GovChris, thank you for this comforting spiritual. I just wept and wept as I listen, but sometimes, It’s good to weep, and rid ourselves of the anxieties that’s on the Inside. Hopefully Troy Davis, Is where Jesus Is. What a beautiful thought that enters my mind as I ponder on the thought. Thanks again GovChris, how appropriate 🙂
I wish people would learn that the governor could not intervene. Georgia doesn’t allow this, and neither do 5 other states. This is what I learned today.
I know Georgia law. That was not the point of the comment. The point was that the Gov of Georgia was SILENT while his State murdered a likely innocent person.
Appreciate your efforts to educate everyone about the fact that he could not block the State-sponsored murder.
thinkprogress ThinkProgress
“May God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.” — Troy Davis’ last words to his executioners
AntDeRosa Anthony De Rosa
by metaquest
“I did not take your son, father, brother” – Troy Davis at his execution according to media witness, his last words “God bless your souls”
Betsy, it wasn’t the governor’s place to stop this. Funny, I’ve written this several times over the course of this evening on various sites. Georgia has a rule that the governor cannot intervene on what was determined by a judge.
This is yet another sad day in this country, which has a sordid record of denying black people, and especially black men, real justice. Troy Davis joined hundreds of thousands of innocent black people murdered by those in authority under cloak of law. My thought are with his family at this difficult time. May Troy’s soul rest in peace; the kind of peace that the State of Georgia denied him when he was alive! Although I am not big on religious piety, this time I was really hoping for a miracle to save Troy.
Even in my grief, I must commend EDP4BHO and donna dem 4 Obama, for their efforts in trying to educate us about who was responsible for allowing this monstrous action to take place. In my humble opinion, three institutions are the most responsible for murdering Troy Davis: The Georgia Courts; the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles; and, ultimately, the United States Supreme Court. As much as I detest Gov. Nathan Deal, he had no power to stop this. And, contrary to that idiot Michael Moore, President Obama also had no power to stop this.
This made me 😥 even more……RIP indeed.
I am not American and only recently heard of Mr Troy Davis…..doing a lot of reading on him and his case and I am tearing up as if he were my brother :cry:. I guess he is in a way huh…..:(
Thanks Doris….I don’t even want to mention his name in such a thread but to know a certain Repub Candidate said some weeks ago he sleeps good at night knowing that a man may have been executed wrongfully. Anyone who supported Mr Davis MUST vote PBO 2012!Imagine putting someone like that ****** in office will do to sooooooooo many innocent brothers and sisters…it’s scary!!!! God is TRUTH and it shall come to pass!!!!
He who shall not be named is on all our minds right now. His comment really stands out for so many reasons. We can’t let that hateful person be President of this country. What gets me is that these people have no shame and no heart.
You are so right, God is TRUTH and it shall come to pass, Barack Obama will be President once again in 2012.
I’m not American either. You’re crying because you have empathy, and an injustice was done tonight. A man’s life is over, and it didn’t need to end like this.
Troy will rest in peace. Georgia officials on the other hand get no prayers, no mercy, no forgiveness, no understanding from me. Nothing. I was going to visit a friend there, but I will not step foot in that state, any more than I would ever go to Arizona. I feel dirty being in Pennsyltucky with the racists here. And a governor trying to take our electoral votes away from PBO should he win the state. Can you all tell I am fucking livid?. I do not feel like praying right now. Will have to have a talk with God.
Thanks Doris. I keep listening to the internet live stream of Democracy Now, and the people’s comments are just so sobering. They say, this is an evil. Contrast this death with that of the killer of James Byrd tonight also, who said he had no regrets. My one laugh 😀 A radio host who doesn’t believe in the death penalty said after that statement, his is also that he has “no regrets”. I concur. That’s what makes this punishment controversial, but I am leaning more now toward fighting against it, as it is meted out too haphazardly for any number of reasons, most lopsided against minorities and the poor. One consolation I have……the whole world is not just tuned into the US but more specifically the state of Georgia. A person on Democracy Now said to boycott visits and all goods from Georgia. I say, sorry Georgians, don’t mean to affect your livelihood, but boycott is the way to go for me. I’d better get some Sleepy Time tea and try to get sleep. Have a restful night all, once you settle in.
I know how you feel. I hope to never have to fly via Atlanta, I think we all should boycott the state. I have to go to Arizona as my daughter goes to college in Tucson, but that’s the only reason I go there.
I am an Arizona native and have never lived anywhere else. The idiocy that goes on here gets unbearable sometimes but then I remember that there are some really good people that live here trying to make it a better place.
As someone also surrounded by racists in Pennsyltucky, I feel your rage at the state’s despicable governor and at our truly barbaric justice system–especially for minorities. The death penalty is a remnant of an ugly and cruel past and should have been abolished years ago. It always seems impossible for the US to behave as a civilized country when it comes to the criminal justice system. The highest rate of incarceration in the civilized world? The death penalty? We have to ask ourselves what kind of society we’re living in and how we change it.
I feel you EDP4, but please know that God Is forgiving, even when we get angry and lose It. Just ask him to forgive you, wehn you pray or as you pray. He’ll do It 🙂
Sometimes I sit in court waiting for my case to be called, and watch trials. More often than I’m comfortable with, someone gets convicted that just doesn’t seem guilty, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. that seems to have been Troy’s case.
That would be really hard – especially when you’re a member of the justice system. This story, and the many others who are still living through it, is just heartbreaking.
It’s hard watching and u feel powerless. I haven’t had a case yet where my client was found guilty despite the evidence or me feeling like they were innocent. But I’m still a new lawyer so it’s bound to happen, I guess.
Someone called Rev Al today saying the President is at the UN relaying to the world how people should be free, but we live in a nation where there is not enough justice for all. If this person was snarking at PBO, I didn’t accept that part, as I knew PBO could do nothing, but the caller was very correct to say we as a nation have no right to try to speak about democracy abroad when we have limited democracy and a discriminate legal system here for all of its people.
I agree with you EDP$BHO about discrimination and continued injustices in the U.S. Sadly, President Obama is between a rock and hard place. On the one hand, the U.S. has institutions that charged with ensuring fairness and justice. But, the fact of the matter is that the institutions entrusted with ensuring justice failed in this case, as they often do when it comes to black people and other people of color. That still does not negate the President’s message of freedom throughout the world.
What has become of the once proud USA that people loved to flock too? My heart weeps for your country. May Mr. Troy Davis R.I.P. and may the Lord have mercy the souls of those who refused to let commonsense prevail.
May he rest in peace. This is very sad and my heart goes out to his family and friends. I too pray that God has mercy on their souls because they will need it for what he has in store for what they have done.
R.I.P
Ben Jealous just said on MSNBC that in the last three years, the death penalty has been abolished in three more states: Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico.
Tomorrow, not tonight, we need to get busy on abolishing the death penalty in all 50 states. Amnesty International (www.amnestyusa.org) has an “ACT NOW” section on their website, which has already been updated to announce tonight’s execution.
Here’s their pledge to fight to abolish the death penalty called, “Not in my name”:
Agreed. It was also sad and discouraging seeing people on FB & Twitter talking smack about PBO supporting the death penalty. Although this is one area I do wish he’d reconsider. I watched the whole thing unfold on DemocracyNow. Amy Goodman, their journalist, was outstanding.
I will go to bed for real after this, but Jennifer, I suppose a lot of us were for the penalty in atleast extreme cases like the one where the man was dragged behind a truck, decapitated, and the killer said he “maybe” drove the truck but did not kill him, and he had no regrets, and he was executed tonight as well. I cannot say I feel for him……good riddance to bad rubbish…..so to me it’s a controversial thing. Maybe PBO feels like myself in that people of color have been victimized and lynched for nothing so some justice is merited. I am leaning toward fighting against the penalty because of all the disparity in sentencing, so I still will not hold it against PBO if he does not change his mind. I am a bit vindictive myself. Besides, a slew of the commenters are angry that either, in their minds, PBO would not or could not do anything. We all know he has been deemed a god in some folks minds, and can do all things. NOT ! They are at best infantile in their blathering.
I’m not sure that President Obama supports the death penalty. From what I understand from his book The Audacity of Hope, he was involved in reforming the death penalty in Illinois whilst state senator. Forgive me if I am wrong here but that is my memory and understanding from what I read.
