Imagine death – not in fifty years, not in eighty, but tonight. What thoughts would cross the mind first – family, friends, unfulfilled wishes? For Troy Davis, September 21, 2011 marked the day that ended his life prematurely, reigniting a whirlwind of controversy towards America’s judicial system.
Troy Davis faced the death penalty.
Davis was convicted of the murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989 without concrete evidence showing he committed the crime. No murder weapon and no DNA evidence were found to prove Davis’s guilt. He was arrested on merely shaky witness accounts.
The doubt in Davis’ case sparked nationwide protests and petitions to lift Davis from “Death Row.” Prominent figureheads, including Former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI, had urged Georgia’s judicial system to spare Davis’ life. Civilians also raised awareness to this effort, sending the Georgia Board of Pardons a petition against Davis’ sentence with 663,000 names earlier in September.
At Miami Palmetto Senior High, many students agreed and participated in these efforts to save Davis.
“There’s not enough evidence to have sentenced him to death,” senior David Song said. “Many of the jurors recanted their accusations against Davis, maybe even influenced by prior racial discrimination [since Davis was African-American].”
During the 2010-2011 school year, Palmetto’s Amnesty International Club wrote letters to Troy Davis extending moral support and protesting his incarceration and death sentence. Davis tentatively responded to the letters in the spring of 2011, thanking protestors for their kind support and concern.
While many Panthers disagree with the death penalty entirely, others favor the punishment in certain circumstances of evil.
“Kill them. Why are we going to waste our taxpayer dollars on them?” senior Abraham Starosta said.
While taxpayer dollars do pay for judicial court fees and jail upkeep, some public support for the death penalty exists because of another incentive, revenge.
During the evenings of September 21 and 22, Palmetto’s drama department performed “The Laramie Project” about the brutal murder of 21 year-old Matthew Shepard. The performance included direct quotes from the civilians of Shepard’s hometown, Laramie, Wyoming, including the words Shepard’s father spoke to his son’s murderer, Aaron McKinney. As he turned to McKinney, Dennis Shepard revealed that, though sentencing McKinney to death would be justified revenge, he agreed to spare his life in the hope that McKinney reflect and live with the consequences of his actions, as he would spend the remainder of his life in a prison cell.
The coincidental schedule of “The Laramie Project” and the death of Troy Davis via lethal injection during the same week hit home with Palmetto students.
“What do I think about the judicial system?” junior Alex Gugliuzza said. “I can describe it in one word: disappointment.”
