One for Troy Davis!
I was being somewhat on edge given that somewhere I read this week that Troy Davis' case was being reviewed by the US Supreme Court, and that were they not to 'see' the case ('hear' the case?)...then it was up to the DA at the County in Georgia that is prosecuting Mr. Davis. In other words, the last resort would be the individual that is , has been, going all out to get the death penalty in this case.
From a point of view, it is a special and interesting outcome: the person that started the whole thing, the office that went all the way out to condemn, after the case was deflected by multiple courts and agencies, authorities, government, elected officials, State Supreme Court members, etc., etc., is 'stuck' with the final say, the final word in a case that has come to be seen all over the world. The responsibility would not be 'rescued' from the originator: the 'responsible' party would have nowhere to go but to face the decision the system has chosen not to take away from him.
The world watches. Multiple significant world leaders have expressed their dissent. Citizens of Georgia have voiced their disagreement. A sister has moved heavens and earth...
In today's AJC one more voice comes out for Troy: the voice of Congressman John Lewis. Check http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/06/26/lewised_0626.html
The article is titled "Give Troy Anthony Davis a new trial". Not only is it straightforward, and thorough, complete, but it includes a phrase that is striking to me, especially in our culture of fear of the 'other', of the poor, of the immigrant, of those that are different. Congressman Lewis writes: "
I hope we will not allow ourselves to believe that adherence to the letter of the law is sufficient moral cover for the execution of a man who may be innocent."
What a phrase! How many times have we heard during the last 8 years as an excuse for all kinds of human rights violations, for the enactment of the most ridiculous laws, for veiled bigotry, for discrimination, jailings, social abuse, etc., etc., the phrase "the rule of law"...("makes us do it"). This phrase has couched the most disgusting approaches to problems not only in this State, but in the Nation, and by this Nation in the World, as the substrate of life in this rapidly changing universe no longer allows nor adapts for and to the rigid and ignorant precepts established for a tidy and compact society, which no longer is. A society most vividly depicted in the Disney's depiction of the 50's, as suburbs were being built, the car became a substitute for walking to work, the refrigerator subb'ed the ice box, etc. (Remember the movie in Disneworld?). That cookie-cutter approach to one measure for all, all the same, certainty above all to make us comfortable as we felt change all around us.
No! the rule of law can not be blinded by uncertainty and driven by politics of the "majority" to impose on the "people" (read, "the minority"). The rule of law as is is slow, not dynamic, not swift enough to be adaptable to critical changing circumstances, and can not trump life, nor human rights, nor the voice of reason as it originates - not in the head - but in the heart. Remember the phrase of that One kneeling, when He uttered...using a finger/hand to write on the sand/soil...: "He who is free from ...". How is that phrase reconciled on Sunday's two hours in churches across this Nation and in this State, and yet forgotten so quickly when life 'shows up'? The rule of law was clear 2000 years ago, then...why did those people walk away? What happened?
The point is not defending weaknesses, nor being flaky and not strict, no: the point is judgment, and its consequences on those who judge, and the uncertainties and ignorance in judging, and finally, the dire consequences on that judged. That is the point!
"I hope we will not allow ourselves to believe that adherence to the letter of the law is sufficient moral cover for the execution of a man who may be innocent."
"...the state of Georgia and we as a nation will be complicit in a violation of human rights we can never, ever repair. Without justice, there is no peace."
Thank you, Mr. Lewis. But I wish you would have used another word...
...is there one?
From a point of view, it is a special and interesting outcome: the person that started the whole thing, the office that went all the way out to condemn, after the case was deflected by multiple courts and agencies, authorities, government, elected officials, State Supreme Court members, etc., etc., is 'stuck' with the final say, the final word in a case that has come to be seen all over the world. The responsibility would not be 'rescued' from the originator: the 'responsible' party would have nowhere to go but to face the decision the system has chosen not to take away from him.
The world watches. Multiple significant world leaders have expressed their dissent. Citizens of Georgia have voiced their disagreement. A sister has moved heavens and earth...
In today's AJC one more voice comes out for Troy: the voice of Congressman John Lewis. Check http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/06/26/lewised_0626.html
The article is titled "Give Troy Anthony Davis a new trial". Not only is it straightforward, and thorough, complete, but it includes a phrase that is striking to me, especially in our culture of fear of the 'other', of the poor, of the immigrant, of those that are different. Congressman Lewis writes: "
I hope we will not allow ourselves to believe that adherence to the letter of the law is sufficient moral cover for the execution of a man who may be innocent."
What a phrase! How many times have we heard during the last 8 years as an excuse for all kinds of human rights violations, for the enactment of the most ridiculous laws, for veiled bigotry, for discrimination, jailings, social abuse, etc., etc., the phrase "the rule of law"...("makes us do it"). This phrase has couched the most disgusting approaches to problems not only in this State, but in the Nation, and by this Nation in the World, as the substrate of life in this rapidly changing universe no longer allows nor adapts for and to the rigid and ignorant precepts established for a tidy and compact society, which no longer is. A society most vividly depicted in the Disney's depiction of the 50's, as suburbs were being built, the car became a substitute for walking to work, the refrigerator subb'ed the ice box, etc. (Remember the movie in Disneworld?). That cookie-cutter approach to one measure for all, all the same, certainty above all to make us comfortable as we felt change all around us.
No! the rule of law can not be blinded by uncertainty and driven by politics of the "majority" to impose on the "people" (read, "the minority"). The rule of law as is is slow, not dynamic, not swift enough to be adaptable to critical changing circumstances, and can not trump life, nor human rights, nor the voice of reason as it originates - not in the head - but in the heart. Remember the phrase of that One kneeling, when He uttered...using a finger/hand to write on the sand/soil...: "He who is free from ...". How is that phrase reconciled on Sunday's two hours in churches across this Nation and in this State, and yet forgotten so quickly when life 'shows up'? The rule of law was clear 2000 years ago, then...why did those people walk away? What happened?
The point is not defending weaknesses, nor being flaky and not strict, no: the point is judgment, and its consequences on those who judge, and the uncertainties and ignorance in judging, and finally, the dire consequences on that judged. That is the point!
"I hope we will not allow ourselves to believe that adherence to the letter of the law is sufficient moral cover for the execution of a man who may be innocent."
"...the state of Georgia and we as a nation will be complicit in a violation of human rights we can never, ever repair. Without justice, there is no peace."
Thank you, Mr. Lewis. But I wish you would have used another word...
...is there one?
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