Posted on 10/02/2011 7:08:57 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Troy Davis’ funeral in Savannah, Ga., yesterday attracted more than 1,000 mourners, according to the Associated Press and The Washington Times.
Sent to death row 20 years ago as a convicted cop killer, Troy Davis was celebrated as “martyr and foot soldier” Saturday by more than 1,000 people who packed the pews at his funeral and pledged to keep fighting the death penalty.
Family, activists and supporters who spent years trying to persuade judges and Georgia prison officials that Davis was innocent were unable to prevent his execution Sept. 21. But the crowd that filled Savannah’s Jonesville Baptist Church on Saturday seemed less interested in pausing in remorse than showing a resolve to capitalize on the worldwide attention Davis‘ case brought to capital punishment in the U.S.
Benjamin Todd Jealous, national president of the NAACP, brought the crowd to its feet in a chant of “I am Troy Davis” — the slogan supporters used to paint Davis as an everyman forced to face the executioner by a faulty justice system. Jealous noted that Davis professed his innocence even in his final words.
In the midst of the controversy surrounding Davis’ recent execution, conservatives frequently reminded observers to mourn for murdered cop Mark MacPhail and his family — and, on this day, that reminder again seems salient and appropriate. Beyond that, commentary is difficult to offer: Capital punishment is anything but a comfy issue. My touchstone on the topic comes from the father of a victim of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, who once said he thought Timothy McVeigh’s execution would bring him peace and a sense of justice. Unexpectedly, it left him feeling only more hollow at the loss of his daughter. That’s always served as a poignant admonition to me to never support capital punishment out of a spirit of revenge or without regard to the value of human life.
Capital punishment in the service of justice — for the sake of exhibiting the serious consequences of serious crimes and for the sake of deterring such crime in both the executed and others — is appropriate and effective under certain circumstances (i.e. when no real question of guilt exists), but capital punishment employed without regard for the value of human life or the permanence of the punishment (i.e. when doubts as to guilt do exist) should be reconsidered. I’m not familiar enough with the specifics of Troy Davis’ case to know which category his execution really falls under — but I’m inclined to agree with Allah that lethal injection ought to be saved for the guys who are definitely guilty.
Nevertheless, it’s a little indecorous to me that Davis’ mourners are (a) using his funeral as an opportunity for activism and (b) calling for the abolition of capital punishment entirely. It’s a complex issue that deserves to be contemplated outside the realm of difficult-to-process emotions — outside the realm, in other words, of a highly charged funeral.
Let’s just bring back the electric chair and fry the bad guys.
A funeral for a thug and cop killer? Sick and outrageous.
“Let’s just bring back the electric chair and fry the bad guys.”
Public hanging outside the court house, or on the court house steps, would be a deterent for many would be criminals. And in those days that punishment was also for horse theives.
The Catholic Church believes in life from conception to natural death.
Tell that to murderers ... we have ways to prove conclusively that a person is guilty.
Without that ... put the person in PRISON [not in a Country Club masquerading as a prison] for life without the possibility of parole ... and do as they do in some South American [and Catholic] Countries ... have their families pay for their food and clothing while in prison ... no family? Bread and water.
And no free medical care ... minimal basic care only.
If you don’t want to be punished for a crime ... don’t do the crime in the first place.
PREACH THAT FROM THE PULPITS!
And don’t tell me I’m not being Christ-like ... even He who could have called 10-thousand angels, submitted to capital punishment. And there was no conclusive DNA evidence.
With Troy Davis ... without DNA proof, he should have been incarcerated for life not killed. Once DNA evidence proved his guilt he could have been executed without another trial or if DNA evidence absolved him, he would be let free and NOT have any legal recourse against anyone except those who testified against him.
Bring back the Guillotine.
Make that CENTRAL American and Catholic Countries. I’m unfamiliar with South American prisons. From hearsay, not from actual experience.
lol
In Georgia, crowd of more than 1,000 morons at Troy Davis’ funeral (Eulogized as a martyr)
Hmmm... come to think of it, that would be an even more appropriate title :)
Wow.. freaked me out. I used to work with a detective named Troy Davis in Texas...
Thank God, it wasn’t him!
I completely agree with your post and with the article.
I like it and would like to expand on it a bit.
I suggest we have prisoner appreciation day at the local ball stadiums.
“Please SIT while during the playing of the National Anthem.”
The performance would be “electrifying.”
it’s not revenge- it’s retribution.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.