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Hello. Come on in. The daddy writes about current events, literature, music and, once in a while, drops something on you from back in the day to make you pause and ponder, stop and stare, and begin to wonder. Who knows? You may start to pace the floor, shake your head from side to side, then fall down on bended knees in a praying position and cry, "Lawd, have mercy! What is this world coming to?" Check yourself! But this blog is NOT about the daddy. It's about you: your boos, your fam, your hood, your country...our hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. So let's make a pact: the daddy will put it on the track if you'll chase it down and hit him back. Together, we can definitely take it to another level. Shall we?"

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Troy Davis: Georgia says a black man must die

"Since I was a law student, I have been against the death penalty. It does not deter. It is severely discriminatory against minorities, especially since they’re given no competent legal counsel defense in many cases. It’s a system that has to be perfect. You cannot execute one innocent person. No system is perfect. And to top it off, for those of you who are interested in the economics it, it costs more to pursue a capital case toward execution than it does to have full life imprisonment without parole."
--Ralph Nader
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Listen up. The Daddy wants to ask you two questions:

1. Should a person be executed for murder when so little evidence exists that he committed the crime? Let's see:


--No murder weapon;

--No physical evidence;
--7 of the 9 witnesses recanted their testimony; and
--1 of the witnesses who did not recant pointed to by some of the witnesses as the person who did the killing.

2. Should any person be executed? Research shows it does not serve as a deterrence against crime, including murder. Research also shows that is expensive and its value as an exercise which provides closure to grieving or angry family members is questionable. That's why most western nations no longer execute. They s see state executions as a barbaric practice with no place in modern society.

The question of whether anyone should be executed is especially potent in the United States. Here, whether one gets to be a dead man walking to get fried or go home and eat dinner and drink wine for dinner, depends more on one's ability to get a good lawyer or the color of their skin. This bias against the poor and people of color plus its expensiveness are just three of the reasons many states are giving up the immoral act of state executions. It's for the same reasons that Gov. Perdue should delay the execution of Troy Davis.

Some Georgians want the State to kill Troy Davis. A cop was killed, and somebody should die. A white cop was killed; and some black "boy" must die. And the idea that a white cop was killed and some black man didn't die for it is too much for them to bear. The fact that this man-- no, this human being, this person, this fellow citizen-- has already been in jail for more than 15 years for a crime he probably didn't commit doesn't seem to matter. No, a white man was killed, and, yes, a black must die. So despite the fact that Troy Davis is on deathrow with a compelling case to be set free, this black "boy" must die. Despite the fact that the court has not heard the men who recanted their testimony, this black "boy" must die. The 11th Circuit Court has denied Troy Davis' most recent petition and a new execution date may come as early as mid-May.

No murder weapon. No physical evidence. 7 of 9 witnesses who have recanted their testimony. One of the 9 witnesses identified by some of the real murder. One of the witnesses handed a paper and told to sign it, even though he couldn't read. Still, Troy Davis must die. The folks over at the PanAfrican News Wire put it this way:

" Davis’s case has come to exemplify the racist and arbitrary character of the death penalty in the United States. Police and prosecutorial misconduct in the pursuit of convictions of Black defendants accused of killing white victims, much less policemen, has been thoroughly documented. Georgia, like many other Southern states, has a long and bloody history of extra-legal lynching and racially biased verdicts, stretching from the period of slavery through Jim Crow segregation to today."

On May 19th, The Daddy w ill join others to blog about Troy Davis, urging Georgia Gov. Perdue to commute his sentence or give the guy a new trial. But while he will be blogging for justice for Troy, he will also be blogging for something more, something deeper: the rule of law over hatred, understanding over racism and fear, truth over hearsay, love and forgiveness over revenge.

Do you care that a man, an American, may be executed with so little evidence? Do you care that the state of Georgia could be using your judicial system to kill another poor man, another black man, any black man, for revenge in your name? If you do, contact Georgians for Alternative to the Death Penalty (GADP) at 404876566113 to see how you can help. You can even email Troy Davis at: troy@aiusa.org
Do you care?

If not, why don't you?

15 comments:

Vigilante said...

I do care that in the USA a life or death question hangs on "one's ability to get a good lawyer". For that reason alone, no one in the United States should be executed, regardless of what he or she has done or is accused of having done.

Anonymous said...

What's happening to Troy Davis is a crime itself. After what just happened in Shenandoah, PA I don't want to see someone else get a raw deal from our legal system.

Count me in on the 19th!

--Robbie

Anonymous said...

MacDaddy, count me in on this one brother. I did a post last year on the lead-up to his execution last time around. This is a miscarriage of justice and it should not be allowed to fly without some form of action or protest.

P Phillips

rainywalker said...

They have raped our country and no one is in jail or paid a fine. A California homeless man get 48 months and a 101 million dollar fine for starting a fire, Georgia says Troy Davis must die and Lady Justice hides behind a blindfold to make the people of Georgia feel better.

SagaciousHillbilly said...

The death penalty is a national shame. It reveals us for the barbaric, low browed, backward ass, racist country that we really are deep down inside.
I grieve over this.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Thanks, everyone. I'm doing more research on the death penalty. So far, it's worth than I thought.So far, it looks like Texas leads the list of states that have executed the most people. I'm trying to get the breakdown of respective states. I'll keep you posted.

Vigilante said...

Good. You can count on another unsolicited comment from me on the subject.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Ian: Thanks for becoming a follower of daddyBstrong. I look forward to your returning and to your comments. By the way, I checked out your blog. Good stuff. Maybe some of the followers will visit as well. Blessings.

j said...

Daddy, I'll blog on the 19th.

There are a number of reasons I do not support the death penalty. Two of the most important reasons: 1) There is no way to have a death penalty AND ensure that no innocent person is ever executed. 2) Justice in the U.S. is not dispensed equally. If you are a black man you are EIGHT times more likely to be sentenced to death than a white man. EIGHT times.

How can we possibly NOT care about a statistic like that?

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Judy: Thanks. I was hoping you would.

Dion: Thanks for becoming a follower of daddyBstrong. Here's hoping you'll come back and make a comment, when you feel the spirit. Welcome.

Christopher said...

If you're going to execute a man or woman, you had better be damned sure you've got all your evidence correct, verified by the strictest forensic standards, and meet the legal threshold.

This is what I never understood about George W. Bush. As governor of Texas, he refused to spend the $600 dollars to buy a DNA kit to check the DNA of the people on death row at Huntsville.

He warbled some bullshit about, "Well, ah don't re-think the decision of the jury in mah state, y'all" despite the fact that some legal watchers who examined the Texas system posited the chance for error was so high that as many as 100 men may have been put to death wrongly.

RiPPa said...

Mac, I'm definitely jumping on this one as I have in the past. Thanks for putting this out there. It's easy to be cynical and say, "oh well, thats just the way it goes." But it's another to inform the masses and put together a rallying cry to affect change. No matter the outcome, it's all about the fight for what is right.

Peace

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

"No matter the outcome, it's all about the fight for what is right."
Rippa, it couldn't have been said any better. Thanks.

Kim said...

It's funny how you never these pro lifers speaking out about the death penalty...

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Kim: Welcome. Hope you sign up to become a follower, come back, and add your insights. By the way, went to your blog Kimistry 101. Love the story about Disney creating the first African American princess. I got you linked.