From last night, two very different perspectives on a singular issue.
I didn’t stay up long enough to see the news happen for one. Troy Davis, who had a massive amount of public supporters saying he was innocent, was executed in Georgia for the murder of a police officer in 1989. In terms of cases, this is one of those “rough ones.” There were a large number of witness recantations. The case has been made into a textbook study of how cops can go around - unwittingly or not - prejudicing witnesses and tainting eyewitness testimony in identification of suspects. There was a strong reason to believe that one of the witnesses who fingered Davis could have been the real killer. In short, a gigantic mess. The problem for Davis, however, was that most of these changes had come 17 years after his original conviction, and by the time most of this came out, the vast majority of his appeals were already over with. A US district reevaluation of his case, which resulted in a 150-page decision by Judge William Moore, applied an incredibly high standard requiring that Davis’s lawyers not simply prove a likelihood that he would not be convicted today, but “actual innocence.”
For Death Penalty opponents, the Troy Davis case, along with a few others, serve as the points where “the system probably got it wrong” to argue to abolish.
On the same night, the State of Texas executed Lawrence Russell Brewer. Brewer, by all accounts, was as close as we usually get to a human “animal.” Nasty racial supremacist, supremely arrogant about his crime, and never repentant. Going over the details of it aren’t really worthwhile, but it’s been called “the most brutal hate crime of the post-Civil Rights era.”
So… on the one hand, someone who almost nobody could deny is guilty and probably deserved it. On the other, someone about who there are - at least for a lot of people, myself included - some serious doubts.
Argument to abolish, or just an argument to reform the system somehow?
I thought I had an opinion, but after reading more about the subject and hate crimes, I don’t think I have a good answer. Life in prison seems like a more horrible thing that death.
Comment by Logtar — September 22, 2011 @ 12:30 pm
Logtar,
from where I stand, it’s a tough call.
On the one hand - Lawrence Brewer is one of those “poster boy for the death penalty” cases. He cheerfully admitted guilt. He cheerfully described doing it. He cheerfully said he did it merely because of who the victim was. He cheerfully bragged that he would still do it again no matter what. In other words, he was the sort of remorseless, soulless monster for whom rehabilitation in any sense was completely impossible. Nobody could argue that he was innocent in any sense, and the only remaining argument - that he shouldn’t be put to death merely because society shouldn’t put anyone to death - is the sort of thing that is hard to gain traction with when your subject is an unrepentant monster.
For Troy Davis, on the other hand, I have a hard time not seeing it as the system gone horribly wrong. Seven witnesses recanted their testimony under penalty of perjury. Of the other two who were not produced, one was the other suspect; numerous witnesses came forward indicating that Redd Coles had confessed to the murder, but Judge Moore refused to order a bench warrant to bring Redd Coles in to testify after the defense couldn’t locate him to serve him with a summons - further, Moore then dishonestly claimed the “refusal to call Coles” was reason to distrust the testimony regarding his confessions!
The evidence regarding police tainting of evidence, Moore didn’t even consider it seems. Likewise the sworn testimony that police were intimidating witnesses into fingering Davis.
In sum total… something went horribly horribly wrong. I can’t say with certainty that Davis didn’t do it, but I can say with certainty that a modern jury, if Davis had anything resembling competent representation, would never have been able to send him to the death penalty with the evidence known today.
Comment by web — September 22, 2011 @ 12:57 pm
An excerpt from Ann Coulter’s latest column:
First of all, the state presented 34 witnesses against Davis — not nine — which should give you some idea of how punctilious the media are about their facts in death penalty cases.
Among the witnesses who did not recant a word of their testimony against Davis were three members of the Air Force, who saw the shooting from their van in the Burger King drive-in lane. The airman who saw events clearly enough to positively identify Davis as the shooter explained on cross-examination, “You don’t forget someone that stands over and shoots someone.”
Recanted testimony is the least believable evidence since it proves only that defense lawyers managed to pressure some witnesses to alter their testimony, conveniently after the trial has ended. Even criminal lobbyist Justice William Brennan ridiculed post-trial recantations.
Three recantations were from friends of Davis, making minor or completely unbelievable modifications to their trial testimony. For example, one said he was no longer sure he saw Davis shoot the cop, even though he was five feet away at the time. His remaining testimony still implicated Davis.
One alleged recantation, from the vagrant’s girlfriend (since deceased), wasn’t a recantation at all, but rather reiterated all relevant parts of her trial testimony, which included a direct identification of Davis as the shooter.
Only two of the seven alleged “recantations” (out of 34 witnesses) actually recanted anything of value — and those two affidavits were discounted by the court because Davis refused to allow the affiants to testify at the post-trial evidentiary hearing, even though one was seated right outside the courtroom, waiting to appear.
The court specifically warned Davis that his refusal to call his only two genuinely recanting witnesses would make their affidavits worthless. But Davis still refused to call them — suggesting, as the court said, that their lawyer-drafted affidavits would not have held up under cross-examination.
Comment by Abel — September 22, 2011 @ 4:10 pm
One thing that has been established beyond any doubt is that Davis shot another man in the face (not fatally) shortly before the police officer’s shooting.
Comment by Peter — September 22, 2011 @ 8:49 pm
I actually clicked through to ask about that specifically, Peter. Is it in fact established beyond a reasonable doubt that he did shoot that other man?
If so, I have no problem with executing him. Sure, the other guy survived, but shooting someone in the head strongly implies an intent to kill. I don’t see that incompetence should be considered exculpatory.
Comment by Brandon Berg — September 23, 2011 @ 2:47 pm
If so, I have no problem with executing him. Sure, the other guy survived, but shooting someone in the head strongly implies an intent to kill. I don’t see that incompetence should be considered exculpatory.
The law has never viewed it that way.
Comment by trumwill — September 25, 2011 @ 1:26 pm
Death penalty opponents share one common trait with global-warming enthusiasts: they believe that it’s okay to lie in the service of a good cause.
Comment by Kirk — September 26, 2011 @ 10:15 am