The Legal Lynching of Troy Davis
In the narrowest scope, the execution of Troy Davis demonstrates the paradox of the death penalty appeals protocol where, often, defendants wait years – or even decades – for sluggish movement until the courts suddenly act with striking speed and response as the death mechanisms are readied and prepared. Indeed, Davis’ execution made its way before the Supreme Court twice just minutes before execution. Each time they flirted with review, indicating perhaps something was askew, before handing it back to the state.
Similarly, the life of Troy Davis – nearly half of it spent behind bars – reminds onlookers of the legal system that once this (quite slow) train has left the station few moral or political forces possess the power to derail the state’s initial ruling. Believably, though perhaps to the disappointment of Twitter users, not even trending #IAMTROYDAVIS can override the power of the clemency board. Certainly, there are a handful of cases where – if deemed admissible – exculpatory evidence saves the day. For blacks, this is almost exclusively DNA, with whites and then minorities benefiting at lower but still mentionable rates. In comparison, other forms of reprieve – of less empirical justification like clemency – will presumably display results inversely for blacks and whites. While race is to remain for the indefinite future as the perpetual what-if, we must suppose there are many in the court system that enjoy this ambiguity, whether consciously or otherwise.