When justice fails, as it may have done last night in Georgia when that state executed Troy Davis, then where can we hide? We are all vulnerable, not just the mad dogs among us but everyone of us can fall victim to imprecise and therefore fallible justice.
I don't claim to know all the facts of the case. We don't know for sure that Troy Davis did not shoot a policeman in Georgia - but when seven out of nine accusers/witnesses recant their testimony to the effect that he did, we have to wonder. When seven out of nine people say they misspoke when they said Troy Davis killed a policeman, the criteria of "beyond reasonable doubt" is nullified and then surely, the death penalty must be thrown out. But that didn't happen.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles that is supposed to act as the safety net in these instances, withdrew that net and ordered the killing of a man without knowing whether he was innocent or guilty.
It is my opinion that in a world peopled by human beings who by our very nature are inconsistent, impressionable, fallible and sometimes just plain wrong, there should be no such thing as a death penalty in our justice system. People and Justice system they control are just too inexact, too tainted by prejudice, too arbitrary to be trusted with the barbaric task of deciding who lives and who dies.
This country must hang its head today. And give vengeance back to God, where it belongs.
No comments:
Post a Comment