executed by the state of Georgia. He was found guilty of murdering an off-duty officer 22 years ago. He was convicted at 22 years of age. Yet, in the two decades since his conviction, the evidence of his guilt has become weaker and weaker. The Constitution has once more failed to protect a citizen of the United States from what seems to be systemic racism and ignorance. Whether or not Davis was truly a murderer, the evidence was just not there to justify his conviction.

The murder weapon was never found. Seven of the nine eyewitnesses recanted their testimony convicting Davis. Another eyewitness who upholds his testimony was also a suspect. No physical/DNA evidence was found.

These are the facts.

In light of these facts, 1 million signatures requesting clemency were collected and more than a few world leaders expressed their support to grant Davis clemency. Even then, Davis was shown no mercy at the hands of his state and country.

In 2010 Davis was granted a hearing at which many of the eyewitness testified that police coercion played a role in their prior testimony and that they lied under oath for identifying Davis as the killer.

The Federal Judge who overheard the hearing had some discouraging comments to make:


For Judge Moore to write that "A federal court simply cannot interpose itself and set aside a jury verdict in this case absent a truly persuasive showing of innocence," (my italics), seems to oppose the idea that it is the prosecution who must show guilt. It is generally held in the justice system that the prosecution has the burden of evidence, not the defense. If Moore had seen through the eyes of justice he would have t. It is the funniest thing (as in clearly illogical) for a judge to deny justice in order that it doesn't "wreak complete havoc on the criminal justice system," which I'm guessing really means that he/she doesn't want to undermine the status quo, a status quo that is biased against blacks and the poor. Clearly the criminal justice system NEEDS to change, Many Americans want to change it, and Davis' case would have been the perfect opportunity to change it.
Here I go off on a tangent, but it is one that continues to bug me enough to warrant its inclusion in this post: I just don't understand why the family of Officer MacPhail is so adamant that Davis is the killer. Is there some psychological process where people become quick to blame the first suspect? Their grief is real and their anger is real, yet it is interesting that people are so quick to condemn when the evidence is incredibly weak simply to avenge a death. Clearly there seems to be no consideration of the evidence or reason behind their decision to condemn Davis. Here we would have a good example of what goes on cognitively to the survivors of a murder victim. It would be interesting to see what psychological studies have been done, and even to compare such quick blaming with how we form other convictions (as in a firmly held beliefs) and how much these convictions are based on fact or emotion.

One also cannot brush off the idea that because the victim is a policeman there is more of a sense of urgency to find the killer, whether or not it is the right person. Yet with such a biased interest that the police force has in the case, is their participation in the case truly fair to Davis? Is there special protocol for when a police officer is the victim, in order that the case and its evidence is not vulnerable to being tampered with?

Please let me know what you know on these subjects. In my brief research I have already come across an article written by Rachel King. In her work on the effects of the death penalty on both the victims' families and murderers' families, she has found that the decision to give the death penalty is not based on the heinousness of the crime, but seems to be linked to one's race and economic standing. She also points out that there are no studies that look at whether or not executions provide solace to the victim's family, the prime reason why people support the death penalty.

Additionally, I feel we must ask that if in the absence of capital punishment, the ultimate punishment now being life in prison, whether or not, justice is still being served. Why is there a disproportionate number of blacks and other minorities in prison?

Finally, why is Davis' case so important? 1) It is important because it underscores the dividing lines of this country, especially the division caused by race. Again, why are so many young black men in prison? Why is there a disproportionate number of black men who are executed? 2) It calls into question the legitimacy of a government to take a life (does "an eye for an eye" really have a place in our modern world?). 3) It calls into question the fairness and effectiveness of the U.S. judicial system. 4) It is a call to awareness for all cases of injustice. Americans need to continually challenge the status quo of justice. The idea of justice continually changes with the tide of power. In a society that calls itself democratic, there is a need to apply justice to all.  Long gone are the days when justice only applied to white land-owning males.



Judge Moore's quotes from John Rudolf's Huffington Post article.

Carol King's article The Impact of Capital Punishment on Families of the Defendants and Murder Victims' Family Members is also available online.