We Are Troy Davis: What Gives Me Hope in the Battle against the Death Penalty

Note: I originally posted this as comment here: Daily Kos: We Are Troy Davis

I gained hope from seeing and hearing of the tremendous outpouring of support and growing awareness of America's shame in allowing the death penalty to stay on the books.

As I was visiting and posting on several different forums last night, I encountered at least half a dozen comments from people who said they had been supportive or at least ambivalent about the death penalty, and were now reconsidering their stance on it. That is how minds change and how a movement gets going - one person at time being faced with an insupportable situation and rethinking their position because of it.

In most cases I was able to reply to these posts with some factual information, such as that the states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates. This surprised even me, but I live in one of those states (NM) and I have to say it doesn't seem like crime in NM has gone off the rails in the two years since it was abolished here. I did a quick Google search to see if my conclusions were correct, and it brought up a wealth of information. I'm posting the link here if any of you want to use it future discussions:

Google: states without the death penalty


Also, I would like to extend my enormous gratitude to Amy Goodman and the staff & producers of DemocracyNow, and the guests that were interviewed, for the superlative work they did last night in covering this. (As well as their impressive work in following the case over time.) Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP, along with the man from Amnesty International, did an excellent job of explaining the legal issues and ramifications of this entire case. Those who saw even part of this broadcast last night have received an education that will not soon be forgotten.

Finally, my condolences to the family, friends, and supporters of Troy Davis as well to the family of Officer MacPhail (whom I fear will not find the peace and closure they've been seeking - but that is their sad lesson to learn). It was said during the broadcast last night that Troy Davis felt God was using him as a beacon to bring this issue before the American public - and the world. This thought is certainly being fulfilled, imo, even as we speak.