If They Lied Before, They Can Lie Again

MADAVIA JOHNSON | STAFF WRITER 

Troy Anthony Davis, an African American man, was executed on September 11, 2011 in Jackson, GA; after his case was reviewed and denied by the Supreme Court. This caused a public outrage all across the world because everyone believed that an innocent man did not receive justice, and was wrongfully executed because of his race instead of the evidence against him. Troy Anthony Davis was accused of gunning down an off-duty cop by the name of Mark McPhail in 1989, and this carried a capital offense. Prior to his execution Troy Davis spent 22 years in prison and no one found any other evidence or suspects, which leaves a lot of doubt in my mind.

First of all I would like to start off by saying that I do not believe in the death penalty and I do not agree with Troy Davis being executed. However, was he innocent? It was clearly stated that bullet shells where found at the crime scene were from a shooting that Troy Davis committed earlier that day, but no weapon was found. Does that mean he did not do it? Does that mean that while Troy Davis was at the scene, where the officer got killed, that someone came behind him and snatched the gun out of his hand killed the cop? Was it the homeless man?

Some people may say it could be, but the Supreme Court and the jury from the 1989 tail said, no. To me that is like saying he walked under 12 ladders, broke 50 mirrors, and a cat just happened to walk in front of him because all odds were against him on that one particular day. Two shootings from the same gun, however no gun was found. Again, does that make him innocent? How did the bullets enter the bodies of the victims? What if the gun was found? What are the chances that his fingerprints would not have been found on it? Especially after knowing he used it in a previous shooting. His DNA would have been found on it regardless. Everyone wants to explore the reasons why they think he did not do it in order to save his life, but you have to look at it from the same perspective that the Supreme Court, eyewitnesses, and the Jurors of 1989 did.

As for the eyewitness testimonies being retracted, and them saying that they were coerced into saying that Troy Davis was the murderer. I think this was all a bunch of lies; Lies told then and lies told now, and may I add lies told under oath. The saying as I know it is, “One lie leads to more lies, and and even bigger lies”. Who is to say that the media, lawyers, and the families did not coerce them into saying they lied in 1989 in order to save the life of Troy Davis? The decision on whether a man should live or die is a big decision, and now that it was punch time maybe the guilt caught up with them from 22 years ago. I strongly feel that if anyone had to be executed it should have been them. They lied under oath, they swore to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth, so help them God, and once convicted there is no turning back. A person cannot be tried for the same thing twice. They knew he was getting the death sentence if he was convicted, so why take the story back now? Did they want to relieve their conscious? They probably did that, but it was too late. No matter what any public official said the conviction was in stone, and the lack of suspets and a murder weapon point the blame at Troy Davis. Was that right?

No, because in the United States Justice System you have you have to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is where the error was committed because when it comes to taking a person’s life you cannot have any doubts. The fact that the gun was not found did not make it certain that he did not kill the man. This case was too extreme to just let assumptions or reasoning fill in the blanks. I think he was guilty based off of my reasoning, but that is not enough for the courts to execute a man; hard evidence is required. Maybe there were no doubts in 1989, but after review, with a person’s life on the line, and knowing that the person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. There should have been a life sentence instead of a death sentence.