Rizana Nafeek was a 17-year-old from Sri Lanka who took a job as a nanny in Saudi Arabia back in 2005. Shortly after she took the job, the four-month-old child she was in charge of watching was found dead. Ms. Nafeek was accused of killing the baby.
While in custody she confessed to the crime. After she was convicted, Ms. Nafeek claimed that she was coerced into confessing and that she was denied the assistance of counsel. As a result of the conviction, Ms. Nafeek was sentenced to death.
Despite protestations from Ms. Nafeek's parents and from the Sri Lankan government, the Saudis carried out the beheading of Ms. Nafeek earlier this month. Her hands were tied behind her back. She was forced to kneel over a block. Her head was cut off with a sword.
The death of Ms. Nafeek didn't bring back the dead child. The hole in the parents' lives didn't just disappear. Now another family has lost their child. And they lost her to a system with no accountability.
Another family is also set to lose a loved one. This time it's not a daughter, it's a grandmother. Lindsay Sandiford, a 56-year-old grandmother from Great Britain, has been sentenced to death by firing squad for trying to smuggle over 10 pounds of cocaine into Indonesia.
Ms. Sandiford was allegedly part of a smuggling ring. Two other members of the alleged ring have been sentenced to short prison sentences and a third is currently on trial.
Now whatever your position is on the death penalty, I would hope we could at least agree that there is no crime short of murder for which death should even be an option. Imposing a death sentence for bringing a large quantity of dope into the country is more than a bit excessive.
But then Indonesia is a Muslim nation with a history of brutally putting down rebellions over the years - most notably in East Timor. Not that that has ever stopped our government from writing checks like mad to Indonesian dictators.
When Ms. Sandiford is led out to the wall she will have a hood placed over her head. She will be strapped down to a chair. She will have a target placed over her heart. She will die but the drugs will keep flowing.
In Saudi Arabia they executed a woman who was a minor when she allegedly murdered a baby. In Indonesia they will execute a woman for an offense in which no one was injured.
Sure, we can sit around and criticize those nations as being less than civilized. We can point to them and question whether the defendants ever stood a chance in their criminal (in)justice systems. We can then puff our chests out and claim that we're civilized over here. We give a defendant a chance. Our justice system has enough checks and balances to make certain that a condemned prisoner is guilty before strapping him down and killing him.
But then there's Cameron Willingham who was killed by the State of Texas for a crime he didn't commit. Where was the justice?
There's Troy Davis who was killed by the State of Georgia for a murder he most likely didn't commit. Where was the justice?
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia may very well be outliers. But they are outliers on a continuum that includes us. At our core we are no more civilized than those other nations who choose to murder prisoners. Death is death - whether it takes place in an Arabian desert or on a South Pacific island or in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
We're all the lowest common denominator.
Showing posts with label Troy Anthony Davis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Troy Anthony Davis. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Thursday, September 22, 2011
A tale of two executions
Two men were murdered last night.
One was killed under the watchful eye of people around the country and around the world. The other was killed with nary a soul watching.
The State of Georgia murdered an innocent man. The State of Texas killed a guilty man.
By now we all know the tragic story of Troy Davis. Last night we watched as the killing hour drew near and gasped when the execution was put on hold. We were hopeful that justice would prevail and that new questions would be raised about who killed Mark MacPhail in Savannah back in 1989. We sat in stunned silence as word came down that the U.S. Supreme Court denied Mr. Davis' request for a stay of execution and we watched in horror as Mr. Davis was murdered.
But in the Piney Woods of Texas, Lawrence Brewer was also a victim of the death machine. Mr. Brewer wasn't a nice person. He was a convicted felon. He was a member of a KKK-like group. He participated in the beating and murder of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas - a crime that sickened the public. He had exhausted his appeals and went to his death with a tear in his eye.
It's easy to be sympathetic to the cause of Troy Davis. There is nothing that betrays our sense of justice more than the state-sponsored murder of an innocent man. But let's face it, the vast majority of inmates on death row across this country are guilty. It's harder t mobilize the masses to fight to save the life of a murderer.
