Free Rein

Since my previous entry was deleted, I will attempt to paraphrase my original posting.  I have no clear intention for this posting other than to clearly express the mind gibberish that interrupts my thoughts and projects outwardly.

The first thing I would like to mention is the Troy Davis execution which some are referring to as a "legalized lynching," that took place this week on September 21, 2011 at 11:08 PM.  (For those who are unfamiliar with the case go to http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20956-troy-davis-execution-highlights-witness-unreliability.html) The execution of Troy Davis created world wide shock and disappointment in the United States justice system or lack thereof.  This case brought forth old wounds of racism and the controversy of capital punishment to the forefront of our consciousness as we watched the death of not only a life, but the hope of change.  We would all like to live in a world (well, most of us) where evil doers are isolated from society and punished for their evil deeds; however, the definition of who is considered "evil" is a matter of opinion.   If the definition of "evil" is dictated by those who have committed some of the greatest atrocities on earth, then that opinion might be questionable to say the least. In a country where the determining factor of who is sentenced to death is often skewed by race and socio-economic status, capital punishment has become a subject of contention.  This weeks' execution of a man whose guilt was riddled with doubt caused the world to question how far the United States has actually come to resolving its issues of discrimination and inequality.  Whether or not we will ever know the true guilt or innocence of Troy Davis is unclear but what is clear is that the amount of doubt far out weighed the amount of evidence against him.  In a world with such uncertainty let us attempt to  desire to exibhit more compassion than judgement and more forgiveness than condemnation.

In Loving Memory of Mark MacPhail and Troy Davis