God rest the soul of Troy Davis – what a travesty. I guess I shouldn’t say this but the state of Georgia’s justice sucks. I could say so much more but will refrain out of respect for you guys here and the memory of Troy Davis.
You let a white woman go free who there was hardly any doubt that she kill her little child. You kill a black man for who there was doubt if he kill the white man. My to these people, what if you were wrong? What if Troy Davis was innocent? I don’t know, but what if he didn’t kill the officer? There’s a God who knows it all.
The truth will be found anniebella. His supporters will see to it, and the cop’s family will rue the day they insisted Troy die to ease their pain, causing pain for his family, and not even seeking real justice. The killer I believe is Sylvester. His testimony was never recanted but he was the one beating up the homeless person. Also, a woman claimed he threatened to kill her if she told, so she moved. This is all too unsettled, and I will follow to see what comes of it. Maybe my prayer will have been answered this way, but it’s a sad sad time in America.
This sad, sad, news took my breath away. Last I heard, everything was on hold. I click on to TOD, and there was the news. My heart aches for the families,Mr. Davis, and a country that would put a person to death, especially while there were so many questions left to answer. This is not justice served. This is lazy revenge. As I read today, “an eye for an eye,does nothing but leave us all blind.”
My heart aches. Rest in peace.
I am so sick & sad & angry & ashamed of this country. Troy is at peace & beyond our help but please pray for his sister Martina – she’s so strong but has been horribly sick. If she dies it’s another innocent person murdered by the state of Georgia
The Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” The key word in Amendment VIII is the conjunction “and”; it does not mean the same as or. The phrases employed originated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, but deviated in the usage of “and.” The English law uses “or.” Do technicalities like this speak for the spirit of the law? That something has to be both cruel and unusual in order for it to be prohibited? Isn’t cruel reason in itself?
Troy Davis was in jail for 22 years. Today, I feel like I failed him… we all failed him. And it’s a sobering thought to live with. Reason to continue fighting even harder for the abolition of a barbaric ritual called the death penalty.
Why not give this man a chance….really…why not listen to him or give him a chance to defend himself or why not give him life in prison??? This is the kind of injustice that exacerbates frustration!!!
May he Rest in Peace. May his family find some solace somehow in these difficult times. Sympathy to the officer’s family.
Nonetheless, the justice system and the people responsible for this execution should really think this through….If they are able to sleep at night then they have no conscience….
May he rest in eternal peace and may the almight give strength to his family in this difficult time. Just cant come around to really comprehend what really just happened. I go to sleep tonight with a very very heavy heart.
I’m in tears. I can’t believe this. As a young black woman, I fear that me and my African brothers have no hope. This country is too racist for its own good.
Hold on Kay. I know how you feel. As an AA mother of two sons, I know how you feel. We must pray and look to God for comfort and strength each and every day. Our struggle is hard. We don’t always speak of it, but the struggle is always with us. I will keep you in my prayers tonight. Don’t get discouraged. Thanks for this video. It is very powerful.
(((Hug))) not only in the USA sweetheart! All over the world our lives are undervalued but judgement day is near….as it was in the beginning so shall it be in the end. Let’s live life as best as we can and know that pain never last forever.
I know I said I was done for today, but…The song you posted is so apt. What we witnessed, what the world witnessed, is a slow-motion, sterilized lynching. No pictures of dead bodies and smiling onlookers, but the same sentiment and twisted sense of disproportionate human worth still exists.
Mr. Davis, may you rest in peace always. May you find your way to the bosom of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and feel his strength and sing the sad songs until all God’s Children are Free At Last.
Thank you, Chipsticks, for staying on this. And I hope that everyone knows that Troy died well aware that so many many people cared about him & supported him, for which he was truly grateful. He was an amazingly strong person. Troy & his family will always stay in my thoughts.
I hope he did know that his name was being spoken around the world, and that many were thinking about him and hoping for him. I hope people don’t forget.
I live in Illinois, which just passed the law to abolish the death penalty in our state this year, but read this to see how fragile the standing of the new law can be: http://www.icadp.org/
At the UN, President Obama said, “Peace is hard.” As with anything else worthwhile (like getting PBO re-elected, our only chance at saving our country), abolishing the death penalty in all 50 states is hard, too. I know I’m preaching to the choir. Troy Davis could have been your son or my son. We can’t let him die in vain.
I had a very meaningful moment in my life where I decided Capital Punishment was wrong. Prior to that time I felt in certain circumstances like with a mass murderer it was okay. I stayed after church years ago for a special presentation by Sister Prejean. (it is embarrassing to have forgotten her full name now that I am trying to think of it) senior moment. I bought the book for Dead Man Walking from her and she autographed it for me. Susan Sarandon played the part of the Sister in that movie. Anyhow she was very convincing in her arguments which were many that you have all heard before. This moment in time tonight brings back those memories. I hope that Troy Davis is in a better place now so that all this agony for him is not meaningful. I pray for his soul and his family’s comfort. I pray that others can learn to find a more compassionate way to live and judge others.
I am a prosecutor in my state and we ended the death penalty here during my career in criminal law. I have been on both sides of this issue, even worked at the federal level. We do not have a system that gives us enough certainty that we should put any one to death. Would life in prison have been so unjust to the family of the victim. Why are we so determined to solve our problems in this country by killing something?
That’s really a question that should be asked! I absolutely don’t think that this execution tonight will bring justice to the officer’s family or whomever might have thought Troy Davis was guilty and i believe in this case life in prison would have been more appropriate especially if he had been convicted for another murder as it’s been mentioned.
Life in prison for me is more powerful than death penalty and like you said I don’t believe the system is perfect enough to put people to death. In a case like this on top of the rage created by this blatant injustice, it amplifies racial tensions….
“We do not have a system that gives us enough certainty that we should put any one to death. Would life in prison have been so unjust to the family of the victim. Why are we so determined to solve our problems in this country by killing something?”
Thank you so much, TJ, for posing these fundamental questions. Obviously the heavy toll on families who lose loved ones, at the hands of criminals, makes the question of the death penalty extremely difficult to decide. But, a much more fundamental question is: What if the government ends up executing an innocent person? Does the possibility of executing an innocent person provide solace, justice, revenge, or closure, to family victims of people murdered by criminals? Can the government ever atone for killing an innocent person? How can family victims who lose loved ones murdered by criminals ever find justice or closure if an innocent person is executed while the guilty person still goes free?
Just received an email from colorofchange.org. Here’s a part of it:
A group of NAACP organizers went to visit Troy in prison yesterday, and NAACP’s Robert Rooks said this about the visit:
For someone that was facing death the very next day, he was just full of life and wanted to spend time talking to the younger staff, the interns, giving them direction and hope and asking them to hold onto God. And he challenged them. He challenged them by saying, “You have a choice. You can either fold up your bags after tomorrow and go home, or you can stand and continue this fight.” He said it doesn’t—it didn’t begin with Troy Davis, and this won’t end if he is executed today. He just asked us all just to continue to fight to end the death penalty, if in fact he’s executed.
Like it has been said by another about these executions, “no one won here today”. what a waste in this cycle of vengance and death. I doubt very much that those who claimed it would “bring closure” got it.
Dear Mr. Davis, You have suffered all these years for a crime you didn’t commit. Your time on this earth has ended. You have reached the gates of heaven to be welcomed by our Precious Lord and your loved ones who went before you. I pray for your family and those who fought to keep you alive. May they be given the strength to bear the wounds they presently carry within. You were a witness to all with your last spoken words of Love. May all who heard your words have them imprinted upon their hearts. Your trials are now over, Your sadness is left behind. May God have mercy on those who commented this grave injustice. God have mercy on us all.
For those of you that think we are living in a post racial society, tonights events are proof that that is a lie. In spite of all the publicity and the evidence discovered, there are people celebrating the death of another n*##@r. This both angers and saddens me.
As i reflect on my life, i have come to the realization that the potential to be killed, executed, or lynched is part of my DNA. i was taught as a child that there were some things you didn’t do around white folks because you could loose your life. That was in Chicago. i can only imagine what children were taught in the south………Then i think about a snotty-nosed kid i knew named Emmitt Till. To me, the legacy of that lives on today. Only the methods have changed.
