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Murder Is Good Politics, Bad Justice
I don’t know if Troy Davis was innocent, but I do know that the evidence for demanding a re-examination of his conviction, including the recanted testimony of most of the witnesses against him, was overwhelming. But of course that is now beside the point, which is exactly what is so wrong about the use of the death penalty. No matter what evidence of innocence might be produced in the future, it is of consequence no longer.
Demonstrators gather in front of the White House in Washington as they hold a vigil for Troy Davis, who was executed Wednesday night. President Obama refused to intervene in the case, though many Davis supporters said he was the innocent victim of a racist justice system. (AP / Charles Dharapak)
That is a compelling argument against the death penalty—no room for correction—but there are others. The most egregious argument for capital punishment is the claim that the finality of officially condoned killing is a necessary guarantor of civilized order. Egregious because it is not possible to make that case without explaining why most of the democratic societies that we admire shun the death penalty as contrary to their most deeply held values.
Or is it China, Iran, North Korea and Yemen, which, along with the United States, led the world in government executions, that we most admire? There is something stunningly disgraceful about the company we keep on this issue.
As Amnesty International—the world’s premier human rights organization, which deserves high marks for its anti-death penalty campaign—points out, more than two-thirds of the world’s nations have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. I defy anyone to compare the list of countries that have retained the death penalty with those that have abolished it and then conclude that it serves a needed purpose.
It is obvious from the experience of those nations without the death penalty and our own 17 states that have banned capital punishment that this barbaric custom is not a necessary, let alone efficient, means for ensuring public safety. Due process in the United States, which claims to have an enlightened legal system, requires death penalty procedures that are costlier than appropriate incarceration.
Governments that cling to this primitive ritual of state-sanctioned murder do so not to induce respect for law but rather to indulge a lust for vengeance. Toward that end it would be far more honest to have the bound prisoner stoned to death by the governors, state legislators, prosecutors and judges who support the death penalty rather than employing lethal injections by disengaged technicians. Forcing them to be the executioners in actual practice rather than as a matter of legal theory would compel a far greater sense of personal responsibility than politicians and some others tend to exhibit on the matter.
From my own experience as a journalist covering this issue, the vast majority of politicians who defend capital punishment do so out of rank opportunism, which they demonstrate, particularly when the conversation is off the record, by citing polling numbers rather than evidence of the death penalty as a capital crime deterrent.
As I waited for the news of Troy Davis’ fate, my thoughts kept returning to that day in 1960 when we Berkeley students picketed the California governor’s office in pleading for a stay in the execution of convicted rapist Caryl Chessman, who was never accused of murder. It didn’t come because Gov. Pat Brown, despite his deep reservations about the case, had succumbed to public opinion. I never imagined then that more than half a century later the death penalty would still be enforced. That it is mocks our claim to be a moral leader in this world.
It is appropriate that we grieve for the slain police officer, Mark MacPhail, but if Davis was not the one with the gun, as he claimed to the end, the true murderer will have gone unpunished, as suggested by Davis’ haunting plea to the MacPhail family minutes before he died: “I did not personally kill your son, father, brother. All I can ask is that you look deeper into this case so you really can finally see the truth.”
Execution is a means of summarily ending the pursuit of justice rather than advancing it.
This case was so freighted with contradictions that a stay of execution was clearly in order. As Amnesty International spokesperson Laura Moye stated: “Today Georgia didn’t just kill Troy Davis, they killed the faith and confidence that many Georgians, Americans, and Troy Davis supporters worldwide used to have in our criminal justice system.”
32 Comments so far
Show AllJustice? America? Scheer has us confused with some rule-of-law country. Maybe that's why he keeps supporting Oblahblah: he neither can remove his rose-colored blinders, nor does he want to.
domestic politics is a poisoned world, controlled to the hilt...
there is no need for anything to be done for a 'political' reason, other than cover...
this is the same non-logic that paints treasonous politicos as avid vote-seekers...
what a crock...
they just pretend to want your vote, pretend that your vote counts, so you feel resignation, rather than indignation, while they screw you...please note they are the ones with the guns...
the death penalty is just another way killers kill people, and get away with it...
the potential for error, alone, particularly given the rampant corruption in our legal and law enforcement communities, should abolish the practice, even if one cannot resolve moral quandry...
obviously, the death penalty does nothing to prevent murder, or there would be no drone pilots...
If we are to have this barbarism it should be in the public square for all to see not hidden in antiseptic execution chambers. The executioners should be seen, not hooded or concealed. The public should know all and see all.
Unfortunately, there'd be a lot of Tea Partyists and others who would love to attend such circuses... maybe in a few years, we'll even have reality TV shows where we wait to see if someone is executed or not based on audience votes. "Text this number and tell us whether this person should live or die..."
