Wisdom, Justice, Moderation
The Christian state of Georgia is gearing up to keep its place in that exalted league of judicial paragons which includes the likes of China, Iran, North Korea and Texas. Troy Davis, who possesses the racial handicap normal in these cases, was convicted of the murder of a police officer and placed on Death Row twenty years ago. Since then, seven out of the nine key witnesses against him have recanted their testimony; ten more witnesses have come forward to implicate somebody else; one of the jurors who recommended the death penalty has changed her mind; and nobody has discovered the murder weapon or any forensic or genetic evidence linking Davis to the crime. On the other hand, there have been several court hearings which have dismissed the evidence against Davis' conviction as "inconclusive", apparently without pausing to consider whether the evidence in favour of Davis' conviction is conclusive; and the victim's family are in favour of executing him, which clearly counts for a good deal more in the Christian state of Georgia than the legal technicality of whether or not Davis is guilty as charged.
3 Comments:
At 6:54 pm ,
Madame X said...
Alas, the appeals court decided that it was insufficient that he undermined the case against him; he had to prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that he was innocent, thereby overturning the centuries-old standard burden of proof. Though I think recantation by all but the "witness" currently suspected of the killing should constitute clear and convincing.
And since Rick Perry was cheered for having executed an innocent man, our claim to Christian nationhood has been cemented.
At 7:12 pm ,
Philip said...
To be fair, I imagine a legal lynching would cost rather less than arresting and trying someone else, especially if they can't find the murder weapon. It's like Obama says - not class warfare, just math.
At 11:29 pm ,
Madame X said...
Well put.
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