The small town of Jackson, GA home of Georgia State Prison became the center of the most recent death penalty debate when the 4rd and final attempt to save a potentially innocent man from state sponsored death by lethal injection was denied. At 11:08 PM on Wednesday September 28th Troy Anthony Davis was executed against the will of what seemed to be the whole world. Congressmen and women, a former President, the Pope, and millions of Troy Davis supporters begged the State of Georgia to pardon Mr. Davis because there was still too much doubt remaining to go through with his death sentence, questioning the 1991 conviction of murder of an off duty Savannah, GA police officer Mark McPhail. Troy Davis professed his innocence down to his last words,
“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. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight. For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls."
With the execution of Troy Davis, civil rights and social justice organizations like the NAACP, and Amnesty International are pushing harder for the abolishment of the death penalty challenging the 1976 US Supreme Court ruling on Furman vs. Georgia which reaffirmed the United States position on the use of capital punishment after a four year nationwide moratorium on executions resulting from the Supreme Court case of Gregg vs. Georgia. In the case of Furman vs. Georgia the US Supreme Court set out two guidelines for states who wished to adopt capital punishment as a sentence for crimes:
· First, the scheme must provide objective criteria to direct and limit the death sentencing discretion. The objectiveness of these criteria must in turn be ensured by appellate review of all death sentences.
· Second, the scheme must allow the sentencer (whether judge or jury) to take into account the character and record of an individual defendant.
The State of Georgia followed through with both conditions set forth by the US Supreme Court that constitutionalize the use of the death penalty in the case of Troy Davis. In fact Mr. Davis was afforded a rare intervention in his case by the US Supreme Court in 2009 when they ordered the State of Georgia to review Mr. Davis case to determine if there was any “new” evidence that may lead to the overturning of his 1991 murder conviction. Unfortunately Mr. Davis’s defense team could not produce any evidence to the Georgia court that proved any reasonable doubt, and his sentence of death by lethal injection was set for September 21, 2011. On the September 21, 2011 Troy Davis’s lawyers filed a request for a stay on his execution with the US Supreme Court and the court postponed the carrying out of his sentence upon further review. However, the Supreme Court rejected petitions presented to them and the date and time of Mr. Davis’s execution was set for September 28th, 2011 at 7PM. On the day of Mr. Davis’s execution thousands of supporters for the life of Troy Davis and proponents of the death penalty alike stood outside of the Georgia correctional facility that houses their death chamber in protest and in hope that something could be done to stop the State of Georgia of going through with what may be the death of an innocent man. As Troy Davis was strapped to the gurney and the intravenous apparatus was inserted in his arm his lawyers again looked to the US Supreme Court to issue another stay on his execution. In the execution room sat reporters, those who were responsible for Mr. Davis’s conviction, community members, and the family of Mark Mcphail. Mcphail’s family wanted to see troy Davis receive the same fate of their late family member and pressured the Georgia parole board to go through with what they considered justice. In what seemed like forever (4 hours) the US Supreme Court denied the final request and Troy Davis was put to death. Some civil rights activist have spoken out and said that making Mr. Davis wait on the gurney with an IV in his arm for four hours past the time that he was scheduled to die was in itself cruel and unusual. Rev. Raphael Warnock pastor to the Davis family said while waiting,
"Certainly we're glad that Troy Davis is still alive, but we are still witnessing, in my estimation, a civil right violation and a human rights violation in the worst way unfolds before our very eyes. This is Troy Davis’ fourth execution date. I’m glad that he’s alive, but that in and of itself is cruel and unusual punishment. America can do much better than this."
Rev. Warnocks sentiments are echoed across the globe as death penalty abolitionist set forth a mission to end the death penalty in America once and for all.
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434 Miles away from Jackson, GA sits Jackson, MS the place where 94 days prior to the execution of Troy Davis, James Craig Anderson (an African American) was killed by a group of Caucasian teenagers who allegedly set out to go into neighboring town of Jackson, MS from nearby Brandon, MS to “Mess with some niggers.” Seven teens in total where involved in the beating and subsequent death of Mr. Anderson on the night of June 26, 2011 however, only two of the individuals were initially charged, Deryl Dedmon Jr. and John Aaron Rice who were both 18 at the time of the crime. Dedmon was the only one charged with the murder of Mr. Anderson, Rice was initially charged with the same but had his charges reduced to simple assault by Hinds County Judge William Barnett. Deryl Dedmon’s charges where upgraded to capital murder by Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith, making Dedmon eligible to receive the death sentence if he is convicted. District Attorney Smith also made it very clear that he believes that the murder of Mr. Anderson is a hate crime and he intends to pursue it in such manner.
Amongst the cries for justice from a community shocked by a heinous crime of hate, is the voice of James Anderson’s sister, Barbara Anderson Young who does not want the death penalty for those convicted of the murder of her brother, which is much different from the stance taken by the family of the murdered police office in the Troy Davis case. She said in a letter to the Hinds county D.A. “We ask that you not seek the death penalty for anyone involved in James’ murder...Our opposition to the death penalty is deeply rooted in our religious faith, a faith that was central in James’ life as well…..Our Savior Jesus Christ rejected the old way of an eye for an eye and taught us instead to turn the other cheek. He died that we might have everlasting life and, in doing so, asked that the lives of the two common criminals nailed to the crosses beside him be spared….We also oppose the death penalty because it historically has been used in Mississippi and the South primarily against people of color for killing white…Executing James’ killers will not help to balance the scales. But sparing them may help to spark a dialogue that one day will lead to the elimination of capital punishment…Those responsible for James’ death not only ended the life of a talented and wonderful man. They also caused our family unspeakable pain and grief. But our loss will not be lessened by the state taking the life of another,” D.A. Smith commented about the letter to a local news reporter “It’s most likely that we will honor the family’s wishes, but we will see whether or not things will change over the course of this proceeding.”
As one case ends with the conviction of death of a potentially innocent man by means of lethal injection, another case begins with the possibility of the same conviction in the State of Mississippi. As the death penalty debate continues it will be interesting to see what the outcome will be when it comes to the fate of those convicted of killing Mr. James Anderson, and how it will affect America’s stance on capital punishment.
