Last night the State of Georgia executed Troy Davis, despite lacking any physical evidence linking him to the crime for which he was convicted, and despite the fact that 7 of the 9 witnesses recanted their testimony against him, and despite the fact that they claimed that their original testimony was a result of police coercion.
Davis maintained his innocence until the very end, and among his last words were these directed at the family of the off-duty police officer killed in 1989:
I’d like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I’m not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother, I am innocent.
Here, btw, is a list of exonerated death row inmates in the United States since 1970. (h/t a35mmlife)
Obama did nothing to stop the state lynching, claiming through his spokesliar that it wouldn’t be “appropriate” to weigh in on the situation since it is a state prosecution — even though earlier this year he had done precisely that in the Texas case of Humberto Leal Garcia Jr. (h/t scahill)
A last minute emergency appeal was presented to Supreme Court Justice Uncle Clarence Thomas, but the Court rejected the appeal with no explanation in a one line decision, aptly described by Jeremy Scahill as exemplary of the “banality of evil”:
To the right is an image of the slain cop’s mother thanking Merciful White Jesus for making the State of Georgia kill some random black guy as revenge for the death of her son.
Other notes:
Micheal Moore is asking his publisher to “remove all copies” of his new book “from every bookstore in Georgia”, and calling for a general boycott of the state of Georgia.
DN has an hour long special of the aftermath of Davis’ execution.
Here is the ACLU’s statement.
Here is a message from Troy Davis himself to his supporters:
The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me.
Get involved in the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, and/or sign this Amnesty Petition.
And here is Billie Holiday on the Situation:
After following this series of appalling events in Georgia and the evil conclusion, I appreciate your composition and relevant content here. It is vital that we have contemporary writers unafraid to call attention to our “Injustice System” with intelligence and emotional creativity…”here is a strange and bitter cry.”