Yardarm, thanks for expressing everything I feel. I was so euphoric when President Obama was elected President because I never imagined, let alone expected, that I would live long enough to see that happen. I didn’t even think that it would happen in my children’s life times. To be honest, I was so proud, and I still I am, about how far this country had come in overcoming racism. I still believe the majority of Americans of all races have overcome racism and are dedicated to justice.
Then today I am hit with this ton of bricks that clearly shows how far the country still has to go to overcome racial injustices.We still have powerful forces that simply won’t let go of racial bigotry. If I may confess, I am especially more angry at the United States Supreme Court than I am at the bigots in Georgia. I am also angry at right wing Presidents who selected Justices that re-instated the death penalty. I am also angry at the petulant, “holier than thou progressives,” who refuse to vote for Democrats, and thus facilitate the elections of Republicans who then proceed to gut the system of justice by appointing many callous and uncaring judges and justices.
I am just so sad about this State sanctioned murder of this young man! The Supreme Court could have stopped this if we had justices who were seriously committed to Truth, Justice, and Equality! With all the mountain of evidence that clearly shows that many innocent people are wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, why isn’t the highest Court in the land stepping in to stop this madness? Somebody earlier asked the Gov. of Georgia if was going to sleep well this morning. We now know that the Gov. was powerless to do any thing to stop this, not that he would done so given his right wing views. My Question to the members of the U.S. Supreme Court who denied the appeal to stay the execution: How well did they sleep tonight knowing that innocent may have been murdered by the State of Georgia?
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration
The President of the United States cannot say what I’m going to say. I am going to say it loud so that it resounds all over this land.
Racists, racists, racists! Racism is alive and SICK in America . Racial hatred is alive and SICK in America .
Can I prove it? Yes, I can.
I am 81 years old so I have lived through 13 administrations of presidencies: some weak and ineffective, some strong and yet neglectful; and yet a few, passionate, caring and humane.
These Republicans and Libertarians today are still fighting the Civil War! There is Texas where the governor is Republican Rick Perry. This Southern state wants to engrave the Confederate flag on the license plates of all the citizens in the state. There are Southern boards of education including, but not limited to Tennessee , Texas and Virginia who want to rewrite the text books either to omit slavery or to revise and rearrange history to fit their biased views. These three states all have Republican governors. The Tea Party, a group of extreme right-wing conservative theorists are among the proponents of this revisionist, altered version of American history. There are those semi-literate legislators, like Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota , who say the Founding Fathers fought to eliminate slavery. There’s a Southern governor, Republican Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi , who knows nothing about slavery and racial tensions in the South.
Ignorant! Yes, that’s a part of it; but, the main thing is their psyche. Taught at an early age to look down upon and to hate people of African descent, this hatred is buried deep, deep, within the throes of every fabric and fiber of their beings. Just as a light weight object put into a glass of water will float to the top, no matter how long racism has been festering in their bodies, confronted with a president of African descent, the covert racism rises to the top. All of the subliminal messages weighing them down for years since infancy, now surface; and unabashedly, they would rather see this Nation, this Democratic Republic crumble as long as they can blame this Black man and cause his Waterloo! This is not my position. This is not my inference. This is exactly what some of these racists legislators have said. There is concrete evidence that they said it. I don’t have to make it up or falsify what they said, it is there on video preserved for the lifetime of this Nation for the whole world to see that a group of racists legislators, like Republican Congressman Mitch McConnell, are so determined to make the presidency of President Barack Obama, a one-term presidency that they frankly, as Rhett Butler said, …don’t give a damn,,,”
Collective bargaining came into existence in Wisconsin ; but Republican Governor Scott Walker, a governor influenced by Libertarian billionaires, destroyed it with the stroke of a pen. Social Security signed into law by Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of the more effective, caring and humane presidents, is about to undergo the chopping block despite the fact that workers have paid into the system all of their working years. Medicare and Medicaid, humane programs signed into law by Democrat President Lyndon Baines Johnson, designed to aid the elderly, the infirm and women, infants and children are about to come under the blade of the guillotine!
These programs benefit people most of whom have worked on minimum wage jobs all of their working years. Some of them are unmarried and/or divorced women, failed by the declining education system, find themselves unprepared to find work that will sustain themselves and their children.
Combined with racism is also classism; and, viewed and pursued by some, they are one and the same. Classism divides Americans by social strata with three defined levels: upper class (those with wealth accumulated either by top earning occupations or by inheritance), middle class (those who are either professional, have managerial positions or government workers with wages above the minimum income level, sometimes referred to as white collar workers), and lower class (those who work in production whose manufacturing jobs for the most part have been shipped overseas, often referred to as blue collar workers).
Then there’s the undefined and often ignored underbelly of society who are invisible because they make no demands on society. They are the ones who roam the streets at night or sleep over the grate or under bridges, in bus stations or wherever they can lay their heads as they use what little belongings they have as a pillow under their heads. They are the unemployed, the homeless and hopeless, many are former military personnel who served their country all the while being neglected by their country. Many Americans of African descent have managed to escape the net and the web woven that would keep them out of the middle class, have benefited from these social programs after retirement years which has sustained them, along with their pensions,and have managed to remain middle class.
As one legislator decried, “This is class war!” Yes, it is! Though some semi-literate, misinformed legislators called President Obama an elitist, it is they, many formerly poor boys, who through their positions living off the dole of the citizenry, now look down on the very people from whom they rose. There are some ill reared and ill bred who call the President of the United States , a liar! Because my mind is alert and fertile, I challenge any American to refute any of the facts that I am stating. Never in the history of this country has an American President been openly disrespected as has President Barack Obama. One “pretender to the throne,” Republican part-time governor, Sarah Palin, while in India spoke derisively about the President while on foreign shores, all the while saying that this is inappropriate. One thug of a legislator, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, of South Carolina , called out, to President Barack Obama, “You lie!” during the State of the Union Address. Just the other day in July, 2011, another barnyard pig of a legislator,
Republican Congressman Joe Lucas, of the 8th District of Illinois, called the President of the United States a liar.
Of course American ethics, morals and morality have gone to hell in a hand basket; but, when this same “pretender,” Sarah Palin, featured on the cover of a major magazine, Newsweek, dressed inappropriately in a tight sweater opened a bit too much, then the world can see for itself the depravity and degradation of American principles and the American people.
As Republican President Abraham Lincoln stated eloquently, “ A house divided against itself, cannot stand,” we have reached that fork in the road and America is on the path to destruction at the hands of a few, petty, pampered, pretty boys who in their efforts to appease their “masters” are driving this country off a cliff!
Until we get a Secretary of Psychiatry to free racists of the hatred they are harboring, America will not prosper. America is already close to being displaced by China as the world’s greatest power; and, this is only because of the pure unadultered racism pervasive throughout this land.
i’ve vented enough. Time to retire. Some things never change but i keep hoping.
THE GOP’s BLOODLUST for Capitol Punishment strikes again. I’m sitting this one out. I just can’t stand all the accusations, bitching, finger pointing, pain, and agony this has caused everyone who is remotely concerned. 😦
May you rest in peace, Troy Davis. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends who have stood by and supported him and did all they could to fight this injustice.
I am very thankful I live in a free and democratic country that abolished the death penalty years ago. I will pray the USA will one day follow suit. What transpired tonight, especially seeing those who cheer the execution of a possibly innocent man, just broke my heart.
Believe me, it broke many of our hearts as well. As an American it’s really hard to express the feeling this creates. In so many ways I am so proud of this country but days like this bring such shame. Be assured that people will be working to try to abolish the death penalty in ALL of the United States to join the 16 that have done the right thing already.
Rest in peace Troy…When I got up this morning, I was hopeful of the supreme court passing a verdict to save this man’s life. Whatever happened to the saying “even a 100 criminals escape, not one innocent should be punished!”
Our justice system is rigged toward unrighteousness and wickedness in high places in the states courts who THINK that they would get away with it but YHVH knows.
May Troy rest in peace and may YHVH correct this wicked situation and rebuke the wicked state and federal institutions.
For those who call themselves Christians, may they be ashamed for siding with the courts actions.
Through my work, I’ve met a few people freed from Death Row by the Innocence Project, and it’s been an intense experience each time. To think these people were so close to actually being murdered with taxpayer dollars when they were innocent all along is mind-boggling. If anything constructive can come out of this tragedy, hopefully it’s that this barbaric practice will be banished from America once and for all.
