And Justice for All?

I've been a long-standing opponent of the death penalty and for most of my  life that's been an uphill battle.   Though American support for the death penalty has declined in the last ten years, something like 70% of the American public still supports its use.  We're a nation who likes our executions.

By happenstance, application of the death penalty has been in the news for the last few weeks, just as I've begun teaching American Government to a new crop of Seniors.  I don't seek to convert students to my point of view - that would be unethical - but I do introduce them to politics from a political scientist's point of view.  Right now, we are studying the Constitution.  The death penalty is a question of constitutionality on a number of fronts.  The Constitution prevents cruel and unusual punishment.  The Supreme Court has found that execution is neither cruel nor unusual.  The Constitution also requires due process and justice under the law.  In my mind, those were the fundamental issues on the table in the state of Georgia's bid to execute Troy Davis.

Twenty-two years ago, Troy Davis was accused of the shooting off an off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail.  The crime happened in Savannah, Georgia, and there's no question that Davis was in the parking lot where MacPhail's murder occurred.  The police never recovered the gun; there was never any physical evidence connecting Davis to the crime.  In the original police investigation a number of eyewitnesses identified Davis as the shooter.  A jury found Davis guilty of the crime and the judge sentenced him to death.  In subsequent years, nearly all of the eyewitnesses recanted their testimony against Davis, telling the courts that police investigators at the time had pressured them to identify Davis as the shooter.  Davis steadfastly maintained his innocence at trial and while in prison.  The police never found any physical evidence to connect Davis to the crime. 

For years, I've followed Troy Davis's case.  He'd dodged execution dates before, though rarely with any hope that another execution date would be avoided.  Yesterday, as another execution hour loomed, Davis's supporters and lawyers tried in vain to stop his execution.  My students and I listened to a news story about the situation and we talked about the issues of justice and Constitutionality at play.  When they left class yesterday, I encouraged them to pay attention to events in Georgia.  My classes have both death penalty supporters and opponents.  Both were sobered by the case.

I don't know if Troy Davis was guilty in the shooting of Mark MacPhail.  I know that there was no physical evidence to connect him to the crime.  I know that eyewitness testimony is notoriously suspect.  I know that our criminal justice system makes mistakes and that people serve time for crimes they didn't commit.  I know that the police are not always trust-worthy, especially when the rights of poor black men are at stake.  And I know that the state should not be executing people - taking their lives - unless we are damned sure that they are guilty. 

I know that Davis's execution won't be the last injustice in this nation.  I know that The Innocence Project and others are hard at work trying to correct those injustices.  I know that change can only happen when citizens like me stand up for the principles they believe in.  I know my nation is imperfect, but I believe in the promises of the Constitution.  I believe in the power of liberty and justice for all.  I will teach my students that this is true.  But they will also know about injustice; about Troy Davis and the state of Georgia.  In my darker moments, I wonder which message will resound most loudly.