Troy Davis' case epitomizes the arrogance of uncontrolled power

Troy Davis' case epitomizes the arrogance of uncontrolled power. If we, as a society claim that we value ALL life, we cannot cavalierly put people -- in this case a Black man-- to death when there is more than doubt of his guilt.

Davis will be executed because he is a "nigger at the wrong place at the wrong time" like so many others that blot Georgia's history. Justice will not prevail if Davis is executed. I cannot understand why the High Court, steeped in the tradition of John Marshal, Bill Douglas, Hugo Black, and Thurgood Marshall, cheerfully looks the other way and refuses to even entertain a well supported claim of actual innocence. My letter to the Georgia Board of Parole and Pardons, like so many, will fill up many dust bins unread, because of a "procedural bar", a procedure destined to prevent an appeal from being heard in the interest of "closure". There ain't no closure, and never will be until the actual facts are learned.

Davis will be executed as long as a Mr Semmes distorts history, and believes, without knowledge of the fact, that Davis is guilty, and if he ain't, he is "jest another nigger guilty of something else". Yes Ol' Jim Crow still casts his ugly shadow over Georgia where there were two penal codes-- one for Blacks, and one for whites-- well into last century, and a gaggle of Blacks executed yearly, and still a few lynched-- no doubt for crimes they did not commit. .

The klukker's white sheet has been replaced by a white button down shirt, but the Klan still rides to "to potect our women's purity". Killing one now and then helps help intimidates "them", and it does not matter if s/he is guilty or not. A law can posthumously pardon a Black Female after over 60 years (Stinnette) , or a Jew (Leo Franks) but the old prejudices still linger in the souls of "good Christian men".

Procedural bars gotta go; they are the government's way to distort the legal process, and tip it away from Justice in the true sense. There is no justice, and we as a nation cannot pretend that there is, so long as wining trumps a legitimate quest for truth. There are no rational reasons --repeat no rational reasons-- for procedural bars, and time limits on claims of de facto innocence. All it does is preserve the death penalty, and keep us folks -- Black and white-- in our place.

Lastly, we are not the ones to teach the world what "Justice" is. Of course, we do have the best Justice money can buy, and a Supreme Court going back to a more fascist state of jurisprudence. Remember that one of the first acts Hitler did, was to gain control of the judges and lawyers....

Davis will be executed because of indifference on our part. Indifference is a most dangerous sin.

G M Larkin
Charlotte NCUSA