And to think REPUBLICANS CHEERED at a recent debate at the mere mention of execution!!! Shocking that these people are treated as reasonable opinions on national TV and in the national print media. Truly sick people these modern day Repubs are.
The election of Barach Obama has brought out ALL THE HIDDEN UGLY in America out to exposed for all to see. What American’s thought was left behind in the 1960’s is still very prevelent.
Barry Scheck also indicated that records will show that Rick Perry knowingly allowed an innocent man to be put to death – while covering up the records. If he is the GOP nominee, this piece of information is likely to haunt him and destroy his chances.
What kind of society do we live in, where these things happen? Georgia ended up executing the wrong man for a crime he didn’t commit.
We as a society will all pay for allowing this travesty to happen. I’ll continue to pray for his family, and also the family of Mark McPhail… pray that they find enough compassion and understanding because someone else’s loved one has also been murdered.
What has happened is that we have two victims, both killed for crimes they didn’t commit. This is truly sad and depressing.
I can almost gaurantee Clarence Thomas voted to foward the execution. This vile and corrupt man lost all since of reality and his place in history 30 years ago. 😡 This is a SAD day for America folks. I feel like I am living in 1955 and I wasn’t even born yet. 😦 Emmitt Till would have been around 70 years old about now. Troy Davis will be joining him in the heavens and all the other slane African American males thougout our nation’s checkered history.
I don’t know if this has been posted previously, but just in case it hasn’t, I hope it’s okay that I post it now.
“To All” – A message from Troy Anthony Davis
Posted on September 11, 2011 by BJ Murphy
September 10, 2011
Troy was found guilty of murdering a police officer 19 years ago, based upon the testimony of 9 witnesses. Today, 7 of those 9 have recanted their testimony entirely, and there are enormous problems with the testimony of the remaining 2 witness accounts. There is NO OTHER EVIDENCE. The murder weapon was never found. There is no DNA to test. Troy is scheduled to die by lethal injection on September 21, 2011.
To All:
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,
I am past angry. I am so over America. This is a country that enslaved us, didn’t want to free us, and when they did, did and now do everything possible to keep us down, to keep us at a disadvantage, to kill us. This senseless execution sends a message to all black folk that “yes, we still want all of you dead ” and is similar to when the KKK burned crosses on black people’s front yard. This damages the souls of black folk. I try to keep the faith, I do, but this act shows that nothing has changed and nothing will change, and are, in fact, getting worse.
I got that message loud and clear at the GOP debates a few weeks ago, when Rick Perry’s “record” of executions drew huge applause – it was chilling and rather ironic that we are now dealing with the execution of Troy Davis. Notice how the MSM hardly mentions it? I hope those “progressives” who keep saying that there is no difference between President Obama and a GOP President think about what they are really endorsing.
If Davis believe in Jesus Christ, he is alot better off. To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. I hope they don’ give up on this because I would like to know if he was guilty or not. What would that say about us if proof is found to prove him innocent. If the Tea Republicans get in control we will go back to the days of hanging people, specially black people if they is said to have kill a white person. I can imagine them all standing around cheering, like they did at the GOP debate.
Chips, thank you so very much, for having a place for hurting people to dwell, and vent, and to voice our opinions, thoughts, and feelings. Thank you Chips, this blog Is comforting to me, just to read what others are saying, thinking, and feeling. I truly appreciate all that you do here 🙂
To the TODers, please know that we all In this together, feeling each other’s pain. Let’s continue to fight against Capital Punishmentment, for Troy Davis sake. Let’s continue to pray for his Family. I must say, I feel satisfied, that Troy Davis Is In Heaven. I just liked his departing words, he sounded like he knew where he was going, and that everything was well, between him and his God, I like that 🙂 🙂 Yes, I’ve wept, teared, prayed, and snot nose too, but because of the unjustice. Let’s remember to pray for the McPhail Family as well. May God bless you abundantly especially today, and may your Spirit may somehow be lifted, as the day progresses. Take care, and May God bless each and everyone of you here. May God Bless you Chips 🙂
May the spirit of Mr. Troy Davis rest eternally in blissful peace…and may America awake to the inequality that was perpetrated against him and his family – may the families of all victims find peace and forgiveness in their hearts – and may those who take lives in the name of the law, find some way to live with themselves… As a small child when I learned of the “death penalty” I couldn’t believe my youthful ears… You mean mere mortals are allowed to take the lives of others? Archaic and Barbaric practices need to conclude here in this awesome Nation – we shall fight on Mr. Davis, I shall fight on to perhaps end “death penalties” in my lifetime…RIP…
I am still numb from the execution of Troy Davis. Which prompted me to join Amnesty International. Georga what a great State you are. I love Ray Charles Georgia On My Mind, it still saddens me every time I hear it.
R.I.P. Troy Davis. We Are Troy Davis !
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
RIP
Sleep on, Troy. Up there, they will judge you fairly. They won’t be to kind to the ones left here.
GovChris, thank you for this comforting spiritual. I just wept and wept as I listen, but sometimes, It’s good to weep, and rid ourselves of the anxieties that’s on the Inside. Hopefully Troy Davis, Is where Jesus Is. What a beautiful thought that enters my mind as I ponder on the thought. Thanks again GovChris, how appropriate 🙂
AlecBaldwin Alec Baldwin
by Notjustjazz
Nathan Deal has disgraced Georgia, the justice system, the country.
In honor of Troy Davis – Yes.WE.MUST.DO.More.Together!
I wish people would learn that the governor could not intervene. Georgia doesn’t allow this, and neither do 5 other states. This is what I learned today.
Interesting. Didn’t know that.
Yes, that’s true. Gov. Deal could not intervene. People are hurt right now, and the media is not clearing things up.
I know Georgia law. That was not the point of the comment. The point was that the Gov of Georgia was SILENT while his State murdered a likely innocent person.
Appreciate your efforts to educate everyone about the fact that he could not block the State-sponsored murder.
Thank you.
Yes.WE.MUST.DO.MORE.Together!
It is ironic that a civilized country like the United States would condone such a barbaric act by any arm of its government…
And on the same day the Iranian government we ridicule as barbaric releases 2 Americans…
May God grant Troy Davis eternal rest…
Yeah. It only cost a million dollars!
I think we would have gladly paid the State of Georgia in exchange for Troy Davis’ life…
No…?
He was adamant about his innocence to the end.
This is so sad and so wrong. My deepest condolences to his family, to him- we’ve let him down, all of us.
😥 😥 😥 😥 😥
R.I.P Mr Troy Davis 😥
This makes me so angry.
OMG, I’m just sick. May he Rest in Peace for eternity.
And may we find the courage to fight for the soul of our country as long as it takes.
Rest in Peace dear one. Rest in Peace. Some how you will make a difference. Mothers everywhere will see to that.
I think that I am truly saddened.
May he rest in peace.
thinkprogress ThinkProgress
“May God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.” — Troy Davis’ last words to his executioners
AntDeRosa Anthony De Rosa
by metaquest
“I did not take your son, father, brother” – Troy Davis at his execution according to media witness, his last words “God bless your souls”
Yes.WE.MUST.DO.More.Together!
The “death chamber,” is what they call the room he was in.
May he rest in peace. I don’t know how the Governor of Georgia can sleep at night, nor the jury, judges or even the victim’s family.
Betsy, it wasn’t the governor’s place to stop this. Funny, I’ve written this several times over the course of this evening on various sites. Georgia has a rule that the governor cannot intervene on what was determined by a judge.
Q. Can the governor stop the execution?
A. No. Georgia’s Constitution gives that authority only to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.
http://www.ajc.com/news/who-can-stop-the-1185821.html
This is yet another sad day in this country, which has a sordid record of denying black people, and especially black men, real justice. Troy Davis joined hundreds of thousands of innocent black people murdered by those in authority under cloak of law. My thought are with his family at this difficult time. May Troy’s soul rest in peace; the kind of peace that the State of Georgia denied him when he was alive! Although I am not big on religious piety, this time I was really hoping for a miracle to save Troy.
