“All I can ask is that you look deeper” Heartbreak across America as Troy Davis is Executed

By Lema Nsah

This Aug. 22, 1991 photo shows Troy Anthony Davis entering Chatham County Superior Court during his trail in the shooting death of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail. The jury that unanimously found Davis guilty and sentenced him to death no longer agree about whether they did the right thing. Davis’ attorneys have delayed his execution three times, less than 24 hours before he was to be executed, in one instance, by raising doubts about witnesses. (AP Photo/Savannah Morning News)

Troy Davis was scheduled to be executed at 7pm EST on September 21, 2011 for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer in Savannah, Georgia. His execution was delayed for about 4 hours while the The Supreme Court weighed a last minute Stay of Execution which would have postponed the execution of Troy Davis. At about 10:20 pm, Reuters reported that the stay of execution had been denied. It would take the State of Georgia about 20 to 30 minutes to get everyone in place and proceed with the procedure.

In the room were members of the media and 3 members of the victim’s family, amongst others. Just before he was injected with the first dose of this deadly cocktail, Davis was asked if he had any last words. He responded by speaking directly to the family of late officer Mark MacPhail, “… despite the situation you are in, I’m not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth…” he went on to say he was sorry for their loss.

To his family, “I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight.”

To the executing officers, “For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls.“

42 year old Troy Davis was pronounced dead at 11:08pm EST.

Davis’ execution has sparked an international outcry because of Too Much Doubt, inconsistencies and holes in the case. 7 out of the 9 eye witnesses have either recanted or changed their stories; he was convicted based on word of mouth; no murder weapon was ever found, no forensic evidence presented; the system would not let him take a polygraph test when he asked for it, and calls for interviews by media outlets like CBS’ 60 minutes and several others were repeated denied by the prisons system.

Former CIA Chief, Pope Benedict XVI, Former President Jimmy Carter, several members of congress and most recently Former Warden of the prisons where Davis was held, were among those who asked that this execution not take place until properly investigated. Human Rights groups across the world including Amnesty International worked hard to spare the life of Troy Davis considering overwhelming evidence that he might be innocent. A woman recently came forward on CNN claiming she had been forced to move away from Savannah Georgia and was fearful for her life because a man she knew had confessed to the crime …  a fact which police were unwilling to investigate.

Another strike against Davis is believed to have been his social standing. Being poor, he had relied on public lawyers who are often overwhelmed and don’t spend enough time properly preparing cases. His family’s inability to afford formidable counsel at the time just might have cost him his life.

Hundreds of Davis supporters kept vigil outside the Jackson’s Diagnostic and Classification Prison where Davis was held, while hundreds of Americans gathered outside the Supreme Court building in Washington DC. “This is a clear case of injustice that struck a deep chord across America,” said Ben Jealous of the NAACP.

While several are outraged, most Americans are feeling a deep sense of disappointment and sadness at a justice system which they believe failed to protect one of its own. For some though, justice was served.

From what I understand, the American judicial system only allows executions in cases where guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In Troy Davis’ case, this wasn’t so.

I’ll end with these tweets I read while I was following this story:

@EMARIE78 wrote, “RIP Troy Davis, we tried luv, we tried.”

@BigBoi of OutCast wrote, “Just remember we fought till the very end … peace and Blessings.”

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