When Troy Davis died at 11:08 p.m. on Wednesday night, he became the 34th American executed this year in the United States.
Before the 15-minute process of his death by lethal injection began, Davis declared his innocence a final time.
“I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight,” he said. “For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls.”
An eleventh-hour petition for clemency was denied by the Supreme Court – despite the pleas of anti-death penalty activists, Davis’ family and the international community. Davis’ guilt has been disputed. Key witnesses have come forward to recant their testimony and there was no DNA evidence to incriminate him.
Yet despite that, Davis was killed Wednesday night.
It is, of course, impossible for us to know whether Davis was actually guilty or innocent.
But even if he was guilty of killing Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989, the Davis execution is still a disgrace. Because capital punishment is a disgrace.
For a second, think about this: what if he were innocent?
In 99 percent of cases, the American justice system works the way it should. The other one percent of the time, it fails. It has failed execution victims before, and it likely will again. Someday, we may find that the justice system has failed Troy Davis. And it would be a remarkable failure – taking the life of an innocent man.
The United States is very nearly the last Western country that permits capital punishment in any form. None of the European Union members or candidate nations – some of our closest allies – permit execution.
In fact, any country that permits capital punishment is prohibited from joining the EU.
Neither our neighbors to the north (Canada) nor to the south (Mexico) still use capital punishment. Some countries – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Haiti – have a standard of living that is only slightly different than it was a century ago.
Yet even these nations have recognized the barbarism and the judicial imperfection of the death penalty.
And if those are the countries that have abolished executions, then who are our bedfellows? Pakistan, Syria, Sudan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, among others.
Each time the U.S. executes a prisoner, it violates the International Declaration of Human Rights and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with some of our most bitter enemies.
Capital punishment is an atrocious blot on our reputation as the standard-bearer of the free world. How are we supposed to be leaders while being guided by such savage laws?
The eyes of the world were on Troy Davis Wednesday night. Unfortunately, they were also on us – for all the wrong reasons.