UPDATED: The night that the lights went out in Georgia
UPDATE: Troy Davis was murdered by the state at 11:08 p.m. tonight. Bastards.
Cuz the judge in the town's got blood stains on his hands:*
Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for the 1989 killing of a police officer in Savannah, Ga. The Georgia pardon and parole board's refusal to grant him clemency is appalling in light of developments after his conviction: reports about police misconduct, the recantation of testimony by a string of eyewitnesses and reports from other witnesses that another person had confessed to the crime.
This case has attracted worldwide attention, but it is, in essence, no different from other capital cases. Across the country, the legal process for the death penalty has shown itself to be discriminatory, unjust and incapable of being fixed. Just last week, the Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Duane Buck, an African-American, hours before he was to die in Texas because a psychologist testified during his sentencing that Mr. Buck's race increased the chances of future dangerousness. Case after case adds to the many reasons why the death penalty must be abolished.
Many believe that it's even worse than that, that the death penalty is barbaric and immoral, no matter who gets executed. Case in point: Rick Perry's Texas just killed the 235th prisoner since Perry succeeded George W. Bush (insert Republican applause and whoops here). Like Troy Davis, Lawrence Russell Brewer was convicted of a horrific crime, a white supremacist who dragged a black man, James Byrd, to death. Unlike Troy Davis, there was no doubt of Brewer's guilt. But you know what, I oppose the state killing of Brewer as much as the likely state killing of Davis.
At the same time, the collapsing case for Davis' guilt, and Georgia's rush to murder him anyway, is a new level of state-sanctioned depavity I never thought I'd see. Davis' fate is before the Supreme Court as I write this. I'm sure that no matter what happens, death penalty aficionados like Rick Perry will sleep like a baby tonight.
I don't think I will.