I posted on the plight of Troy Davis once in the past (in response to a Bob Herbert NYT editorial).
Bob Herbert has been one of the champion’s of Mr. Davis’ case, providing the attention such a case requires to gain political traction, and showcasing the apparently bureaucratic abuses and rigidity that keep the spirit of the law from being enacted even in the face of the potential execution of an innocent man. Or at the very least, a man of very uncertain guilt.
(Bob Herbert has an updated editorial from a bit over a week ago that can be found here)
On the same pages that Herbert brought the case to my attention, former two-term Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA) has penned his own editorial making the case for Mr. Davis with fewer evidentiary specifics as Mr. Herbert, making the uncertainty and the need for a hearing with new evidence the crux of his argument.
The murder took place 20 years ago and yet it seems the State of Georgia is unwilling to wait another few months to find out whether the man they intend to kill has done any wrong.
I am ignorant of the varying pressures involved in a legal case such as this. Is this the manifestation of a fear of administrative abuse by death row inmates intent on stalling their ultimate demise by introducing endless appeals with circumstantial and not-so-circumspect evidence?
Can we not trust the Supreme Court (or other high courts in the land) to be able to promptly discern between what appears to be legitimate investigative and judicial shortfalls versus stalling tactics? I ask that in all seriousness.
Troy Davis is where the rubber meets the road in the balancing act between judicial and bureaucratic expediency and the diligent pursuit of justice. If only but for a few dollars (and a few potential abusers), innocent (as they are until they are proven guilty) men and women might not die for the lack of time and money.
… and the cow goes moo
