We live in a country where we, as a people, believe that people who do wrong against their fellow man get what is due, bringing closure. However, every now and then, there arises a circumstance where this is not the case.
Troy Davis is such as case. Though many did not know him personally, the ordeal he has suffered over the past 22 years is extraordinary. He was convicted in 1991 for the shooting and killing of an off-duty police officer in 1989 based solely off of eyewitness testimony. Though no physical evidence (i.e. the gun) was never found, back then, eyewitness testimony was more than enough to put this man away.
Fast forward to 2011, where more advanced ways of proving a man's innocence are available, and you see that no one wished to review the case by today's standards. And his last measure of hope, his trump card, the U.S. Supreme Court, denied the request for a stay in his execution. There is no doubt that by the time this blog is finished being read, Mr. Davis will have been executed.
But we then look at cases where people who, with overwhelming evidence, committed crimes and have walked away. A case in point being Casey Anthony, who had knowledge her child was missing/dead, and went an extended period of time before reporting anything. And as of this post, a 25 year old woman was set free for killing her newborn twins because she "didn't want her parents to find out she was pregnant".
Clearly, something is wrong with this picture. The justice system frees people who clearly have done wrong, despite the mountain of evidence against them, and punishes greatly those who have a mountain of evidence that proves innocence.
There should be a true uprising in this country for those who truly believe in the term "justice". But as a friend told me, the system is set up the way it is and people must suffer ordeals before SOMEBODY challenges the system. But by then, it is too late.
Troy Davis' situation should alert America that the system is broken and people need to take action. A great cry should arise, demanding that from now on, true justice must be sought after. True justice must be delivered. We must rise up, challenge the status quo, and stand united against those who fail to listen to reason. Justice? What justice?
First let me say Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteThe Troy Davis case in my opinion is a classic example of the life of a white american outweighing that of an American of African decent. To the notion that the American Justice system is broken, I disagree. It is doing EXACTLY what is was designed to do: PROTECT WHITE LIFE. As non-whites living in America we can never depend on the justice system to work in our favor (although there are instances where it has) because the framers of this system did not design it as such.
In 2011, a lot of people choose not to believe in institutionalized racism and want to look at all the "achievements" of "Black America" and say we need to move on. The Troy Davis case is proof that America has stalled in the racism it was built on and the only way it can move forward is if, BLACK PEOPLE WAKE THE FUCK UP!....I am Troy Davis!