by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World
As I sit here in Atlanta waiting for the outcome of the Troy Davis execution debacle, a few thoughts race through my mind. I think about the family of Officer Mark MacPhail and how they were dealt the nightmare of hearing that this father and husband wouldn’t be coming home that night. My father was a police officer, so I can connect directly with their pain. As much as we are quick to believe that the family is crazy for demanding their own version of justice, it is only ethical that we at least try to understand what they’ve been feeling for the last 20 years. Neither Troy Davis nor his friend Sylvester Coles were law-abiding men, and I’d be lying if I didn’t recognize that truth.
With that said, there is something in this country called “justice.” Justice is supposed to be delivered through a system allegedly designed to breed truth, equity and the preservation of human rights. None of this has occurred in the case of Troy Davis, where a long list of attorneys, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers are more concerned with covering their own mistakes than they are about saving another human life. They will be expected to answer to a higher power for their actions, and I’d hate to be around when that happens.
Whether we believe Troy Davis to be guilty or not, the reality is that he is NOT guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. When seven out of nine witnesses change their story, you have more doubt than you need for an acquittal. You certainly shouldn’t be putting a man to death. T’he idea that police might have pressured a group of witnesses to implicate a black man accused of killing a cop is not only possible, it has happened in countless cases across the country.
Let’s be clear: If Troy Davis were white, he would likely not be on death row. If he were wealthy, the truth would have come out. But in a system that arrests single black mothers for sending their children to the wrong school (Kelley Williams-Bolar), being poor and black is a crime within itself. I’ve personally seen cases up close where my own relatives were railroaded into confessions for crimes they did not commit. I’ve also seen cases where police have allowed emotion to cause them to abuse their authority when dealing with those who are powerless. With Troy Davis being a young black man accused of killing a police officer, there was a bounty on his head from the moment police were notified.
So, tonight is not just about saving Troy Davis. It’s actually about saving the soul of our nation. In some ways, Davis is one of the lucky ones, because his case has received international attention. But anyone who doesn’t think that there are scores of other Americans (i.e. Rodney K. Stanberry in Alabama) who’ve been bullied into a prison cell by overzealous police officers needs to see our system for what it is. Jim Crow is alive and well in the south, and it shows itself clearly in the case of Troy Davis.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
