Troy Davis Executed

I have not really been writing about Troy Davis at any length simply because I have been more consumed with the number of economic and tax related news lately. There are number of other good writers who have covered this: see Digby and TNC to name a few.

Before I get to my point, Davis was executed by the state of Georgia this evening despite numerous recantations by corroborating witnesses from his original trial. Davis maintained his innocence up until the moment of his untimely execution. In the days leading up to his execution, there was a veritable torch-and-pitchfork crowd within the right wing media overtly cheering for his execution.

I have never really waded into the social politics of capital punishment, but viewing this unfortunate spectacle has changed that for me. The mere thought of rotting for years on death row, facing down execution for a crime I did not commit is enough to make me want to vomit, let alone imagining any of my friends or family in a similar situation. And that is not to say that I am convinced either way of Davis' innocence or guilt. But as I mentioned before, when several witnesses basically say their original testimony was garbage, it probably bears some serious thought as to whether or not we ought to put this man to death. That was tried in various forms all the way up to the Supreme Court, but being the death-loving, ever macho, dick swinging, executions-are-awesome culture that we are, was ultimately denied. Apparently "beyond a reasonable doubt" is just a flimsy term that we don't let impede the assuaging of our bloodlust. 

I think this shows that in some ways, humanity really hasn't come very far from the days of the Roman Empire. When faced with a man's questionable guilt, instead of taking every precaution to ensure we don't execute an innocent man, we rally the most depraved aspects of our national psyche, cheering for his demise like a bunch of drunken Romans watching  a couple of gladiators swinging axes at each other in the Coliseum. On a similar note, this was also on display at recent Republican debates when audiences cheered enthusiastically at Gov. Rick Perry's record on executions (the most of any governor) and Wolf Blitzer's question as whether a thirty year old, coma stricken, uninsured man should be left to die. This sort of display is disgusting, craven, and has no place in a civilized democracy. You might also say this is why the GOP came unglued at the mention of "empathy" during the Justice Sotomayor confirmation hearings. It's because they have none, and the very idea of it is repellent to them.

But as for the politics of the death penalty, I assume its proponents (especially on the right) use their favored "if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear" sham of a moral argument. This was popularized during the rise of the Patriot act and the War on Terror as Americans rightly expressed their objections and reservations to the government's ever expanding powers of surveillance over its own citizens. But tragedies like Troy Davis' executions are precisely why we should fear the government having this sort of power. Humans, and by extension their institutions, are inherently fallible. This isn't the first case of a potentially innocent man being put to death, and it won't be the last either.