Was Obama fearful that his popularity ratings would go down if he came out in favor of clemency for Davis? No, Obama could not have halted Davis's execution but that should not have stopped Obama from expressing an opinion concerning this contentious issue. But then the last thing that The Great Compromiser is about is stating that a black man should not be executed on dubious evidence.
Obomber could not stop this execution, it was a State of Georgia criminal injustice system that had the only authority to stop it. Just as the Billie Holiday song "Strange Fruit" applied to lynching, I guess its symbolism is still in effect and maybe the term Strange Fruit can be applied to the strange fruit of the corporate GMO but the fruit of socio- psychopathology propaganda of government, business, and pretend christians, none of which were protesting the Davis murder. Obomber simply had no jurisdiction over this matter. Obomber is not the Commander in Chief of the country, only the military.
bogi666
Could Obama not have pardoned Davis? At the very least, should Obama not have used his bully pulpit to have urged the state of Georgia to halt Davis' execution in light of the new evidence that has emerged? Have you forgotten the fact that Obama proclaimed that Bradley Manning [allegedly] broke the law? Since Obama commented about Manning then is it not logical to then ask why he has not offered his opinion about Troy Davis? Could it possibly be due to the fact that it would not have been politically expedient for Obama to do so during an upcoming election season?
Another clear example, it would appear, of a politician like Obama placing party over principle.
That maybe true in theory but not in practice. If the first Black Pres [Mr Audacity without Hope / Constitutional Law Prof] had made a personal request to stay this dubious execution [IE: whether you are pro or anti-Death penalty - There was Plenty of Reasonable Doubt] either publicly or privately - its very doubtful they would have gone thru w it. It would have been the right thing to do, but likely not the politically wisest [IE: safest] thing to do.
Nixak...
Your last sentence basically affirms what I had stated which is that Obama's latest attempt to please both sides by saying nothing was basically an exercise in placing party over principle.
Obomber could not stop this execution, it was a State of Georgia criminal injustice system that had the only authority to stop it. Just as the Billie Holiday song "Strange Fruit" applied to lynching, I guess its symbolism is still in effect and maybe the term Strange Fruit can be applied to the strange fruit of the corporate GMO but the fruit of socio- psychopathology propaganda of government, business, and pretend christians, none of which were protesting the Davis murder. Obomber simply had no jurisdiction over this matter. Obomber is not the Commander in Chief of the country, only the military.
When to we try Bush/Cheney and other war criminals?
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Justice=Vengeance
Vengeance=Justice
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Freedom=Fascism
Fascism=Freedom
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God Bless America
Governors like Perry, Bush and others use capital punishment to condition themselves for sending USAn troops to wars. Between the lines what they really mean to their political base is that they will use the Pentagon protection racket scheme of protecting the worldwide assets of the wealthy & multinational corporations. They will sacrifice USAn troops for this purpose and as you can observe they use capital punishment as a way to display their socio-pathological credentials to their political base of sociopaths so they will contribute $billions for their campaigns. Sociopaths like Parry and Bush have assumed the Hindu aspect of God, creator and destroyers of life, assuming these god like attributes for themselves which accounts for their extensive use of the words; I, Me, Myself. They use code words; We, Us which are seemingly inclusive for propaganda purposes appearing to include all USAn's. We and Us are doublespeak. Whenever Cheney, Bush or their ilk says "our way of life is not negotiable" it only applies to their political base of sociopaths.The politicians use CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AS THEIR TRAINING GROUND to create wars.
Governors like Perry, Bush and others use capital punishment to condition themselves for sending USAn troops to wars. Between the lines what they really mean to their political base is that I will use the Pentagon protection racket scheme of protecting the worldwide assets of the wealthy & multinational corporations. I will sacrifice USAn troops for this purpose and as you can observe they use capital punishment as a way to display their socio-pathological credentials to their political base of sociopaths so they will contribute $billions for their campaigns. Sociopaths like Parry and Bush have assumed the Hindu aspect of God, creator and destroyers of life, assuming these god like attributes for themselves which accounts for their extensive use of the words; I, Me, Myself. They use code words; We, Us which are seemingly inclusive for propaganda purposes appearing to include all USAn's. We and Us are doublespeak. Whenever Cheney, Bush or their ilk says "our way of life is not negotiable" it only applies to their political base of sociopaths.
this is a duplicate post, sorry.
"Due process in the United States, which claims to have an enlightened legal system, requires death penalty procedures that are costlier than appropriate incarceration."
Some nitwit on a yahoo news story about Davis's execution yesterday espoused his cynical and evil view, saying it is cheaper to just execute people, so he was ok with it. No matter how many times the truth is stated, that it is in fact much costlier to have the death penalty, the throngs of morons cling to this discredited view.
The important point is not which is cheaper. The point is that it is macabre to apply a cost benefit analysis to something as important as capital punishment.