Even in my grief, I must commend EDP4BHO and donna dem 4 Obama, for their efforts in trying to educate us about who was responsible for allowing this monstrous action to take place. In my humble opinion, three institutions are the most responsible for murdering Troy Davis: The Georgia Courts; the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles; and, ultimately, the United States Supreme Court. As much as I detest Gov. Nathan Deal, he had no power to stop this. And, contrary to that idiot Michael Moore, President Obama also had no power to stop this.
His last words were to ask God to bless the people who were taking his life. RIP.
This made me 😥 even more……RIP indeed.
I am not American and only recently heard of Mr Troy Davis…..doing a lot of reading on him and his case and I am tearing up as if he were my brother :cry:. I guess he is in a way huh…..:(
Hold on P honey, hold on. It’s okay to cry and let it out. We’re here with you.
Thanks Doris….I don’t even want to mention his name in such a thread but to know a certain Repub Candidate said some weeks ago he sleeps good at night knowing that a man may have been executed wrongfully. Anyone who supported Mr Davis MUST vote PBO 2012!Imagine putting someone like that ****** in office will do to sooooooooo many innocent brothers and sisters…it’s scary!!!! God is TRUTH and it shall come to pass!!!!
He who shall not be named is on all our minds right now. His comment really stands out for so many reasons. We can’t let that hateful person be President of this country. What gets me is that these people have no shame and no heart.
You are so right, God is TRUTH and it shall come to pass, Barack Obama will be President once again in 2012.
I’m not American either. You’re crying because you have empathy, and an injustice was done tonight. A man’s life is over, and it didn’t need to end like this.
Yes theo, sounds like Troy Davis had peace with God, and I like that felling, you know the feeling, that he had Peace with God.
oops felling=feelind
FEELING
Oh no. I can’t believe this. This is a very sad day for justice and America.
Troy will rest in peace. Georgia officials on the other hand get no prayers, no mercy, no forgiveness, no understanding from me. Nothing. I was going to visit a friend there, but I will not step foot in that state, any more than I would ever go to Arizona. I feel dirty being in Pennsyltucky with the racists here. And a governor trying to take our electoral votes away from PBO should he win the state. Can you all tell I am fucking livid?. I do not feel like praying right now. Will have to have a talk with God.
We are here with you honey. I’ll pray with you. It’s okay to let it out. It’s okay.
Thanks Doris. I keep listening to the internet live stream of Democracy Now, and the people’s comments are just so sobering. They say, this is an evil. Contrast this death with that of the killer of James Byrd tonight also, who said he had no regrets. My one laugh 😀 A radio host who doesn’t believe in the death penalty said after that statement, his is also that he has “no regrets”. I concur. That’s what makes this punishment controversial, but I am leaning more now toward fighting against it, as it is meted out too haphazardly for any number of reasons, most lopsided against minorities and the poor. One consolation I have……the whole world is not just tuned into the US but more specifically the state of Georgia. A person on Democracy Now said to boycott visits and all goods from Georgia. I say, sorry Georgians, don’t mean to affect your livelihood, but boycott is the way to go for me. I’d better get some Sleepy Time tea and try to get sleep. Have a restful night all, once you settle in.
Thanks honey for that. I’m going to try and rest too. Have a good night.
Have a restful night. Good will probably escape us all.
I know how you feel. I hope to never have to fly via Atlanta, I think we all should boycott the state. I have to go to Arizona as my daughter goes to college in Tucson, but that’s the only reason I go there.
I am an Arizona native and have never lived anywhere else. The idiocy that goes on here gets unbearable sometimes but then I remember that there are some really good people that live here trying to make it a better place.
Thank God, Jackie! And you’re one of them!
Betsy, I understand how you feel. Except for me boycotting Georgia is really not an option as I have relatives and friends who live in Georgia.
I know what you mean. Two of my grandchildren live in Savannah.
As someone also surrounded by racists in Pennsyltucky, I feel your rage at the state’s despicable governor and at our truly barbaric justice system–especially for minorities. The death penalty is a remnant of an ugly and cruel past and should have been abolished years ago. It always seems impossible for the US to behave as a civilized country when it comes to the criminal justice system. The highest rate of incarceration in the civilized world? The death penalty? We have to ask ourselves what kind of society we’re living in and how we change it.
I feel you EDP4, but please know that God Is forgiving, even when we get angry and lose It. Just ask him to forgive you, wehn you pray or as you pray. He’ll do It 🙂
May you be at peace, Mr Davis. Such a beautiful face.
Sometimes I sit in court waiting for my case to be called, and watch trials. More often than I’m comfortable with, someone gets convicted that just doesn’t seem guilty, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. that seems to have been Troy’s case.
That would be really hard – especially when you’re a member of the justice system. This story, and the many others who are still living through it, is just heartbreaking.
It’s hard watching and u feel powerless. I haven’t had a case yet where my client was found guilty despite the evidence or me feeling like they were innocent. But I’m still a new lawyer so it’s bound to happen, I guess.
Someone called Rev Al today saying the President is at the UN relaying to the world how people should be free, but we live in a nation where there is not enough justice for all. If this person was snarking at PBO, I didn’t accept that part, as I knew PBO could do nothing, but the caller was very correct to say we as a nation have no right to try to speak about democracy abroad when we have limited democracy and a discriminate legal system here for all of its people.
I agree with you EDP$BHO about discrimination and continued injustices in the U.S. Sadly, President Obama is between a rock and hard place. On the one hand, the U.S. has institutions that charged with ensuring fairness and justice. But, the fact of the matter is that the institutions entrusted with ensuring justice failed in this case, as they often do when it comes to black people and other people of color. That still does not negate the President’s message of freedom throughout the world.
Insane. My heart goes out to the families of Mr. Davis and Officer MacPhail. 😥
Thank you Chips. You are very good people here. Good Night.
RIP, Troy Daivs
What has become of the once proud USA that people loved to flock too? My heart weeps for your country. May Mr. Troy Davis R.I.P. and may the Lord have mercy the souls of those who refused to let commonsense prevail.
May he rest in peace. This is very sad and my heart goes out to his family and friends. I too pray that God has mercy on their souls because they will need it for what he has in store for what they have done.
R.I.P
R.I.P. Troy Davis. I echo his last words to the people responsiblr for his death.
correction, “responsible”.
My deepest regret for this dastardly miscarriage of justice. May God bless and keep him soul.
Ben Jealous just said on MSNBC that in the last three years, the death penalty has been abolished in three more states: Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico.
Tomorrow, not tonight, we need to get busy on abolishing the death penalty in all 50 states. Amnesty International (www.amnestyusa.org) has an “ACT NOW” section on their website, which has already been updated to announce tonight’s execution.
Here’s their pledge to fight to abolish the death penalty called, “Not in my name”:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.7741827/k.62FF/Not_in_my_Name_Pledge/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=7741827&en=dmIPI6PPJcIYLgOSLbKULiM9LvL9KmN4LtI9LqNaIAK
Thanks Jacqueline – you might need to repost this tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.
Agreed. It was also sad and discouraging seeing people on FB & Twitter talking smack about PBO supporting the death penalty. Although this is one area I do wish he’d reconsider. I watched the whole thing unfold on DemocracyNow. Amy Goodman, their journalist, was outstanding.
I will go to bed for real after this, but Jennifer, I suppose a lot of us were for the penalty in atleast extreme cases like the one where the man was dragged behind a truck, decapitated, and the killer said he “maybe” drove the truck but did not kill him, and he had no regrets, and he was executed tonight as well. I cannot say I feel for him……good riddance to bad rubbish…..so to me it’s a controversial thing. Maybe PBO feels like myself in that people of color have been victimized and lynched for nothing so some justice is merited. I am leaning toward fighting against the penalty because of all the disparity in sentencing, so I still will not hold it against PBO if he does not change his mind. I am a bit vindictive myself. Besides, a slew of the commenters are angry that either, in their minds, PBO would not or could not do anything. We all know he has been deemed a god in some folks minds, and can do all things. NOT ! They are at best infantile in their blathering.
NOW IVE HEARD THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE DEATH PENALTY!!!!
I’m not sure that President Obama supports the death penalty. From what I understand from his book The Audacity of Hope, he was involved in reforming the death penalty in Illinois whilst state senator. Forgive me if I am wrong here but that is my memory and understanding from what I read.
God rest the soul of Troy Davis – what a travesty. I guess I shouldn’t say this but the state of Georgia’s justice sucks. I could say so much more but will refrain out of respect for you guys here and the memory of Troy Davis.
