Injustice executes the death penalty

Shane Wade
Opinion Editor

It may surprise some, but despite my liberal tendencies, I do hold a few conservative positions on some issues. My faith in the stability of one was stirred last week with the execution of Troy Davis.

Capital punishment isn’t an issue I’m likely to sway on. While I agree on a philosophical level that two wrongs don’t make a right and that revenge is an ugly trait of humans, I have few qualms with murderers and hardened criminals being executed for their crimes. It disturbs my conscious, but not as much as their crimes against individuals and society.

Execution is not the best policy, but I find it more humane than allowing criminals to languish in a 4 by 4 cell for the rest of their miserable lives. Life isn’t sacred and, in this world, there are things worse than death.

But Troy Davis was unjustly executed. The doubt in his case was not beyond reason, which makes the execution unjust by the very definition of our own laws. The proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt if the penalty is so absolute and irreversible. There was no need to expedite this execution; additional holding time for an individual already imprisoned is a trivial matter. The fact that it went through despite massive protest, however, suggests some malevolence on the part of the state.

The supporters that followed the Davis case weren’t just anti-capital-punishment liberals looking for a cause and jumping on a bandwagon; supporters included former President Jimmy Carter, the Pope, a former FBI director, well-known conservatives and celebrities. While the judicial system shouldn’t just listen to the cries of the populist, they should listen to reason.

The problem is not in the death penalty, but rather in the court and appeals system. Remarkable scientific advances have shined a new light on criminal cases and helped innocent people walk free again. Better implementation of DNA analysis will allow courts to execute the proper parties and cut down on the litigation and appeals process that often only serves to unnecessarily stall cases.

If conservatives want to keep capital punishment alive in America, they must work harder to ensure the judicial system stops wrongly executing people. Making the judicial system more unpopular will be the undoing of the death penalty. People won’t stand for the execution of men like Troy Davis when they see people like Casey Anthony walking scot-free. It may sound like mob rule, but actions in response to this travesty that improve the efficiency of the court system would restore Americans’ faith in the judicial system.

I’m not an expert on capital punishment or law, but I do know that our current judicial system is lacking something critically necessary to avoid the unnecessary execution of the innocent. Even if we disagree about whether it is needed, the want for the death penalty is there, and state courts should be able to decide to use it or not. I know and believe that authorities can wield capital punishment responsibly, but it will take a concentrated effort by all three branches of government to get there.

The execution of Davis was unjust for one reason and not because the capital punishment is barbaric or unjust as softer liberals may attempt to convince you. His execution was unjust because there existed a credible amount of doubt of his guilt. Only when the evidence is insurmountable and without reasonable doubt should capital punishment be issued – if not for the sake of the victim, then for the sake of the death penalty.