On the topic of Troy Davis.

I believe in the death penalty. I know some of you think that it is inhumane or barbaric, but it's very simple to me; if you take away the right of someone to live, you really have no right to live either. However, the death penalty is an extremely serious step to take, and one that should only be decided on when there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the accused is guilty, and it goes without saying that the death penalty should also be carried out to those who have committed severely heavy crimes (not gonna get into that today).

If you are reading this post, i hope you know who Troy Davis is and what he has been through. In a nutshell, Troy Davis was convicted of the murder of off-duty policeman, Mark MacPhail more than 20 years ago. He was sentenced to death, however, over the last 2 decades, he has successfully evaded his sentence by appeals until last Wednesday, where he was executed via lethal injection in a Georgia prison. Davis maintained his innocence throughout the entire saga, until his final breath.

The facts (if i may use the word) of the case goes as follows:

• Out of the nine original eyewitnesses to MacPhail's murder, seven have recanted their testimonies.
• There are no physical DNA evidence to tie Davis to the murder.
• 3 of the original jurors who initially voted for death to be sentenced on to Davis now believe that their vote was a mistake.

( courtesy of Time.com)

The first two points are extremely important for us to consider, especially this being a death penalty case. In addition to that, i have read many reports and articles on this case in which it has been discovered that there were new forensic evidence that could've helped in proving Davis' innocence in the murder. One of the eyewitnesses that recanted his testimony, Redd Coles, has also confessed to being the true killer of MacPhail. Yet, even with all the doubts and uncertainties that have popped up over time, Davis was still executed for a murder that he may or may not have taken part in.

The keywords here are may or may not have. The issue here is not whether or not Davis is truly innocent in the murder of MacPhail, but is he truly guilty? In handling the MacPhail murder, police used outdated and unreliable forensic technology and methods to obtain testimonies from the eyewitnesses. One of them, on the night of the murder, was standing a considerable amount of feet away from the incident when it happened, and in addition to standing in the dark, he could not have possibly seen what he testified to have seen. Despite the many flaws in the case, as well as new and more reliable evidence that has been presented to the Supreme Court, none of them was considered thoroughly and Davis was sent to his own murder on the morning of September 21, 2011.

I believe in the death penalty, but the guilt of the person sentenced to death must be beyond airtight and waterproof for the sentence to be handed down, let alone carried out. No one is upset that Ted Bundy was executed because it cannot be disputed that he did in fact rape and murder all those women. DNA and foolproof forensic evidence confirms this, and he could never have weaseled his way out no matter what he did or said. The tragedy is that Troy Davis was probably not the only possibly innocent man to have been sent to his death in recent years, and yet there have been no changes as to the procedures taken in a death penalty case. Why is this so?

I am trying hard not to bring the race issue into this because i have no desire to comment on that whatsoever. Additionally, i am not well versed in how societal relations in America are as i have spent a large portion of my life living in a country where racial discrimination might not be as severe as it is amongst the Blacks and Whites living in the US. But i have read many commentators on this case calling Troy Davis' execution a legal lynching, and comparing his case to that of Casey Anthony (another infamous trial/case that happened this year). I still would rather not delve into this delicate issue, but i must agree that it is peculiar how Anthony was let off free while Davis was executed- both of their cases had a minimal amount of forensic evidence to tie them to the murders in which they were accused of carrying out (Anthony was guilty though, don't get me wrong, but i will call it like it is).

There really isn't much else to say about this, other than the fact that it is a shame and a travesty of justice that this man was sent to die despite all the holes in his case. While Davis may not be truly innocent in the murder of Mark MacPhail, the notion that he is not completely guilty to the point of execution is even stronger than that of the former. The one good thing that i hope this case will bring in the future is that the procedure and strictness regarding death penalty cases will be reviewed and hopefully, the steps necessary will be taken to ensure that no more innocent men will die for crimes that they might not have committed. Rest in peace, Troy Davis. And Mark MacPhail.