Troy Davis Execution
 

What are your thoughts, friends?

I oppose capital punishment and am horrified by the practice, so I opposed Troy Davis' execution whether or not he was innocent or guilty, Corfe.

His case was especially troubling since so many of the witnesses who originally claimed he pulled the trigger recanted their testimony:

I'm glad that Troy Davis at least got to know that thousands of people supported him and did not want the government to kill him. I hope his needless death will help move the U.S. away from capital punishment, a bloodthirsty practice that robs people of life unnecessarily and reminds me of other atrocities humanity has committed over the years: Roman gladiator killings; the Inquisition; drawing and quartering.

It was wrong. Capital punishment in general is a cop-out, in my opinion.

The following short music video by Amnesty USA gives a good summary of Troy Davis' case and the reason his execution is considered a justice system disaster. If you don't know about the case and you like music, this is the video for you:

Troy Davis about to be killed by the state of Georgia
Music by State Radio
Video uploaded by Amnesty USA



And here is information about Troy Davis' final words:

"Strapped to the gurney, Davis lifted his head and looked at Mark and William MacPhail, the son and brother of the police officer Davis was convicted of killing in 1989. 'I am sorry for your loss,' Davis said. 'I did not personally kill your son, father, and brother. I am innocent.' For those executing him, Davis said, 'May God have mercy on your souls, may God bless your souls.' Davis then turned down an offer of a prayer. Fourteen minutes later he was dead."

From: Troy Davis Execution: Final Words, State of Death-Penalty Debate - The Daily Beast

I'm a bit exhausted by this topic but the nail in his coffin was that he was branded as a cop killer. Some people try to bring race into it but that's not even the real issue. Once you are branded as a cop killer, you are going to go down pretty hard even if you didn't do it. I'm just surprised that they didn't plant more evidence to bring him down with and sooner.



I agree with most of what he says near the end of the video except for the whole ban on the death penalty part.


The Board of Pardons decided to give this killer clemency though.


Killer spared from death hours before execution | Reuters

I agree with everything he said. Frankly the death penalty doesn't do ****. It costs too much as well. It is an easy way out quite honestly. Let em rott in jail instead.

Well, I don't think there's much I can add that hasn't been said. I'm wholly against capital punishment both morally and economically (a lot of people seem to think it's a cheaper solution to imprisonment, but not necessarily) and seeing as the testimony against him was so shady, I certainly don't think that such an irreversible punishment should have been used. What if everything comes together in a few months and we find out he's innocent? A sorry from the law won't change the fact that they essentially murdered him.

They could use the arguement he was proven guilty in a court of law and say they had the right to excute him like the government did back in 1993 a believe when they found out the man they killed was innocent.
Not saying that is right, but they could say that.

Since he was labled a cop killer and was black on top of that he was ****ed. IMO in the eyes of the court in Georgia he was just a ****** who shot and killed a cop.

Honestly, the mother of the cop that died doesn't even care, she just wanted someone to die for the murder of her son. As long as she gets closure.

She was even quoted as saying that now the Davis family knows how it feels what we have felt after all these years.

Okay, but if he is innocent what she said about the family knows how it feels means **** all considering he would have been put to death for something he did not do. The fact that there was no physical evidence and the fact that witnesses recanted their testimony makes it look like he was inoccent of the crime.

Her closure means **** all. So if he is shown to be completely innocent of the crime should they put the judge to death for his **** up?

I agree. I don't think anybody said it does.

The execution is a shameful travesty to anybody with a conscience or even a working brain.

This execution is a stain on America's honour, no doubt.

I find it somewhat ridiculous that another man was executed (in Texas) and it barely landed on the news at all. In absolutist terms,

How can you oppose one execution without opposing them all? Or, what measure of guilt could be a proviso for capital punishment?

The stupid bastard that got last meals taken away in Texas.

I would be so pissed if I was on death row and couldn't enjoy it because that prick decided to get an elaborate selection then he didn't fucking eat any of it.

It got news coverage.

He was executed for the dragging death of a black guy.

He was a piece of **** racist. Yea I oppose the death penalty, but that is one case where I say I don't give a **** about that person since they were a real piece of ****.

Holy **** didn't know that.

It varies from state to state. For states such as Florida or Texas (who have high death penalty rates)... it's cheaper, but for states with low death penalty rates... it's more expensive.

I think if you are going to oppose the death penalty, then you should oppose and care about all cases that include it... whether you like or sympathize with the perpetrator or not. That's just my take on it, though...

When someone preaches hate and kills because of that hate **** them. They wanna look at blacks as something less than them **** them. They are no more important then the dirt I walk on or the **** I accidently step in from time to time and they are the real problem in society (racists not black people.)

Go about it peacfully? **** that dude. It won't work that way. I am very serious of abolishing capital punishment. I just hate racism to the point of not shedding a tear when some racist **** gets offed by the death penalty.