The State of Georgia wasn't justified in killing Troy Davis. Yes, a jury convicted him of Mr. MacPhail's murder. But there was no physical evidence linking Mr. Davis to the murder. The murder weapon was never recovered. Seven of the nine non-law enforcement witnesses recanted their trial testimony. Yet neither the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole nor the Georgia Supreme Court nor the U.S. Supreme Court thought that was enough to raise enough doubt to halt the execution.
We accept a legal system in which the Nine Wearing Robes can change the established law of the land with just five votes, precedence and stare decisis be damned. But we can't accept that juries might get it wrong or that witnesses might reconsider their testimony.
Those of us who stand beside criminal defendants also know that few of our clients are innocent. For most of our clients, it's more a question of whether the prosecutor can prove the allegations. We fight just as hard for the person who admits guilt as we do for the person who proclaims his innocence. That's what the Constitution requires. It's through fighting for the most unworthy and unloved clients that we fortify the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
It's in fighting to save the life of Lawrence Russell that our fight to abolish the death penalty will succeed. It's when we convince the public that state-sponsored murder is the most tyrannical act a government can carry out.
I'm saddened by the deaths of Mr. Davis and Mr. Russell. I'm angry about it. I will take that anger and channel it. I will channel it the next time I stand in front of a jury asking them to find my client not guilty. I will channel it the next time I reject a plea offer from the state. I will channel it the next time I go before a judge and demand that a case be dismissed.
It's time to get back to work.
One was killed under the watchful eye of people around the country and around the world. The other was killed with nary a soul watching.
The State of Georgia murdered an innocent man. The State of Texas killed a guilty man.
By now we all know the tragic story of Troy Davis. Last night we watched as the killing hour drew near and gasped when the execution was put on hold. We were hopeful that justice would prevail and that new questions would be raised about who killed Mark MacPhail in Savannah back in 1989. We sat in stunned silence as word came down that the U.S. Supreme Court denied Mr. Davis' request for a stay of execution and we watched in horror as Mr. Davis was murdered.
But in the Piney Woods of Texas, Lawrence Brewer was also a victim of the death machine. Mr. Brewer wasn't a nice person. He was a convicted felon. He was a member of a KKK-like group. He participated in the beating and murder of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas - a crime that sickened the public. He had exhausted his appeals and went to his death with a tear in his eye.
It's easy to be sympathetic to the cause of Troy Davis. There is nothing that betrays our sense of justice more than the state-sponsored murder of an innocent man. But let's face it, the vast majority of inmates on death row across this country are guilty. It's harder t mobilize the masses to fight to save the life of a murderer.
The State of Georgia wasn't justified in killing Troy Davis. Yes, a jury convicted him of Mr. MacPhail's murder. But there was no physical evidence linking Mr. Davis to the murder. The murder weapon was never recovered. Seven of the nine non-law enforcement witnesses recanted their trial testimony. Yet neither the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole nor the Georgia Supreme Court nor the U.S. Supreme Court thought that was enough to raise enough doubt to halt the execution.
We accept a legal system in which the Nine Wearing Robes can change the established law of the land with just five votes, precedence and stare decisis be damned. But we can't accept that juries might get it wrong or that witnesses might reconsider their testimony.
Those of us who stand beside criminal defendants also know that few of our clients are innocent. For most of our clients, it's more a question of whether the prosecutor can prove the allegations. We fight just as hard for the person who admits guilt as we do for the person who proclaims his innocence. That's what the Constitution requires. It's through fighting for the most unworthy and unloved clients that we fortify the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
It's in fighting to save the life of Lawrence Russell that our fight to abolish the death penalty will succeed. It's when we convince the public that state-sponsored murder is the most tyrannical act a government can carry out.
I'm saddened by the deaths of Mr. Davis and Mr. Russell. I'm angry about it. I will take that anger and channel it. I will channel it the next time I stand in front of a jury asking them to find my client not guilty. I will channel it the next time I reject a plea offer from the state. I will channel it the next time I go before a judge and demand that a case be dismissed.
It's time to get back to work.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Democracy Now! live coverage of the murder of Troy Davis
Davis was convicted in 1989 of killing of off-duty white police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine non-police witnesses who fingered Davis have recanted their testimony, and there is no physical evidence that ties Davis to the crime scene.
Video of the special broadcast will be live-streamed from 6pm to 8pmEDT at http://www.democracynow.org.