Thanks for posting this.
Im in !
Signed it.
Thanks Jacqueline for sharing this. We should honor the memory of Troy Davis by being actively involved in abolishing the Death Penalty.
You let a white woman go free who there was hardly any doubt that she kill her little child. You kill a black man for who there was doubt if he kill the white man. My to these people, what if you were wrong? What if Troy Davis was innocent? I don’t know, but what if he didn’t kill the officer? There’s a God who knows it all.
The truth will be found anniebella. His supporters will see to it, and the cop’s family will rue the day they insisted Troy die to ease their pain, causing pain for his family, and not even seeking real justice. The killer I believe is Sylvester. His testimony was never recanted but he was the one beating up the homeless person. Also, a woman claimed he threatened to kill her if she told, so she moved. This is all too unsettled, and I will follow to see what comes of it. Maybe my prayer will have been answered this way, but it’s a sad sad time in America.
This sad, sad, news took my breath away. Last I heard, everything was on hold. I click on to TOD, and there was the news. My heart aches for the families,Mr. Davis, and a country that would put a person to death, especially while there were so many questions left to answer. This is not justice served. This is lazy revenge. As I read today, “an eye for an eye,does nothing but leave us all blind.”
My heart aches. Rest in peace.
I am so sick & sad & angry & ashamed of this country. Troy is at peace & beyond our help but please pray for his sister Martina – she’s so strong but has been horribly sick. If she dies it’s another innocent person murdered by the state of Georgia
😦
The Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” The key word in Amendment VIII is the conjunction “and”; it does not mean the same as or. The phrases employed originated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, but deviated in the usage of “and.” The English law uses “or.” Do technicalities like this speak for the spirit of the law? That something has to be both cruel and unusual in order for it to be prohibited? Isn’t cruel reason in itself?
Troy Davis was in jail for 22 years. Today, I feel like I failed him… we all failed him. And it’s a sobering thought to live with. Reason to continue fighting even harder for the abolition of a barbaric ritual called the death penalty.
Why not give this man a chance….really…why not listen to him or give him a chance to defend himself or why not give him life in prison??? This is the kind of injustice that exacerbates frustration!!!
May he Rest in Peace. May his family find some solace somehow in these difficult times. Sympathy to the officer’s family.
Nonetheless, the justice system and the people responsible for this execution should really think this through….If they are able to sleep at night then they have no conscience….
May he rest in eternal peace and may the almight give strength to his family in this difficult time. Just cant come around to really comprehend what really just happened. I go to sleep tonight with a very very heavy heart.
I’m in tears. I can’t believe this. As a young black woman, I fear that me and my African brothers have no hope. This country is too racist for its own good.
RIP Troy Davis. I pray your soul is at peace.
Hold on Kay. I know how you feel. As an AA mother of two sons, I know how you feel. We must pray and look to God for comfort and strength each and every day. Our struggle is hard. We don’t always speak of it, but the struggle is always with us. I will keep you in my prayers tonight. Don’t get discouraged. Thanks for this video. It is very powerful.
(((Hug))) not only in the USA sweetheart! All over the world our lives are undervalued but judgement day is near….as it was in the beginning so shall it be in the end. Let’s live life as best as we can and know that pain never last forever.
I know I said I was done for today, but…The song you posted is so apt. What we witnessed, what the world witnessed, is a slow-motion, sterilized lynching. No pictures of dead bodies and smiling onlookers, but the same sentiment and twisted sense of disproportionate human worth still exists.
Mr. Davis, may you rest in peace always. May you find your way to the bosom of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and feel his strength and sing the sad songs until all God’s Children are Free At Last.
Thank you, Chipsticks, for staying on this. And I hope that everyone knows that Troy died well aware that so many many people cared about him & supported him, for which he was truly grateful. He was an amazingly strong person. Troy & his family will always stay in my thoughts.
I hope he did know that his name was being spoken around the world, and that many were thinking about him and hoping for him. I hope people don’t forget.
God bless everyone who grieves tonight.
Whenever you may want to become more involved in abolishing the death penalty in all 50 states, here are some resources:
Sign the Amnesty International pledge (“Not in my name”) to work to abolish the death penalty:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.7741827/k.62FF/Not_in_my_Name_Pledge/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=7741827&en=dmIPI6PPJcIYLgOSLbKULiM9LvL9KmN4LtI9LqNaIAK
State links for local involvement:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/campaigns/abolish-the-death-penalty/death-penalty-campaign-resources/death-penalty-links
I live in Illinois, which just passed the law to abolish the death penalty in our state this year, but read this to see how fragile the standing of the new law can be:
http://www.icadp.org/
At the UN, President Obama said, “Peace is hard.” As with anything else worthwhile (like getting PBO re-elected, our only chance at saving our country), abolishing the death penalty in all 50 states is hard, too. I know I’m preaching to the choir. Troy Davis could have been your son or my son. We can’t let him die in vain.
My heart is broken I pray for Mr. Davis You seat with the Lord tonight.
I had a very meaningful moment in my life where I decided Capital Punishment was wrong. Prior to that time I felt in certain circumstances like with a mass murderer it was okay. I stayed after church years ago for a special presentation by Sister Prejean. (it is embarrassing to have forgotten her full name now that I am trying to think of it) senior moment. I bought the book for Dead Man Walking from her and she autographed it for me. Susan Sarandon played the part of the Sister in that movie. Anyhow she was very convincing in her arguments which were many that you have all heard before. This moment in time tonight brings back those memories. I hope that Troy Davis is in a better place now so that all this agony for him is not meaningful. I pray for his soul and his family’s comfort. I pray that others can learn to find a more compassionate way to live and judge others.
I am a prosecutor in my state and we ended the death penalty here during my career in criminal law. I have been on both sides of this issue, even worked at the federal level. We do not have a system that gives us enough certainty that we should put any one to death. Would life in prison have been so unjust to the family of the victim. Why are we so determined to solve our problems in this country by killing something?
That’s really a question that should be asked! I absolutely don’t think that this execution tonight will bring justice to the officer’s family or whomever might have thought Troy Davis was guilty and i believe in this case life in prison would have been more appropriate especially if he had been convicted for another murder as it’s been mentioned.
Life in prison for me is more powerful than death penalty and like you said I don’t believe the system is perfect enough to put people to death. In a case like this on top of the rage created by this blatant injustice, it amplifies racial tensions….
Our4thEstate Bobfr
“Why are we so determined to solve our problems in this country by killing something?” bit.ly/n6Fy7W @TheObamaDiary
Thank you for your insights Tao Jones. Wanted to be sure many others saw them.
Yes.WE.MUST. … DO.MORE.Together!
“We do not have a system that gives us enough certainty that we should put any one to death. Would life in prison have been so unjust to the family of the victim. Why are we so determined to solve our problems in this country by killing something?”
Thank you so much, TJ, for posing these fundamental questions. Obviously the heavy toll on families who lose loved ones, at the hands of criminals, makes the question of the death penalty extremely difficult to decide. But, a much more fundamental question is: What if the government ends up executing an innocent person? Does the possibility of executing an innocent person provide solace, justice, revenge, or closure, to family victims of people murdered by criminals? Can the government ever atone for killing an innocent person? How can family victims who lose loved ones murdered by criminals ever find justice or closure if an innocent person is executed while the guilty person still goes free?
Thou Shall NOT KILL! End of story.
Just received an email from colorofchange.org. Here’s a part of it:
A group of NAACP organizers went to visit Troy in prison yesterday, and NAACP’s Robert Rooks said this about the visit:
For someone that was facing death the very next day, he was just full of life and wanted to spend time talking to the younger staff, the interns, giving them direction and hope and asking them to hold onto God. And he challenged them. He challenged them by saying, “You have a choice. You can either fold up your bags after tomorrow and go home, or you can stand and continue this fight.” He said it doesn’t—it didn’t begin with Troy Davis, and this won’t end if he is executed today. He just asked us all just to continue to fight to end the death penalty, if in fact he’s executed.
Like it has been said by another about these executions, “no one won here today”. what a waste in this cycle of vengance and death. I doubt very much that those who claimed it would “bring closure” got it.
Has an innocent man been executed in our names?
