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Execution fuels death penalty debate
by Matt Campbell
Staff Writer
The state of Georgia may have just execut
ed an innocent man. Amid chants of “I am
Troy Davis,” mourners laid to rest Saturday a
man executed last week for the 1989 murder
of an off-duty police" officer.
The recent eventful execution of Troy Da
vis has drawn much attention to the death
penalty debate, and the constitutionality of
capital punishment. Former President Jimmy
Carter is calling for a repeal of the death pen
alty, blasting it as “unjust and outdated.” In a
statement to the Associated Press he said he
hopes “this tragedy will spur us as a nation
toward the total rejection of capital punish
ment.” Amnesty International, an NGO, is
encouraging people to sign an online petition
to abolish the death penalty, and activist film
maker Michael Moore is calling for an eco
nomic boycott of Georgia.
On the other hand. Dr. John McAdams
from the Department of Political Science at
Marquette University views the death penalty
not as a constitutional hurdle, but as a matter
af deterrence. “If we execute murderers and
there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have
killed a bunch of murderers,” Dr. McAdams
is quoted as saying on the website, ProDeath-
Penalty.tom. “If we fail to execute murder
ers, and doing so would in fact have deterred
other murders, we have allowed the killing of
a bunch of innocent victims. I would much
rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a
tough call.”
Proponents of the death penalty point out
that many innocent people have been on death
row and there; is the likelihood that innocent
people have been executed. Since 1973, 130
people have been released from death row
with evidence of their innocence. Mean
while, 1,271 executions have gone through
since 1976 according to the Death Penalty
Information Center (www.deathpenaltyinfo.
org) Davis’s case has drawn criticism and
international attention from politicians and
leaders because there was doubt that Davis
Many years later, seven
of the nine eyewitnesses
who testified against Davis
recanted their testimonies, and
questions concerning baiiistic
■evidence have been raised,
was the man who pulled the trigger. At trial,
guilt must be proven “beyond a reasonable
doubt.” In 1991, when Davis was convicted,
the jury was convinced of his guilt. Though
many years later, seven of the nine eyewit
nesses who testified against Davis recanted
their testimonies, and questions concerning
ballistic evidence have been raised.
This recent evidence caused many to won
der why Mr. Davis was even on death row at
all. Supporters of Mr. Davis spent the weeks
before his execution trying every avenue to
force another stay.
Dr. Cary Adkinson, assistant professor in
the Department of Criminal Justice, thinks
Georgia went ahead with the execution be
cause the powers-that-be didn’t want to admit
error.
“I think it has a lot tp do with the fallout
that can happen when you admit you make
mistakes as an authority,” Dr. Adkinson said.
“Especially when you’re the criminal justice
system that’s supposed to be the main way
people get fairness and justice when things
go wrong in our society.”
“There is the legal case, the case in court,
and the public relations case,” said Spencer
Lawton, the former Chatham County pros
ecutor in an interview with CNN. “We have
consistently won the case as it has been pre
sented in court. We have consistently lost the
case as it has been presented in the public
realm, on TV and elsewhere.”
However, defense attorneys argue they had
presented enough evidence to show reason
able doubt.
“We believe that we’ve established sub
stantial doubt in this case,” Stephen Marsh,
Troy Davis
photo courtesy of http://troyanthonydavis.org/
Davis’s attorney, said at the time, according
to an interview with CNN. “And given the
level of doubt that exists in this case, we be
lieve that an execution is simply not appro
priate.”
Despite efforts, the execution did go
through September 21. Troy Davis, who was
convicted of killing off-duty police officer,
Mark MacPhail, was put to death by lethal in
jection at a Jackson, Georgia prison after the
U.S. Supreme Court denied a final request
for a stay. At 10:53 p.m. the lethal cocktail
was administered, and at 11:08 p.m. he was
pronounced dead. He did not eat his last
meal, or take the anti-anxiety medication he
was offered. Maintaing his innocence to the
very end, his last words were “may God bless
your souls.” The scene outside of the Jackson
prison was tense. Riot police vvere ready for
action as a crowd of more than 500 demon
strators, wearing blue-shirts plastered with “I
Death Penalty by the Num
bers
■ 56 percent of executed criminals
were white, 35 percent were black, and
7 percent were Hispanic.
■ 76 percent of victims in death pen
alty cases were white, 15 percent were
black, and 6 percent were Hispanic.
■ Texas leads all states with 475 ex
ecutions since 1976. North Carolina
by comparison has had 43. Six states,
including South Dakota and Colorado
have only had one execution in that time
span.
■ 88 percent of criminologists think
that the death penalty as a deterrent
doesn’t lower homicide rates.
■ The most common method of ex
ecution is lethal injection, which was
used in 86 percent of executions.
Source: Death Penalty Information
Center, ;v.% ;,.deaU^^3eiialtv^fo.« la
am Troy Davis,” provided support for Davis.
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Con
stitution protects citizens fi'om “cruel and un
usual punishment.”
The execution of Troy Davis has many
questioning the constitutionality of capital
punishment. North Carolina, along with 33
other states, allow the death penalty. There
are 165 offenders on North Carolina’s death
row, and since 1976, the state has executed
43 offenders. Seemingly the debate will con
tinue.
GRADUATION from page 2
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courses, as well as how many hours one must
take, in order to graduate in four years.
“The order is advisor/chair, than the ca
shier to pay the fee, the department to do the
audit, and then the graduation application,”
said Mrs. Coleman.
Students need to talk to their department
chairs and their advisors. Information that is
needed from them are what classes should
they take, and for transfer students for them
to find out what classes are transferable to
wards getting their degrees. Substitutes are
sometimes allowed in which students are giv
en credit for one class that is similar or equal
to another class.
One of the major problems for students is
that they do not know who to go to.
“I don’t know my department chair, but
I know my advisor,” said Latisha Edwards,
junior biotech major. However, Ms. Edwards
feels her advisor helps her with everything
she needs.
This is one of the reasons why it is vital
that students find out who their advisor is and
make contact with them as soon as possible.
It is advised for students to meet their advi
sors as early as freshmen year, because they
can offer the most assistance.
“They kind of sit you down and say, ‘Why
are you taking that for?’ and to make sure
you are taking the right classes,” said Felicia
White, junior forensics science major.
Some students feel that meeting with
your advisor and other informational events,
should be made a mandatory event, such as
Vanessa Bleviens, a junior biology major.
No matter which direction you go first, stu
dents should remember that everything goes
right back to the undergraduate catalogue.
“Essentially the catalogue is your bible,”
said Mrs. Coleman. “Our job is to verify the
records.”
Students should check their emails regu
larly and make sure that they pay attention to
deadlines for the application process.