The special can also be watched on Free Speech TV (Channel 9415, onDISH Network and Channel 348 on DirectTV), and on Link TV (Ch. 375 on DirecTV).
Audio of the special broadcast will be carried by Pacifica radio. Check your local sister station or affiliate to see if they plan to carry it.
Please encourage your local radio and TV station to air the program. It is free for any radio or TV station to air. (Email Denis@democracynow.org for more information.)
If you would like to embed the Democracy Now! Livestream player to post on your website, please visit http://www.livestream.com/democracynow/share
Visit the Democracy Now! archive for all of these video reports, which include the complete transcripts:http://www.democracynow.org/tags/troy_davis
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Update: Will Georgia murder Troy Davis?
Yes.
The State of Georgia has no problem murdering an innocent man.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole gave a thumbs down to Troy Davis' request for clemency today - despite overwhelming evidence that the wrong man is on death row.
How, might you ask, is this possible? How could five men and women be blind to seven of the nine witnesses recanting their trial testimony? How could five men and women be so certain when the murder weapon was never recovered? When there was no forensic evidence?
Radley Balko has an idea. Here is the makeup of the board who decided Mr. Davis' fate:
So we have former prosecutors and ex-cops on the panel that decides whether or not to grant clemency. As Mr. Gamso pointed out so eloquently - what other answer did you expect? The deck is stacked, man. Mr. Davis never stood a prayer.
The hatted one offers a modest proposal - let's have someone from the defense on the panel. How about someone from the outside of the criminal (in)justice system? I don't know if it would make a difference, but as it stands, the panel is nothing more than a rubber stamp for law enforcement. And, since the victim was a police officer, someone has to pay the price.
Maybe this is what the mantra of limited government is all about - limiting the rights of the accused and limiting their access to justice.
The State of Georgia has no problem murdering an innocent man.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole gave a thumbs down to Troy Davis' request for clemency today - despite overwhelming evidence that the wrong man is on death row.
How, might you ask, is this possible? How could five men and women be blind to seven of the nine witnesses recanting their trial testimony? How could five men and women be so certain when the murder weapon was never recovered? When there was no forensic evidence?
Radley Balko has an idea. Here is the makeup of the board who decided Mr. Davis' fate:
Gale Buckner, a former Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent . . . . Robert Keller, the ex-chair of a Georgia prosecutors group . . . James Donald, the former head of the Georgia Department of Corrections, Albert Murray, who led the state’s juvenile justice program, and Terry Barnard, a former Republican state lawmaker.Jeff Gamso has a problem with it. So does Mr. Popehat himself.
So we have former prosecutors and ex-cops on the panel that decides whether or not to grant clemency. As Mr. Gamso pointed out so eloquently - what other answer did you expect? The deck is stacked, man. Mr. Davis never stood a prayer.
The hatted one offers a modest proposal - let's have someone from the defense on the panel. How about someone from the outside of the criminal (in)justice system? I don't know if it would make a difference, but as it stands, the panel is nothing more than a rubber stamp for law enforcement. And, since the victim was a police officer, someone has to pay the price.
Maybe this is what the mantra of limited government is all about - limiting the rights of the accused and limiting their access to justice.
Will Georgia murder an innocent man?
Troy Davis' life rests in the hands of the four men and one woman who make up Georgia's Board of Pardons and Parole. They will make a decision today that will either result in life or death. A thumbs up and the life of an innocent man is spared. A thumbs down and the State of Georgia will be guilty of murder.
It has been pointed out endlessly that all but two witnesses from Mr. Davis' trial have recanted their testimony that Mr. Davis was the man who shot Savannah (GA) police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. One of the two clinging to their story is the man whom Mr. Davis has steadfastly claimed pulled the trigger.
The gun was never recovered.
There were no forensics.
Just the eyewitness testimony of nine people.
Nine people asked to remember what happened in the blink of an eye. Nine people asked to testify, in detail, about the chaos unfolding around them. Nine people who were "reminded" by the prosecutors and police many times over that Mr. Davis was the bad guy.
The taking of a life by the state is the single most intrusive act the government can perform. It is the ultimate punishment. You can take away a man's money. You can take away his time. But when you take his life - he ceases to exist.
If there is ever a time to err on the side of caution, it is when we're talking about the murder of a person by the state. What could be more cruel that taking the life of an innocent man in the name of "finality?"
As I have stated many times here (and will state many more times to come), killing Troy Davis will not bring Mark MacPhail back to life. Killing Troy Davis won't fill the void in the MacPhail family. Killing Troy Davis will only mean that Mr. MacPhail's killer will never be brought to justice.
It's time to do the right thing. The only question is whether or not four men and one woman in Georgia have the strength to do it.
See also:
"Troy Davis to learn execution fate as protests continue in Georgia," The Guardian (Sept. 19, 2011)
"Thumbs up/thumbs down," Gamso for the Defense (Sept. 18, 2011)
"It's not cruel or unusual to execute an innocent man," The Defense Rests (Oct. 15, 2008)
It has been pointed out endlessly that all but two witnesses from Mr. Davis' trial have recanted their testimony that Mr. Davis was the man who shot Savannah (GA) police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. One of the two clinging to their story is the man whom Mr. Davis has steadfastly claimed pulled the trigger.
The gun was never recovered.
There were no forensics.
Just the eyewitness testimony of nine people.
Nine people asked to remember what happened in the blink of an eye. Nine people asked to testify, in detail, about the chaos unfolding around them. Nine people who were "reminded" by the prosecutors and police many times over that Mr. Davis was the bad guy.
The taking of a life by the state is the single most intrusive act the government can perform. It is the ultimate punishment. You can take away a man's money. You can take away his time. But when you take his life - he ceases to exist.
If there is ever a time to err on the side of caution, it is when we're talking about the murder of a person by the state. What could be more cruel that taking the life of an innocent man in the name of "finality?"
As I have stated many times here (and will state many more times to come), killing Troy Davis will not bring Mark MacPhail back to life. Killing Troy Davis won't fill the void in the MacPhail family. Killing Troy Davis will only mean that Mr. MacPhail's killer will never be brought to justice.
It's time to do the right thing. The only question is whether or not four men and one woman in Georgia have the strength to do it.
See also:
"Troy Davis to learn execution fate as protests continue in Georgia," The Guardian (Sept. 19, 2011)
"Thumbs up/thumbs down," Gamso for the Defense (Sept. 18, 2011)
"It's not cruel or unusual to execute an innocent man," The Defense Rests (Oct. 15, 2008)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Court grants stay of execution in Davis case
On Friday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Troy Anthony Davis a stay of execution and set the stage for another appeal to be filed in a lower federal court. Interestingly enough, former FBI Director, William Sessions blogged that Mr. Davis should receive a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel. In his piece, Mr. Sessions lays out a very clear argument that Mr. Davis may not have been the gunman.
Mark Bennett, a criminal defense lawyer in Houston, and author of the blog Defending People issued this challenge to the government:
I look forward to the government’s explanation of why it should be allowed to execute someone who is clearly innocent because his lawyers should have found the evidence of his innocence in the first place.
Mark, I, too, await that answer.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Feedback on the Troy Anthony Davis case
Since I wrote on the US Supreme Court's decision not to hear Mr. Davis' appeal in his murder case I have read some very interesting posts regarding the case. The first comes from Atlanta, GA attorney Jonathan Ginsberg. The second comes from Deirdre O'Conner of Innocence Matters, who maintains a website about the Davis case.
Both postings are well-reasoned and bring into sharp contrast the forces that converge when debating the death penalty.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's not cruel or unusual to execute an innocent man
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court decided that it is okay for a state to execute a citizen who has a strong claim of innocence. Troy Anthony Davis of Georgia was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of a Savannah, GA police officer. In the meantime, all but two of the prosecution's witnesses who linked Mr. Davis to the murder have recanted their testimony claiming that they were coerced by the police. Five newly discovered witnesses have identified an individual other than Mr. Davis as the murderer.
Mr. Davis' attorneys sought a ruling that, under the Eighth Amendment, it is cruel and unusual to execute a man who has a strong claim of innocence.
The Court denied review without comment. The Court's denial lifts the stay of execution and frees Georgia to murder Mr. Davis.
Once again the Court has sacrificed substance for form. Must I point out again that just because a citizen was given a fair trial doesn't mean that the verdict is correct? When it comes to deciding whether or not a fellow citizen's life is to be taken away by the state, the very least we can do is make certain that the state is killing the right person.
See also:
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