Could Troy Davis upcoming execution be the reason Duane Buck recently was spared his life right before being scheduled for execution?
Update: Troy Davis was executed on Wednesday September 21, 2011 at 11PM. In light of this unfortunate news, I have changed the title of this article to reflect past tense. Black people are no longer affecting Troy Davis, but have affected him. Despite my not being sure if he was innocent or not I hope that Troy Davis rest's in peace and his family finds solace in the thinking of him in a joyful light.
I will not address the fact that Clarence Thomas voted to proceed with the execution of Troy Davis, instead I want to address the ENERGY of the case.
Emotion, emotion, emotion, it's the definition of this race. While there's no problem with emotion, emotion, and pure emotion at that, does not help a case.
Let me just come right out and explain what I mean. I will explain it by playing "Devil's advocate' and becoming the DA or the court system in Georgia that handled Troy Davis's case.
If Black people dared to come to me with a tone or ENERGY indicating that I am a racist because I prosecuted and helped sentenced an Innocent man to jail then eventual death, I would immediately go into the mode of defending myself. Not only would I go into the mode of defending my position and the decision I've made, I would be irritated, aggravated and annoyed that though I might have made a mistake, the fact is another Black man did it.
That's right folks, if Troy Davis did not kill this police officer another Black man did.
So for this race to attack the Justice System and the individuals involved with this case, in a way that potentially tarnishes their character and credibility is wrong. It instantly makes someone consciously or subconsciously go into battle mode to DEFEND THEMSELVES.
Troy Davis
For years Black people have attacked the Justice System in this case as if the it had a conspiracy to kill a Black man We took that route instead of being critical thinkers and simply presenting evidence that would have freed Troy Davis. Again we did this not admitting to the fact that if Troy Davis didn't do it another Black man did, meaning it would be a case of mistaken identity. Particularly when that potential other man Sylvestor "Redd" Coles was right under our noses. Sylvestor Coles represents the real reason Troy Davis was arrested and convicted.
Duane Buck
In the caption at the beginning of this article I mentioned Duane Buck; Duane Buck is another Black man who was scheduled to be executed and there was a "Stay" placed on his execution last week, right before it was scheduled to happen. In fact it's a very bizarre situation. Here we have a man who admitted to murdering two people, his girlfriend and her lover and he was spared his life. He was spared because a psychologist at his trial said that according to his research and statistics Black men are more likely to be repeat criminal offenders.
Not only is that true, but...........................
Duane Buck did not stand to get out of jail regardless of the psychologist's testimony. So it's hard to imagine how that could have effected a jurors decision to put Buck to death opposed to choosing to give him life in prison. After-all he was faced with one of the two, there was no way he was getting out of prison or anything less than first-degree murder.
See how slow we can be at times? I'm Black and I would not tolerate someone having the ENERGY of attacking my character before the world, my jurisdiction, colleagues and family.
Ironically I still have hope that they will not execute Troy Davis. Even so, I believe they purposely put Troy Davis through hell over the years due to the ENERGY I described. I do not think the Parole Board will pass the decision to execute him. There's been a great deal of media coverage and support towards Troy Davis in this case. He received more support than the Duane Buck case and as I pointed out his execution was "stayed" at the last minute. Also we are coming close to many elections and they would not want this fresh in the minds of voters when they're deciding the candidate they stand for.
See I speak about ENERGY, most people can't and don't understand that level of thinking. It's the core and essence of humans and motivates our way of thinking, our way of acting and our way of reacting to things.
For example, imagine having a hard job as a police officer or detective and you come across a criminal, who is clearly a criminal. He knows he's a criminal, you know he's a criminal and he knows you are right in thinking he's a criminal, but he claims he's not and attacks your character for thinking he is. How would you feel? Let's say he had a foul mouth and used it against you even though he's a criminal. Let's say he calls you names and says you are targeting him though he's a criminal.
Would you not have the urge to make his life miserable with the sense of "how dare you"? It's the same ENERGY when it comes to Troy Davis, a man who we would like to claim is being targeted because he's Black.
At the end of the day we have no critical thinking skills. We don't know how to subside emotion in order to fight a purpose and get the results that we want. If I was involved in the Troy Davis case, even if I thought the court system and DA was being racist, I would not have attacked with the sense of claiming racism. Especially knowing another Black man did it.
I would have held that in and kept clear towards my purpose and goal and that is presenting new evidence to clear Troy Davis. Unfortunately Black people sent the ENERGY of "I'm presenting new evidence because I think you're being racist towards Troy Davis"
In turn through the years they have fought him, ignored him and refused to let him off. Troy Davis is not exactly someone without fault in life so it becomes even more annoying to those involved.
I still have hope that Troy Davis gets off. However unlike most Black people I'm not sure if he did it or not. I simply don't believe in the death penalty unless ironically it's a case like Duane Buck, who admitted his heinous crimes and there was no doubt to his guilt.
Through the years supporters of Troy Davis refused to focus on Sylvester "Redd" Coles. The Black man who was with Troy Davis that night and responsible for turning him in. A man who claimed that not only did Troy Davis assault "Young" the homeless man involved in the case, but he also had a .38 caliber gun in his possession.
There are also some inconsistencies; For example Troy Davis also allegedly shot Michael Cooper in the face earlier that night with a .38 caliber gun.
However the most compelling evidence for me is the fact that Troy Davis claims he fled before the police shooting after Coles hit the homeless man "Young". Based on the events of the night and Troy Davis's temperament at the time, why did he flee? Flee from what? He claims that Cole threatened him and asked him to leave so he did. Was Troy Davis prone to running away from a situation?
To be honest, this seems like a case where two Black men, Coles and Davis are trying to deflect the incident from themselves. It's not however a Civil Rights issue. Troy Davis is not a Civil Rights hero or reflection of innocence. Again as I've stated, this makes the ENERGY and approach of many Black people have taken towards the state and others appalling, ridiculous and annoying.
All of those facts or pending evidence should have stopped Black people from having the ENERGY that this is a Civil Rights leader being persecuted by White people. More attention should have been paid to Sylvestor "Coles" Redd who turned Davis's name in to the police as a potential suspect immediately after the shooting.
In any case, I wish Troy Davis the best and I hope that because his guilt is not conclusive they "stay" his execution.
Links
Unbiased account of Troy Davis life, trial, events
Sisters Recount
Texas"Stays" Duane Buck's Execution
The ENERGY of Duane Bucks's Execution "Stay"
