Friday, September 23, 2011

Shame

It's a tough time to be part of the legal profession.  The killing of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia shames us all, and shames a system that could allow the state to kill him.  

The idea that a man could be denied a re-trial or at least a reprieve after seven (of nine) witnesses recant their testimony, and in the absence of physical evidence tying him to the crime, shows a system that exalts the wrong values.  

Yes, I know, the legal system needs finality--that's why we have statutes of limitations.  And the system is just that--a means of making decisions.  Perfection in the results is not guaranteed.  But a mechanism that does not permit credible claims of actual innocence in a murder case to be litigated before a man is killed cannot be called a justice system.  Indeed, it is an injustice system.

We should be better than that.

2 comments:

Leanderthal, Lighthouse Keeper said...

Amen and amen. I used to live and work in Georgia,for 26 years, and I never found respect for the society or culture.

Lester Maddox used an axe handle for his logo. When he became governor you couldn't find anyone who admitted to voting for him. Yet he won handily.

Hypocrisy is alive and well in the state of Georgia. Those of the meanest of spirit far exceed those of decency and mercy.

Atlanta is an oasis in an arid land.

The Old New Englander said...

There's plenty of shame and hypocrisy to go around. Remember that the US Supreme Court denied Davis' petition and then refused to review his case on Wednesday.