Troy Davis May Be Innocent; It's Time to Rethink the Death Penalty
COMMENTARY | When I was younger, I supported the death penalty. I do not have much room in my soul for people who commit horrible crimes, and perhaps through some defect in empathy, my feelings only extend to the victims and their families, not the criminals themselves. Part of that position is driven by an innate sense of right and wrong, and of justice.
But it is that self-same sense of justice that now says it is time to end the death penalty in the United States. With this ultimate sentence, there is no appeal, there is no clearing the record, there is no fixing a mistake.
And there have been mistakes.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court reestablished the death penalty in 1973, 130 death row inmates were exonerated and released. In Texas, questions persist in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his daughters; forensic evidence used to convict him was later disproved, with other experts indicating the fire could have been accidental. Willingham maintained his innocence until his death.
Troy Davis, a Georgia man, is set to be put to death Wednesday in a case where seven out of nine eyewitnesses have recanted or changed their testimony. AFP reports other witnesses say the crime was committed by another man who testified against Davis. His proposed execution has sparked worldwide protest as Davis may, in fact, be innocent.
Here in Illinois, 13 innocent men were released from Death Row, leading to the abolition of the death penalty in the state. With the proof that the innocent are convicted of crimes they have not committed, the risk of taking an innocent life far outweighs any payment to society a death sentence exacts, and the legislature acted accordingly. At least in my state, we are no longer running the risk of executing the innocent.
Perhaps my opposition to the death penalty does come from a place of humanity, but not that often-cited place that we, as mere humans, do not have the right to decide another's fate, or our humanity requires superior treatment from us than that exhibited by a criminal. My problem with the death penalty is simple.
What if we're wrong?
Published by Isa-Lee Wolf - Featured Contributor in Politics
Isa-Lee Wolf lives in Chicago, where she practiced law for several years; she now uses that experience a little more creatively. Her two novels, AUNTY IDA S FULL-SERVICE MENTAL INSTITUTION (BY INVITATION ONL... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentWhat if we are wrong? What stops you from applying that question to life in prison? How many people have wrongly been convicted only to languish in prison and die a slow death. At least w/ the death penalty the state is fully owning what it is doing.
"[A]s mere humans, do not have the right to decide another's fate" - yet that is exactly what incarceration does. That's even more true for a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Do you really believe that languishing behind bars, until finally dying while incarcerated, is better for the wrongly convicted than execution? Would you support the death penalty where there is no doubt that someone is guilty - say, multiple & detailed confessions of murder w/ corroborating physical evidence?
Adam:
Clearly, you didn't read any of the material I posted.
It is a thorugh review of how deceptive the anti death penalty movement is in their false innocence claims - very much the important context of the Troy Davis case.
Each link and the links to other links is filled with facts - an undeniable fact.
Your fantasy or deception to the contrary are nothing but an insult to the truth.
Mr. Sharp,
I don't think your argument holds much water. You've ciited several sources which are actually just articles where you ask the question "But where they really innocent?". There are no facts presented in your argument, and the act of spamming a laundry list of your own opinion articles that in turn cite sources that never provide a solid shred of evidence gives you little ground to stand on. It's a good blind when you first see the links, but it doesn't hold up to any scrutiny.
It is a fact that we have executed innocent people. We have also let loose people that have commited heinous crimes. The justice system in America is far from perfect, but it's the best we have got. The death penalty is proven to be ineffective as a deterrent, and the costs associated with lengthy appeals and death row housing actually outweigh the costs of regular life imprisonment. We are one of only a handful of industrialized nations that still kling to the archaic form of punishment that is seen by some as an easy way out. I support the death penalty in cut and dry cases that have aggravating factors or are perpetrated against helpless people. But in general, death penalty trials are an extenuating circumstance that makes the original crime seem like a trade off. Torture would be more fitting.
I think your article was Spot on Isa-Lee. If we put 1 innocent person to death, then who is the murderer then?
You are wrong.
Troy Davis: Worldwide deceptions should not pressure commutation
Innocence Deceptions and the Anti Death Penalty Movement
Dudley Sharp, sharpjfa@aol.com
The false innocence claims by anti death penalty activists are a legendary part of their strategy.
1) Troy Davis: Misleading anti death penalty campaign
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2011/09/18/troy-davis-misleading-anti-death-penalty-campaign.aspx
2) "The Innocent Executed: Deception & Death Penalty Opponents"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/10/08/the-innocent-executed-deception--death-penalty-opponents--draft.aspx
3) The 130 (now 138) death row "innocents" scam
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/03/04/fact-checking-issues-on-innocence-and-the-death-penalty.aspx
4) Sister Helen Prejean & the death penalty: A Critical Review"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/05/04/sister-helen-prejean--the-death-penalty-a-critical-review.aspx
5) "At the Death House Door" Can Rev. Carroll Pickett be trusted?"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/01/30/fact-checking-is-very-welcome.aspx
6) "Cameron Todd Willingham: Another Media Meltdown", A Collection of Articles
http://homicidesurvivors.com/categories/Cameron%20Todd%20Willingham.aspx