Justice: American Style

Troy Davis Story

This is a story that jumped out at me as I was listening to NPR on the way home from school. Troy Davis is a black man accused of murdering a white police officer in 1989 - and tonight he is scheduled to be executed despite the recantation of several key witnesses and some evidence that the witnesses were pressured to testify against him in the original trial. The story points out some weaknesses of our justice system as well as being a powerful demonstration of how LITTLE power African American men have in our society.

On one hand, I am outraged that this kind of injustice happens in our society - "the land of the free." Yeah, if you're white, maybe. This story demonstrates more than any other I have encountered in recent memory exactly who holds the power (the white policemen) and who doesn't (the African American male). It doesn't seem to matter to the parole board (I wonder if they are white or people of color?) that 7 of the 9 witnesses have recanted their account of the crime, or that a few have pointed their fingers at another suspect. To me, this story seems like a modern-day lynching at the hands of our justice system. I want to hope that there is a better story, something the parole board knows that we don't, but I doubt it - this seems like a case of black and white injustice.

On the other hand, I am inspired by the actions that numerous people have taken to try to change the situation. Not only Davis' family - who you would expect to be rallying for his life - but also international groups and many leaders such as Pope Benedict XVI, former President Jimmy Carter, and former FBI Director William Sessions to name a few. I am inspired by these positive role models who are able to stand up and take action to say, "This should not be happening!" I'm also inspired to see whites and people of colored working together to try to prevent this injustice. And yet...it still seems to be happening.

Finally - to reflect on the media's role in this system, I want to examine how readily available this story is to the public. I heard it on NPR's morning edition, and was blown away by the story. I thought, "Wow, this story must be all over the news!" (By now you may have guessed that I'm not that up on the news) So I went to CNN online to see if I could find the story. I typed in "Troy Davis" and what did I find? Nothing. Or a least nothing that related to this story - a lot of other Davises seem to be more important in the news. Apparently a lot of things are more important than a black man being executed - such as the presidential election, the economy, and lest we forget the plight of polar bears starving.

But wait! I just did a new search on CNN and what did I see? A story about Troy Davis (put up 58 minutes ago).

Read CNN's Version of the Story

As you can see, this story - titled the very UNbiased, "High court to rule if convicted cop killer Troy Davis dies" - takes quite a different slant than the NPR story. It focuses on the victim's family and the loss they feel - and how they are certain they are executing the right man. Just HOW they are so certain is not exactly clear. I am against the death penalty to begin with, so I have my own biases in this case, but I still don't see how anyone - even the victim's family - could be convinced that this is a case of justice being served.