Why Are We Killing Troy Davis?

101.1 The Wiz Featured Video

“To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.”—DESMOND TUTU

Unless something God-like and miraculous happens, Troy Davis, 42, is going to be executed tomorrow, Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 7pm, by lethal injection at a state prison in Jackson, Georgia.

Let me say up front I feel great sorrow for the family of Mark MacPhail, the police officer who was shot and murdered on August 19, 1989. I cannot imagine the profound pain they’ve shouldered for 22 angst-filled years, hoping, waiting, and praying for some semblance of justice. Officer MacPhail will never come back to life, his wife, his two children, and his mother will never see him again. Under that sort of emotional and spiritual duress, I can imagine why they are convinced Troy Davis is the murderer of their beloved son, husband, and father.

But, likewise, I feel great sorrow for Troy Davis and his family. I don’t know if Mr. Davis murdered Officer MacPhail or not. What I do know is that there is no DNA evidence linking him to the crime, that seven of nine witnesses have either recanted or contradicted their original testimonies tying him to the act, and that a gentleman named Sylvester “Redd” Coles is widely believed to be the actual triggerman. But no real case against Mr. Coles has ever been pursued.

So a man is going to be executed, murdered, in fact, under a dark cloud of doubt in a nation, ours, that has come to practice executions as effortlessly as we breath.

Read more of this essay via the links below. Don’t forget to share your reactions on the message board using your Twitter or Facebook profile.

Georgia Board Denies Clemency for Troy Davis

Will Troy Davis Be Executed?

NAACP Ramps Up Fight To Save Troy Davis From Execution

Troy Davis Execution Set For September 21

Judge Rules Troy Davis Must Stay On Georgia’s Death Row

RECENT HEADLINES: