Troy Davis Is Dead; the Movement Continues

At 11:08 pm, Wednesday September 21, the state of Georgia killed Troy Davis. Just before he was executed, Troy maintained his innocence, urged people to dig deeper into the case to find the truth, and said "For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls, may God bless your souls." It's a tragic day for Troy, for his family, and for equality, fairness, and justice.

It's hard to know what to say at a time like this. In this moment, and in the days and weeks before Troy's execution, we've felt all kinds of things -- anger, sadness, inspiration, hope and hopelessness. This is a time to mourn and remember Troy, to contemplate the profound loss we're facing, to send love and support to Troy's family and friends. It's incredibly important to take the time to spiritually and emotionally care for Troy's family and the amazing community that has arisen to support Troy -- and it feels hard to muster the energy to do much more than that.

But before he died, Troy told us that this was about more than him -- and he called on those of us who have fought against his execution to continue fighting for justice, even if we weren't successful in saving his life. Now is also an important moment to take stock of what's brought us to this point -- the criminal justice system that allowed this to happen, and the movement we've built to fight for Troy and others facing injustice and oppression at the hands of that system.

Race, the criminal justice system, and the death penalty

At every stage of the criminal justice system, Black people and other minorities face inequality and discrimination. We all know about people who've been treated unfairly by police or by the courts. When the entire system treats Black people unequally, it means that the death penalty is applied unequally too. Troy Davis' case underscores the way in which this systemic inequality can lead to a tragic miscarriage of justice.

In most cases, people who've been treated unfairly or wrongly convicted have some chance to correct the injustice. People who have been mistreated by the police can sue them. People who are wrongly serving time can be granted new trials, can be released from prison, and are sometimes entitled to compensation. As we all know, the safeguards that can correct abuse by the criminal justice system often fail, and rampant inequality persists. Usually, people can at least keep trying.

But there's no way to correct a death sentence. If Troy Davis were serving a sentence of life in prison without parole, he could continue to press the legal system to grant him a fair trial -- but because the death penalty exists, he will not have that opportunity.

Troy Davis' case has sparked a national conversation about the death penalty. In the past, much of the debate around the death penalty has focused on the morality of killing people as a legal punishment -- a very important question that brings out a lot of strong opinions. But even if we completely leave aside the question whether or not it can ever be right for the government to punish a murderer by killing them, there's an entirely different debate to be had -- whether or not we can have the death penalty and actually avoid the possibility of killing innocent people. In a criminal justice system that routinely misidentifies Black suspects and disproportionately punishes Black people, Black folks are more likely to be wrongfully executed.

There's plenty of evidence to suggest that the death penalty has been used to kill innocent people many times. Since 1973, more than 130 people have been released from death row because of evidence that they were wrongly convicted. Troy Davis is one of many people who were executed despite serious questions about their guilt, and he's called on his supporters to continue working to end the death penalty.

A group of NAACP organizers went to visit Troy in prison yesterday, and NAACP's Robert Rooks said this about the visit: For someone that was facing death the very next day, he was just full of life and wanted to spend time talking to the younger staff, the interns, giving them direction and hope and asking them to hold onto God. And he challenged them. He challenged them by saying, "You have a choice. You can either fold up your bags after tomorrow and go home, or you can stand and continue this fight." He said it doesn't--it didn't begin with Troy Davis, and this won't end if he is executed today. He just asked us all just to continue to fight to end the death penalty, if in fact he's executed.

A powerful movement

For years, ColorOfChange members have been an important part of a growing movement to stop Troy Davis' execution. Hundreds of phone calls from ColorOfChange members to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole helped delay Davis' execution twice. Over the past year, there's been a huge outpouring of support for Davis from ColorOfChange members -- more than 100,000 of us have signed petitions, and we raised more than $30,000 to run radio ads in Georgia calling for justice for Troy.

And we've been part of an even bigger movement -- NAACP, Amnesty International, National Action Network, Change.org, and others have all been a major part of the fight for Troy Davis, and there are now over close to a million petition signatures overall. Prominent people from all across the political spectrum have spoken out: members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Desmond Tutu, former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, former FBI Director William Sessions, former Georgia Republican congressman Bob Barr, and former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher.

This movement couldn't stop Davis' execution -- but it's a movement that won't die with Troy Davis. There's no better way to honor Troy's memory than to keep fighting for justice.

 

Follow Rashad Robinson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rashadrobinson

Comments

[dudleysharp]

12:07 PM on 09/26/2011

Troy Davis: Worldwide anti death penalty deceptions, rightly, failed
Dudley Sharp, [e-mail]

"Smoke and mirrors" - that is what the federal judge called Davis' innocence claims, after he held the innocence evidentiary hearing ordered by the US Supreme Court.

And that is precisely what the "Save Troy Davis" campaign is, as easily seen by anyone who wishes to fact check.

False innocence claims by anti death penalty activists are a legendary, well known constant in their strategy.

The gullible and willing, media, et al, just lap it up.

1) a) Troy Davis: Deceptions at their most obvious
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2011/09/18/troy-davis-misleading-anti-death-penalty-campaign.aspx

b) Cop Killer: media's latest baby seal
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=347317

c) "Troy Davis: guilty as charged", Washington Post, 9/22/2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/troy-davis-guilty-as-charged/2011/03/04/gIQAh23BoK_blog.html

More examples


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: 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. Pickett be trusted?"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/01/30/fact-checking-is-very-welcome.aspx

[olliejordan1]

06:15 PM on 09/24/2011

One day the family was sitting around on a current holiday and “making a statement” came up. Not only did the death penalty arise questions, but opinions were rampant. One thing that was most important, most of us thought of this act as a sin. Because I don’t like to discuss religion, I managed to form my opinion without making that my focus.
Now this is how I feel about this topic:
I truly believe this is the easy way out. I think when you put them to death, it resonates into murder.
Some of them have young children that have to live with this as well.
Death is so final. No way to compensate the innocent once they are cleared of the crime. No monetary amount will bring back a loved one.
I think this form of punishment should be abolished and considered a crime. PERIOD!

[Richbruin]

10:12 PM on 09/23/2011

The coverage of the Troy Davis case was quite skewed on his behalf. At the end of the day, he had a trial by a jury of his peers. He had legal counsel that, to my knowledge, was never accused of being incompetent. He had years and years of appeals on top of appeals culminating in the Supreme Court weighing in on his case. Where along the way did his race factor into this? But given the constant drumbeat of the media claiming a lack of evidence that pointed to his guilt, even I have to question whether justice was done here. The problem is that Davis got the same irritating voices coming out on his behalf that do not want anyone to be executed at anytime ever no matter how guilty or heinous the crime. Jimmy Carter. Mike Farrel. Al Sharpton. These people should step back from the spotlight because they are doing more harm to their cause than anything else.

[Lady In Silhouette]

04:36 PM on 09/23/2011

I would rather ten guilty men be spared than even one innocent man be executed.

I am one of the people who believe this man was innocent. The case reeked of false accusations and a police department and justice? system anxious to convict.

Abolish The Death Penalty!

[Cold in Michigan]

12:09 PM on 09/23/2011

At the same time Troy was being put to death, so was another in Texas. In the Texas case there was not doubt. He chained and dragged a man to the point when the body was found it was first thought to be the road kill of an animal.

Yet, the victims parents asked for the death penalty to be reversed. They are black, the accused white, and convicted of one of the worse hate crimes I can remember.

We need to be rid of the death penalty...for all men. Yes, we need to fix the court system, but that will take years. The Death Penalty can be over turned with the stroke of a pen. Start there.

This is a list of the countries we support in our Death Penalty.


•Afghanistan
•Antigua and Barbuda
•Bahamas
•Bahrain
•Bangladesh
•Barbados
•Belarus
•Belize
•Botswana
•Burundi
•Cameroon
•Chad
•China (People's Republic)
•Comoros
•Congo (Democratic Republic)
•Cuba
•Dominica
•Egypt
•Equatorial Guinea
•Eritrea
•Ethiopia
•Gabon
•Ghana
•Guatemala
•Guinea
•Guyana
•India
•Indonesia
•Iran
•Iraq
•Jamaica
•Japan
•Jordan
•Korea, North
•Korea, South
•Kuwait
•Laos
•Lebanon
•Lesotho
•Libya
•Malawi
•Malaysia
•Mongolia
•Nigeria
•Oman
•Pakistan
•Palestinian Authority
•Qatar
•St. Kitts and Nevis
•St. Lucia
•St. Vincent and the Grenadines
•Saudi Arabia
•Sierra Leone
•Singapore
•Somalia
•Sudan
•Swaziland
•Syria
•Taiwan
•Tajikistan
•Tanzania
•Thailand
•Trinidad and Tobago
•Uganda
•United Arab Emirates
•United States
•Vietnam
•Yemen
•Zambia
•Zimbabwe

[Lucy Cleary]

08:51 AM on 09/23/2011

As American's we all need to step back and take a real good look at the Judicial System. If they execute innocent people. We had better look out. Tomorrow it could be our children.

[Taylor Lackie]

03:51 AM on 09/25/2011

Tomorrow it could be our children that shoot someone in the head unless we all "look out". Unless of course we take a good look at the system. Right? Wrong.

[dougded]

07:40 AM on 09/23/2011

Because one says they are innocent does not guarantee innocence. The testomony that the jury heard must have been convincing. And the defense not so. There must be a deterant to violence elsewise we would all have to be armed. I once had a criminal fleeing the police tell them as he sat on my front porch that " this is my house". High on meth and caught trying to buy suddafed, he ran and ended up hiding on my property. Trajedy was avoided but it could have been really bad, my eleven year old son was home with me at the time. Had he opened the door, there is no telling what might have happened. You journalist's can soppose all kinds of situations, but you were not there to see so that's all it is; supposition.

[Classof89]

07:25 AM on 09/23/2011

Meanwhile, confessed killer Samuel Crowe (who was sentenced to death, but had his life spared THREE HOURS before he was set to die -- even had his "last" meal -- in 2008, simply because he expressed remorse and of good behavior behind bars) continues to live and breathe in Jackson, GA.

So, folks, in the state of Georgia, if you're convicted of a murder where you diligently proclaim your innocence for years, then get sentenced to death, all you have to do is confess, show remorse and behave well in jail. Then, you'll be set for life, literally.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/05/22/us-usa-execution-idUSN2250765020080522

[twashington9012]

06:37 AM on 09/23/2011

peace on earth,good will to all men.

[matt emerson]

10:41 PM on 09/22/2011

One point is undeniable. Anyone who has been executed has NEVER harmed another human being. So it does, in fact, act as a deterrent. Personally I am slighly uncomfortable with this execution, but this was not a good person. The testimony that probably 1% of the people (and that is a generous percentage) are fully familiar with has convicted him. I would certainly agree that physical evidence should be one of the requirements for a death sentence. Unfortunately, many people who would otherwise be more sympathetic to this story have been sickened by the support some cold-blooded killers get from well meaning but misguided people. I think capital punishment has it's place, and certainly in even more cases than murder. But that is a discussion for another time.

[gssamar]

01:02 AM on 09/23/2011

Sorry to nitpick, but you made the same mistake in two posts so it can't just be a typo:
it's = it is
its = of it.
"capital punishment has its place."
"the justice system, with all its flaws"
The sentence is easier to read and understand when it's written properly.

[matt emerson]

05:07 PM on 09/23/2011

The grammar police strike again. When someone attacks sentence structure and spelling and says nothing about the substance of the post, I'm afraid I have a tendency to dismiss the post.

[Razpooten]

09:18 PM on 09/22/2011

While one life is of tremendous value; and to lose one is a terrible loss to many; this is about more than just one life, it is about justice and injustice in the United States.
It behooves every person in this nation to stand up and voice a concern for the flippant attitude from those with the power to take a life to so carelessly dispose of a life when it is not fully justified by legal or moral standards.

[matt emerson]

10:46 PM on 09/22/2011

Is it EVER justified by legal or moral standards for a criminal to take an INNOCENT life? Certainly the justice system, with all it's flaws, is not nearly as cavalier toward the suffering and heartbreak that criminals are in taking life. Believe me, until you have been personally affected by a murder and watched how the justice system is slanted towards criminal's rights and totally ignores any rights of the victims, it is easy to talk about the "flippant attitude" of those in power. That flippant attitude is displayed more often with the people who have the ulitmate power-the power to end a victim's life-the truly evil in our society, the criminal.

[Abe Fuchs]

08:34 PM on 09/22/2011

So we have Davis shooting a guy in the face, pistol whipping a homeless guy
and shooting a cop - all at the time testified to by witnesses and now all of a
sudden, none of it counts. Which of these does Davis own up to? Does he repent
from attacking the homeless guy because he pleaded not guilty to that one too?
How about shooting into a car and the buttet hitting a guy in the face? Is he innocent
of that one too? Is this your poster child for innocence? God have mercy on the misguided.
Free Mumia Abu Jamal!!!!!

[Tedfl34]

07:48 PM on 09/22/2011

It would have been nice if there had been some mention of the victim and his family as it is entirely likely that Troy Davis was responsible for this crime. I don't personally agree with the death penalty but Davis was given every chance for justice all the way to the highest court in the land and some very intelligent people of every political persuation agreed with the decision. It doesn't matter what someone says after they testify under oath it matters what they did say and if people changed their testimony when they knew someone would die those people should be charged with perjury and prosecuted. And to make this a racial issue I feel is incorrect. People of poverty do not get equal justice regardless of race. Minorities make up a larger percentage of the poor and this is reflected in the justice system. Money is power and those without will always fair worse but to play the race card because of this fact demeans the issue and divides us further.

[Eugene Boyanton]

07:35 PM on 09/22/2011

Troy now resides in the belly of the beast all be it twenty years late.

[Edward Wilkes]

06:19 PM on 09/22/2011

Whether or not he was guilty or innocent, the fight for justice must continue---(all races included)

[Razpooten]

09:20 PM on 09/22/2011

Indeed, this is a time when race, gender and creed must be set aside to come together in the name of justice.