To put it another way, it is a lot of money that could be put to better use. Like neighborhood youth opportunity centers. Law projects in low income areas, it is things like this that reduce crime. Just as the bail outs were enough to pay in full every single mortgage in America. That said, someone made a profit from this execution and the bigger boys will make a profit either way. Prisons and hospitals are run by investors. In many cases they serve the same food.
"I never imagined then that more than half a century later the death penalty would still be enforced. That it is mocks our claim to be a moral leader in this world."
Pretty much everything the US does mocks its claim to be a moral leader in this world. It would be shocking if the US did something that did not mock that claim.
It is so pathetic that the only time the Rep or Dem politicians listen to the will of the voters is when the voters want something barbaric. When the voters want something more uplifting or for the greater good, those politicans turn a deaf ear.
Maybe this, in conjunction with the forthcoming "no" vote on the Palestine state in the UN, will be enough to flush that racist murderous piece of shit Obama down the toilet once and for all.
My God, compared to Obama, Bill Clinton looks principled, decent and humane. During his first campaign for the presidency he reassured White voters by executing a brain-damaged Black man who didn't understand what was happening to him. But at least Ricky Ray Rector had really killed somebody. Obama can now add Troy Davis to the mountain of black and brown corpses over which he is clawing his way towards a second term - or failing that, to a future presidency for Hillary Clinton and maybe even Michelle Obama after that.
People tell us that we have no choice but to vote for Obama because the alternative is the crazy barbaric Republicans like Rick Perry. But this dynamic of "least-worse-ism" means that the Democrats become ever more right-wing as the Republicans become ever more insane. And it is not even clear that the working class would be worse off under a Republican Administration. Because under a Republican Administration, the Democrats act like an opposition party and as such they sometimes defend the rights of the working class. When the Democrats are in power, on the other hand, there is nobody to speak for the working class. Obviously the Republicans won't do it. No Republican president could eliminate Social Security and Medicare, because the Democrats will resist it. Bush II tried to eliminate Social Security and failed. But now Obama is doing it, with nothing but support from the Republicans. Just as, in the past, no Republican president could have eliminated Welfare. It took a Democrat like Bill Clinton to do it. I'm willing to take my chances with President Rick Perry. I think the only thing that could make me vote for Obama would be if the Republicans ran Hitler himself as their candidate in 2012.
Obama is doing no such thing...untwist your panties and read what you wrote again...if you think for ONE MINUTE Rick Perry would be a positive alternative to Barack Obama, then you are a clueless nincompoop and I hope your car breaks down on the way to the polls November 6, 2012...and all taxis are taken and there are no busses in the area.
If Rick Perry were president, maybe Democrats would return to supporting Social Security and opposing torture.
And maybe Perry would complete the destruction of our nation started by bush and co...he sure has all the credentials.
Perhaps you want to take that chance, but I sure don't...if the repubs floated a real candidate, or if the dems put someone against Obama in the primary worth looking at, by all means. But it is incredibly stupid to even consider giving rick perry the reins because Obama isn't everything we thought he would be.
"And maybe Perry would complete the destruction of our nation started by bush and co...he sure has all the credentials."
So does your dear Oblahblah, and he's doing an excellent job of what you (accurately) claim Perry would do. It's just that if Perry were trying to pull this crap, Dims might actually oppose him occasionally.
P.S. Try to remember what this particular article is about and then line that up with your endorsement of "I've executed 234 on my watch" Perry...
It will become clearer and clearer by comparison with other nations, that the US IS a third world nation. Instead of crawling upwards into a higher society, it has decended back down into a dark hole of misery -- a third world nation. All because the LOWEST of the LOW have gotten the money and are in power for now. Thankfully, change is the nature of this universe; and even that kind of evil will not rule forever. Their time is about up.
Big Government Death Panels: Capitol "Justice" System, offensive "Defense" Department. The Real Killers.
U.S. politicians like refer to the U.S. as leader of the free world and of the responsibilities of the country as world leader. What leadership? The U.S. is one of the few countries to retain the death penalty, has achieved one of the highest disparities in income, doesn't endorse the International Criminal Courts, precipitates multiple wars, doesn't sign on to the ban on land mines, has one of the costliest and, for many, inaccessible health care systems, and is threatening to dismantle the social supports it does have. That one? If this is where the U.S. is leading, I don't think others want to follow.
Sail2sea
Excellent and most accurate observations.
allowing human logic to compensate for life via death...
requires a state of mind too biased for sound judgment...
whether it be an original crime or a subsequent punishment...
both relinquish reasoning’s guide to ill-founded entrustment...
"Governments that cling to this primitive ritual of state-sanctioned murder do so not to induce respect for law but rather to indulge a lust for vengeance." How true. Excellent article by Mr. Scheer.
"Stunningly disgraceful about the company we keep...." Not so much as the Yiddish proverb forewarns "Choose you enemies well for you will become just like them". This accounts what has/is/will happen to the USA.