Dear Mr. Davis, You have suffered all these years for a crime you didn’t commit. Your time on this earth has ended. You have reached the gates of heaven to be welcomed by our Precious Lord and your loved ones who went before you. I pray for your family and those who fought to keep you alive. May they be given the strength to bear the wounds they presently carry within. You were a witness to all with your last spoken words of Love. May all who heard your words have them imprinted upon their hearts. Your trials are now over, Your sadness is left behind. May God have mercy on those who commented this grave injustice. God have mercy on us all.
“The night the lights went out in Georgia” Man some of the words to this song hit home 😦
For those of you that think we are living in a post racial society, tonights events are proof that that is a lie. In spite of all the publicity and the evidence discovered, there are people celebrating the death of another n*##@r. This both angers and saddens me.
As i reflect on my life, i have come to the realization that the potential to be killed, executed, or lynched is part of my DNA. i was taught as a child that there were some things you didn’t do around white folks because you could loose your life. That was in Chicago. i can only imagine what children were taught in the south………Then i think about a snotty-nosed kid i knew named Emmitt Till. To me, the legacy of that lives on today. Only the methods have changed.
Amen.
We, indeed, have a long way to go. A 64 y/o white guy is at your side in that journey for how ever long I’m around.
Yes.WE.MUST. … DO.MORE.Together!
And this almost 65 y/o white woman is at your side, too, for as long as I’m around.
Thanks Bobfr. i’ve gotcha by about 7 yrs. Who knows, maybe we could have a beer together sometime. i’d like that.
If you’re ever in Seattle, the beer is on me
Yardarm, thanks for expressing everything I feel. I was so euphoric when President Obama was elected President because I never imagined, let alone expected, that I would live long enough to see that happen. I didn’t even think that it would happen in my children’s life times. To be honest, I was so proud, and I still I am, about how far this country had come in overcoming racism. I still believe the majority of Americans of all races have overcome racism and are dedicated to justice.
Then today I am hit with this ton of bricks that clearly shows how far the country still has to go to overcome racial injustices.We still have powerful forces that simply won’t let go of racial bigotry. If I may confess, I am especially more angry at the United States Supreme Court than I am at the bigots in Georgia. I am also angry at right wing Presidents who selected Justices that re-instated the death penalty. I am also angry at the petulant, “holier than thou progressives,” who refuse to vote for Democrats, and thus facilitate the elections of Republicans who then proceed to gut the system of justice by appointing many callous and uncaring judges and justices.
I am just so sad about this State sanctioned murder of this young man! The Supreme Court could have stopped this if we had justices who were seriously committed to Truth, Justice, and Equality! With all the mountain of evidence that clearly shows that many innocent people are wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, why isn’t the highest Court in the land stepping in to stop this madness? Somebody earlier asked the Gov. of Georgia if was going to sleep well this morning. We now know that the Gov. was powerless to do any thing to stop this, not that he would done so given his right wing views. My Question to the members of the U.S. Supreme Court who denied the appeal to stay the execution: How well did they sleep tonight knowing that innocent may have been murdered by the State of Georgia?
It’s ironic that so many people in this country who say they believe in God, think that “Thou shall not kill” wasn’t meant for them.
God will say
On Judgment Day
Where’s that life
You took away
And if you say
You do not know
God will say
Go down below.
This is poignant and so true. May Mr. Davis rest in eternal peace.
Amen!
Ummm, that gives me chills! But oh yeah, they will see that again, meaning the executioners, will see that again.
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration
The President of the United States cannot say what I’m going to say. I am going to say it loud so that it resounds all over this land.
Racists, racists, racists! Racism is alive and SICK in America . Racial hatred is alive and SICK in America .
Can I prove it? Yes, I can.
I am 81 years old so I have lived through 13 administrations of presidencies: some weak and ineffective, some strong and yet neglectful; and yet a few, passionate, caring and humane.
These Republicans and Libertarians today are still fighting the Civil War! There is Texas where the governor is Republican Rick Perry. This Southern state wants to engrave the Confederate flag on the license plates of all the citizens in the state. There are Southern boards of education including, but not limited to Tennessee , Texas and Virginia who want to rewrite the text books either to omit slavery or to revise and rearrange history to fit their biased views. These three states all have Republican governors. The Tea Party, a group of extreme right-wing conservative theorists are among the proponents of this revisionist, altered version of American history. There are those semi-literate legislators, like Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota , who say the Founding Fathers fought to eliminate slavery. There’s a Southern governor, Republican Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi , who knows nothing about slavery and racial tensions in the South.
Ignorant! Yes, that’s a part of it; but, the main thing is their psyche. Taught at an early age to look down upon and to hate people of African descent, this hatred is buried deep, deep, within the throes of every fabric and fiber of their beings. Just as a light weight object put into a glass of water will float to the top, no matter how long racism has been festering in their bodies, confronted with a president of African descent, the covert racism rises to the top. All of the subliminal messages weighing them down for years since infancy, now surface; and unabashedly, they would rather see this Nation, this Democratic Republic crumble as long as they can blame this Black man and cause his Waterloo! This is not my position. This is not my inference. This is exactly what some of these racists legislators have said. There is concrete evidence that they said it. I don’t have to make it up or falsify what they said, it is there on video preserved for the lifetime of this Nation for the whole world to see that a group of racists legislators, like Republican Congressman Mitch McConnell, are so determined to make the presidency of President Barack Obama, a one-term presidency that they frankly, as Rhett Butler said, …don’t give a damn,,,”
Collective bargaining came into existence in Wisconsin ; but Republican Governor Scott Walker, a governor influenced by Libertarian billionaires, destroyed it with the stroke of a pen. Social Security signed into law by Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of the more effective, caring and humane presidents, is about to undergo the chopping block despite the fact that workers have paid into the system all of their working years. Medicare and Medicaid, humane programs signed into law by Democrat President Lyndon Baines Johnson, designed to aid the elderly, the infirm and women, infants and children are about to come under the blade of the guillotine!
These programs benefit people most of whom have worked on minimum wage jobs all of their working years. Some of them are unmarried and/or divorced women, failed by the declining education system, find themselves unprepared to find work that will sustain themselves and their children.
Combined with racism is also classism; and, viewed and pursued by some, they are one and the same. Classism divides Americans by social strata with three defined levels: upper class (those with wealth accumulated either by top earning occupations or by inheritance), middle class (those who are either professional, have managerial positions or government workers with wages above the minimum income level, sometimes referred to as white collar workers), and lower class (those who work in production whose manufacturing jobs for the most part have been shipped overseas, often referred to as blue collar workers).
Then there’s the undefined and often ignored underbelly of society who are invisible because they make no demands on society. They are the ones who roam the streets at night or sleep over the grate or under bridges, in bus stations or wherever they can lay their heads as they use what little belongings they have as a pillow under their heads. They are the unemployed, the homeless and hopeless, many are former military personnel who served their country all the while being neglected by their country. Many Americans of African descent have managed to escape the net and the web woven that would keep them out of the middle class, have benefited from these social programs after retirement years which has sustained them, along with their pensions,and have managed to remain middle class.
As one legislator decried, “This is class war!” Yes, it is! Though some semi-literate, misinformed legislators called President Obama an elitist, it is they, many formerly poor boys, who through their positions living off the dole of the citizenry, now look down on the very people from whom they rose. There are some ill reared and ill bred who call the President of the United States , a liar! Because my mind is alert and fertile, I challenge any American to refute any of the facts that I am stating. Never in the history of this country has an American President been openly disrespected as has President Barack Obama. One “pretender to the throne,” Republican part-time governor, Sarah Palin, while in India spoke derisively about the President while on foreign shores, all the while saying that this is inappropriate. One thug of a legislator, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, of South Carolina , called out, to President Barack Obama, “You lie!” during the State of the Union Address. Just the other day in July, 2011, another barnyard pig of a legislator,
Republican Congressman Joe Lucas, of the 8th District of Illinois, called the President of the United States a liar.
Of course American ethics, morals and morality have gone to hell in a hand basket; but, when this same “pretender,” Sarah Palin, featured on the cover of a major magazine, Newsweek, dressed inappropriately in a tight sweater opened a bit too much, then the world can see for itself the depravity and degradation of American principles and the American people.