Even though I couldn't get any less racist, I'd still be against one being executed by the State. I think it's an immoral practice no matter who takes the chop.

I'm against the death penalty, but like I said something like that doesn't make me shed a tear.

The family of the victim that died in the dragging death didn't want the guy that did it to be executed, they wanted him to serve a life sentence.

The weren't even out for blood like in the Troy Davis case where his mother wanted blood in a revenge sense just for closure.

Punishment shouldn't be about revenge. If you want an eye for an eye, then you're just as bad as the criminal. The two main purposes of punishment should be reforming and protection. Killing a person for your own petty vengeance is the true crime.

This is what I'm talking about. How can you possibly adopt that attitude if you don't believe in capital punishment?

The only way to foster reparations within the community is to employ an empathic response. If you can't see a crime as a mistake, you fail to care for the very internal justice that is accredited us all.

Justice, in the criminal system, gives a chance for the criminal to be vindicated. Justice, in the purest egalitarian sense, imparts the enormous debt of communal forgiveness upon the criminal.

Empathy with racism? Are you ****ing serious with that response? Killing someone in the first degree is not a mistake since it is planned out. Sorry that is a horrible way to look at crime bud. Yes some may be remorseful in their murder which is great, but when you kill someone because of the color of their skin I have no ****ing empathy for you and could give a **** if you are killed in prison or the death penalty. That is why I can be against the death penalty and still not give a **** that ******* was put to death with the very thing I am against.

I always found this last meal thing odd.
You're about to be killed, and food is the last thing that you have a say over...


...no one is shedding a tear over a man who was so brutal.

Should he have been killed by the state? IMO, No.

It's a long tradition carried over from Roman times. I think there was also some superstition related to it as well at one point in time. They believed giving a person their last meal before killing them would stop them from haunting the people that would be involved in their death.

This is the menu that the guy turned down after ordering it all:

two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beer.

I don't agree with the death penalty precisely for this reason. If you're certain of guilt, then you don't mind reviewing the case. This smells like a rush job to dodge a real evaluation of the justice system in the state.

I think the Federal Government should cut law enforcement funding for next years budget to the state. People are up in arms at the money we send to Pakistan. The same is true of the Federal Tax Dollar being sent to a dilapidated justice system in Georgia.

This is completely off topic but that is bull****. You are ingrained with racism just by living in our society.

Well, not really. Society's racist, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean the people in it have to be.

Normally I'd make a snarky comment here, but since everyones up in arms about my methods, I'll be direct.

Both of these comments are a little full of themselves. Whats racism got to do - directly - with the death penalty. I get it in regard to this case, but overall? Also, statements like "well I couldn't be less racist"...All I'm going to say is that some day I hope you hear how you sound when you say this.

As for Tumor, who the hell taught you that? What "enlightened" minsanthropic ****tard told you that by living in America you have to hate people based on skin color? I mean, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that maybe you just weren't specific enough, but you need to explain this unless you'd prefer to look like a giant Biggot yourself.

I hate to sound like a Republican here, but just because you targeted a group thats a majority white doesn't mean it isn't prejudicial, biggoted, and ridiculous.

I'm sorry, have I said something outrageous or done something wrong? A statement was made about how a man was executed for race crimes. I stated how I still oppose the death penalty for him even though I abhor racism. In what way does that make me full of myself?

It's not really hating people based on their skin color so much as stereotyping people based on their skin color. Any sociology textbook will tell you that.

Who said anything about empathy with racists? It's easy to feel vindicated over a despicable man's demise; it is much harder to find an absolute justification to pursue it.

I'm merely suggesting that qualifying your morals based upon a presupposed level of guilt is absurd. You're making assumptions based upon perceptions from third (or even fourth) source parties, and fitting your morality to suit the situation.

Which is really what disturbs me most when I hear others calling for blood. Innocence and guilt are indeterminate; life and death...not so much.

Am I calling for his blood? No I am not. I said I don't care that he was killed because he was a sack of **** =)

Am I making assumptions? No I'm not. He clearly was guilty of killing a man because of the color of his skin.

A) If you object to capital punishment (as you claim to), what arbitrary magnitude of crime is necessary to enter your void of indifference?

B) This is what I was referring to in my previous post. Where do you obtain your proof for omniscient judgment?

"To be guilty" is an indeterminate abstraction. It is purely a structure of society to institutionalize the penal system. Absolute guilt cannot be determined, or by any methods otherwise proven; rather, "guilty" is a judgment issued from outside the bounds of awareness and perceptual certainty. It is, therefore, not an infallible index of truth and must be treated with the respect one has for someone that might not be. Which, I'm assuming, is why most people object to the execution of Troy Davis.

When you kill someone because they are a different color of you which is a hate crime I could give to ****s if you die =) It is pretty simple I just think your feeble mind can not grasp that.