Troy Davis' Execution: A Wound that Will Continue to Fester

I was not fully aware of who Troy Davis was until recently having been deluged with emails from various groups asking for support in stopping his execution. With the events leading up to his execution at 11:08 pm on September 21, 2011, his case has been one of the most polarizing in recent memory. It makes me wonder how many of us really know about his case as a whole. We are all eager to believe he is either innocent or guilty regardless of the facts or circumstances.

I'm always questioning what I hear and read and the news, and I wanted to know more about this case before saying anything about it. Davis was convicted of murdering police officer Mark MacPhail on August 19, 1989, and his verdict was brought down by a jury of seven black people and five white people. Apparently there were witnesses who saw Davis shoot MacPhail dead and heard him confess to the crime. Sounds like an open and shut case, right?

But over the years it turns out seven of the nine witnesses had recanted their testimony saying they were coerced into implicating Davis in the crime. Also there was no murder weapon found. I wonder if the police ever checked Davis' hands for gun powder residue. There's also talk of another man, Sylvester "Redd" Coles," being the one who shot MacPhail and who some say confessed to the murder. This is not to mention the numerous stays of execution Davis received time and time again. All this implies a severe case of reasonable doubt that demands further investigation.

I wonder if justice really failed Davis and if he ever got a fair chance in the courts. From what I have read, it doesn't sound like he did. We are taught a man (or woman) is innocent until proven guilty, but many are more than comfortable in believing the exact opposite of that. Ask anyone who's been accused of a crime and eventually cleared of charges if they ever escaped the suspicion thrust upon them justifiably or otherwise.

Those who know me are aware I am a huge fan of the TV show "Homicide: Life on the Street" which aired on NBC in the 1990's. One story arc that affected me deeply during its fifth season was when Detective Mike Kellerman got accused of engaging in "corrupt practices" while working in the arson division of the Baltimore Police Department. He confesses his innocence to Lieutenant Al Giardello, but even he can't let Kellerman go back to his job when he is under suspicion. To this Kellerman replies:

"Guilty until proven innocent, huh?"

Or how about Christopher Plummer's immortal line from "Syriana?" While he may be speaking about those working in Washington D.C., he could very well have been talking about any other worker as well:

"They say in this town you're innocent until you're investigated."

For the record, I am not a fan of capital punishment as I don't see how it serves justice. Does this mean I am lenient on those who have been rightfully convicted of wretched crimes against society? No it doesn't. I believe that people who have committed the most heinous of crimes should not be let off easily. By executing them with "lethal injection" however, it seems to me they are getting off easy as they don't suffer the ravages of time or truly contemplate over the things they may want to take back. The way I see it, the character of Augustus Hill from the HBO series "Oz" said it best:

"Life in prison is a hell of a lot worse than death."

Whether you are for or against capital punishment, I ask you this: Was justice really served in this case? Did the guilty truly get punished? Does it feel like the murder of MacPhail got avenged? Is this case truly closed now that Davis has been executed? To answer the last question, I sincerely doubt it.

The justice system is as flawed as any other on this planet, and we're way past the point where everyone should be taking notice of that. One jury does the right thing in one case while the other makes the wrong decision? Face it, justice has always been a crapshoot. Our "founding fathers" were most likely aware of how imperfect our system of government was when they drafted the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States. That's why they allowed having amendments made to it as time would lead us to changes they could never have seen or predicted.

In the midst of all this we have to remember the victim at the center of this, Mark MacPhail. He was the son of a U.S. Army colonel and a husband and father to a 2-year old daughter and an infant son at the time. MacPhail joined the Savannah Police Department back in 1986 after serving as an Army Ranger for six years. For three years he served as a regular patrol officer before applying to train as a mounted policeman in 1989. At the time of his death he was working as a security guard at a Burger King restaurant. It's pointless to ask if he deserved to die because nobody does in these or any other circumstances.

Writing this article has been my exploration of the issues surrounding the case of Troy Davis' case. Whether or not he did kill Mark MacPhail, I don't believe Davis should have been executed with all the reasonable doubt hanging in the air over this drawn out case. At the same time I think everyone should think twice before applying their own personal beliefs to it.

There's more going on than we are aware of and we need to examine all the evidence before drawing any such conclusion. For all those members of the Tea Party and other organizations who think the President is not respectful of the Constitution of the United States, I ask you if the document was respected in the wake of this execution because I'm not sure it was.

I leave you all with another scene from the HBO series "Oz" in which a mother of faces the murderer of her son and has this to say:

"You broke God's law, love they neighbor. I want to hate you but I can't. I feel pity, tears, but no hate. I didn't realize that until this moment. You are my neighbor and I love you, and I forgive you with all my heart. That's all."

Now whether you agree with what she said or not, you have to admit that it was very profound.