As Republican President Abraham Lincoln stated eloquently, “ A house divided against itself, cannot stand,” we have reached that fork in the road and America is on the path to destruction at the hands of a few, petty, pampered, pretty boys who in their efforts to appease their “masters” are driving this country off a cliff!
Until we get a Secretary of Psychiatry to free racists of the hatred they are harboring, America will not prosper. America is already close to being displaced by China as the world’s greatest power; and, this is only because of the pure unadultered racism pervasive throughout this land.
i’ve vented enough. Time to retire. Some things never change but i keep hoping.
Our4thEstate Bobfr
@TheObamaDiary An 81 y/o reflects on racism in America – bit.ly/ndyJ6B – Read it everyone; share it with everyone you know.
Yes.We.MUST. … DO.MORE.Together!
AMEN. About damn time someone said what the real fact of the matter is.
They reported tonight that the death certificate will list homicide as the cause of death. How very appropriate.
This really was a sad and shameful day for our country.
THE GOP’s BLOODLUST for Capitol Punishment strikes again. I’m sitting this one out. I just can’t stand all the accusations, bitching, finger pointing, pain, and agony this has caused everyone who is remotely concerned. 😦
May you rest in peace, Troy Davis. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends who have stood by and supported him and did all they could to fight this injustice.
I am very thankful I live in a free and democratic country that abolished the death penalty years ago. I will pray the USA will one day follow suit. What transpired tonight, especially seeing those who cheer the execution of a possibly innocent man, just broke my heart.
Believe me, it broke many of our hearts as well. As an American it’s really hard to express the feeling this creates. In so many ways I am so proud of this country but days like this bring such shame. Be assured that people will be working to try to abolish the death penalty in ALL of the United States to join the 16 that have done the right thing already.
Rest in peace Troy…When I got up this morning, I was hopeful of the supreme court passing a verdict to save this man’s life. Whatever happened to the saying “even a 100 criminals escape, not one innocent should be punished!”
May God have mercy on our hearts. Rest in peace Troy, and I pray the truth will come out for all to see. Rest in peace now.
People, This is what would Yhvh would say to America
In Proverbs Chapter 6 verse 16-19
16
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Our justice system is rigged toward unrighteousness and wickedness in high places in the states courts who THINK that they would get away with it but YHVH knows.
May Troy rest in peace and may YHVH correct this wicked situation and rebuke the wicked state and federal institutions.
For those who call themselves Christians, may they be ashamed for siding with the courts actions.
I haven’t followed this story at all, but Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project has earned my trust over the years, and here’s what he said today:
http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Troy_Davis_Executed_in_Georgia_Despite_Substantial_Evidence_Pointing_to_Innocence.php
Through my work, I’ve met a few people freed from Death Row by the Innocence Project, and it’s been an intense experience each time. To think these people were so close to actually being murdered with taxpayer dollars when they were innocent all along is mind-boggling. If anything constructive can come out of this tragedy, hopefully it’s that this barbaric practice will be banished from America once and for all.
And to think REPUBLICANS CHEERED at a recent debate at the mere mention of execution!!! Shocking that these people are treated as reasonable opinions on national TV and in the national print media. Truly sick people these modern day Repubs are.
The election of Barach Obama has brought out ALL THE HIDDEN UGLY in America out to exposed for all to see. What American’s thought was left behind in the 1960’s is still very prevelent.
AMEN! Keith, Amen!
Barry Scheck also indicated that records will show that Rick Perry knowingly allowed an innocent man to be put to death – while covering up the records. If he is the GOP nominee, this piece of information is likely to haunt him and destroy his chances.
I hope Troy Davis is at peace on the other side.
What kind of society do we live in, where these things happen? Georgia ended up executing the wrong man for a crime he didn’t commit.
We as a society will all pay for allowing this travesty to happen. I’ll continue to pray for his family, and also the family of Mark McPhail… pray that they find enough compassion and understanding because someone else’s loved one has also been murdered.
What has happened is that we have two victims, both killed for crimes they didn’t commit. This is truly sad and depressing.
I can almost gaurantee Clarence Thomas voted to foward the execution. This vile and corrupt man lost all since of reality and his place in history 30 years ago. 😡 This is a SAD day for America folks. I feel like I am living in 1955 and I wasn’t even born yet. 😦 Emmitt Till would have been around 70 years old about now. Troy Davis will be joining him in the heavens and all the other slane African American males thougout our nation’s checkered history.
I don’t know if this has been posted previously, but just in case it hasn’t, I hope it’s okay that I post it now.
“To All” – A message from Troy Anthony Davis
Posted on September 11, 2011 by BJ Murphy
September 10, 2011
Troy was found guilty of murdering a police officer 19 years ago, based upon the testimony of 9 witnesses. Today, 7 of those 9 have recanted their testimony entirely, and there are enormous problems with the testimony of the remaining 2 witness accounts. There is NO OTHER EVIDENCE. The murder weapon was never found. There is no DNA to test. Troy is scheduled to die by lethal injection on September 21, 2011.
To All:
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,
“I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
http://redantliberationarmy.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/to-all-a-message-from-troy-anthony-davis/
Sadly, it seems the only way to be truly free .
RIP my brother sleep and take your rest that wasn’t afforded to you in this world.
Rest In Peace to all the innocents who die at the hands of injustice.
May God grant them eternal rest.
RIP
Rest In Peace Troy. My prayers go out to your family.
I am past angry. I am so over America. This is a country that enslaved us, didn’t want to free us, and when they did, did and now do everything possible to keep us down, to keep us at a disadvantage, to kill us. This senseless execution sends a message to all black folk that “yes, we still want all of you dead ” and is similar to when the KKK burned crosses on black people’s front yard. This damages the souls of black folk. I try to keep the faith, I do, but this act shows that nothing has changed and nothing will change, and are, in fact, getting worse.
I got that message loud and clear at the GOP debates a few weeks ago, when Rick Perry’s “record” of executions drew huge applause – it was chilling and rather ironic that we are now dealing with the execution of Troy Davis. Notice how the MSM hardly mentions it? I hope those “progressives” who keep saying that there is no difference between President Obama and a GOP President think about what they are really endorsing.
If Davis believe in Jesus Christ, he is alot better off. To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. I hope they don’ give up on this because I would like to know if he was guilty or not. What would that say about us if proof is found to prove him innocent. If the Tea Republicans get in control we will go back to the days of hanging people, specially black people if they is said to have kill a white person. I can imagine them all standing around cheering, like they did at the GOP debate.
Anniebella I agree, They all are standing around cheering for Obama to fail Now!
Pledge to fight to abolish the death penalty boycott Georgia
Troy Davis is the lucky one. We are the ones that suffer. His suffering and pain are over. God bless him.
Chips, thank you so very much, for having a place for hurting people to dwell, and vent, and to voice our opinions, thoughts, and feelings. Thank you Chips, this blog Is comforting to me, just to read what others are saying, thinking, and feeling. I truly appreciate all that you do here 🙂
To the TODers, please know that we all In this together, feeling each other’s pain. Let’s continue to fight against Capital Punishmentment, for Troy Davis sake. Let’s continue to pray for his Family. I must say, I feel satisfied, that Troy Davis Is In Heaven. I just liked his departing words, he sounded like he knew where he was going, and that everything was well, between him and his God, I like that 🙂 🙂 Yes, I’ve wept, teared, prayed, and snot nose too, but because of the unjustice. Let’s remember to pray for the McPhail Family as well. May God bless you abundantly especially today, and may your Spirit may somehow be lifted, as the day progresses. Take care, and May God bless each and everyone of you here. May God Bless you Chips 🙂
May the spirit of Mr. Troy Davis rest eternally in blissful peace…and may America awake to the inequality that was perpetrated against him and his family – may the families of all victims find peace and forgiveness in their hearts – and may those who take lives in the name of the law, find some way to live with themselves… As a small child when I learned of the “death penalty” I couldn’t believe my youthful ears… You mean mere mortals are allowed to take the lives of others? Archaic and Barbaric practices need to conclude here in this awesome Nation – we shall fight on Mr. Davis, I shall fight on to perhaps end “death penalties” in my lifetime…RIP…
I am still numb from the execution of Troy Davis. Which prompted me to join Amnesty International. Georga what a great State you are. I love Ray Charles Georgia On My Mind, it still saddens me every time I hear it.
R.I.P. Troy Davis. We Are Troy Davis !