I Am Troy Davis

I'm very disturbed and disappointed at the outcome of Troy Davis' case. It was all I could think about yesterday. I don't think it would have been so significant to me had I not TA'ed for a law in film class last semester. Yes, of all places, a law in film course was where I first learned the details of the US's innocent-until-proven guilty criminal justice model. If I hadn't been in that class, I would have read the Troy Davis case and probably even felt that he ought to die, so justice could be served for the victim and his family. But in that class, I heard a defense lawyer speak and one point he made really stuck with me. It was in response to a student asking him whether he felt guilty for defending people that he knew deep inside were probably guilty as hell. He reacted by saying that when it came to his job, the first thing he thought about were his twin sons. What if one day, sitting in that defendant's seat, was one of his sons? He would want his son to be tried in a justice system that sought to unconditionally protect the innocent, even if it meant letting a few guilty ones go. I had never thought about that before. What if someone was in the wrong place, at the wrong time and all the facts of the case were stacked against them? Maybe he's guilty? Maybe not? If I were that person and knew that I was truly innocent, I would find some comfort in knowing that proving my innocence was not an insurmountable task. I would have hope that even though the circumstances pointed toward guilt, there would be an opportunity within the system to clear my name.

Which is why I am so sorry that the justice system has failed Troy Davis. Because if it can fail him, it can fail anyone. Unless you have money, then you can reverse the situation and make guilt look like innocence. But many of us don't have that type of resource. If our justice system can let someone like Casey Anthony go due to lack of evidence to convict her, why weren't all these factors debunking Troy Davis' "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" enough to save him?