Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed in Texas Wednesday evening for his involvement in the infamous dragging death of James Byrd 13 years ago. He was executed by lethal injection at 7:21 p.m. est., according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Brewer and two other white men kidnapped Byrd on the night of June 7, 1998. They chained him by the ankles to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him for 3 ½ miles down a country road near Jasper, Texas . Byrd died when he was decapitated after he hit a culvert. Brewer was a former "Exalted Cyclops" whatever the hell that means, of a racist prison gang affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. He spent most of his adult life in prison for various reasons. During the trial, Brewer took the witness stand and stated he was a bystander, not a killer. He tearfully admitted being present when Byrd was dragged to his death but, he said, "I didn't mean to cause his death. I had no intentions of killing anybody.” He only intended to drag him until the chain broke or Byrd's head became detached from his body, you know whichever came first. Brewer admitted kicking Byrd and spraying his face with black paint. Brewer said it was a reflex action taken to try to break up the fight between Byrd and John William King another accomplice in the murder. King also was sentenced to death and is awaiting the outcome of an appeal. The third man, Shawn Berry, was sentenced to life in prison. Texas does not play around when it comes to the Death Penalty!!
Also on Wednesday night at 11:08 pm est. Troy Davis, whose case drew international attention, was put to death by lethal injection. Davis was convicted of the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah , Georgia . According to prosecutors, Davis was at a pool party in Savannah when he shot a man, Michael Cooper, wounding him in the face. He then allegedly went to a nearby convenience store, where he pistol-whipped a homeless man, Larry Young, who'd just bought a beer, according to witnesses at the time. The Prosecution said officer MacPhail rushed to the scene to help, but was shot him three times by Davis . A jury convicted Davis on two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of possessing a firearm during a crime, obstructing a law enforcement officer and murder. The murder charge is what led to the death penalty. Supporters argued that the original witnesses who testified against Davis were fearful of police and spoke under duress.7 of the 9 witnesses had recanted their testimony. Davis case was taken up by celebrities and dignitaries from all over the world. From Big boi of Outkast to the Pope, to former Former President Jimmy Carter who said Troy Davis should not be executed. “Incarcerate him for life, if necessary,” Carter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last Friday. “There’s real doubt in my mind and the minds of many in the judiciary ... that’s he’s guilty. He was even a trending topic on Twitter. You have to love social media, people will sign an online petition, started by Diddy...you know "Vote or Die", "no more b*tchassness" Diddy, but won't get up off their behind and go vote or March.
This Blog is about the Death Penalty itself, more than the guilt or innocence of Troy Davis. I do believe there was sufficient evidence presented to grant a stay of execution for the murder of the police officer. What people are still glossing over is the fact that he did shoot someone in the face. The information gets fuzzy on the officers murder. If you are an advocate of the death penalty or an opponent, you know justice is not infallible. We know mistakes can and will be made. My question to you is, do we scrap the death penalty altogether? What I find interesting, is people I talk to who are against the death penalty are usually for abortion. The people, who are for the death penalty, are usually against it. I find that ironic. I do think the death penalty can be considered cruel and inhumane by some. I myself am for it; I bet I lost some readers with that one. Death penalty opponents say that using it is not a deterrent, well it certainly deterred the person put to death, because they won't do it anymore. I don't mean to sound cruel, like I said I believe Troy Davis may have been innocent of the murder he was convicted of, and put to death erroneously. Putting a moratorium on Capital punishment will not stop wrongful convictions. I also don't agree with the issue of Clemency in certain situations. In 2008 the Georgia the Board of Pardons and Paroles granted clemency to Samuel David Crowe, 3 hours before his scheduled execution, because he showed remorse and took responsibility for the robbery murder of a store manager. That is ridiculous to me on so many levels. I understand taking responsibility for your crime but saying sorry after the fact does not negate the crime itself. I will give you an example, Stanley Tookie Williams was a co founder of the Crips street gang, one of the single most destructive forces in the Black community. Tookie was convicted of 4 murders and sentenced to death. While on Death Row, Tookie after a few years began to renounce his gang lifestyle, even authoring children's books about avoiding gangs. He was even nominated for a Nobel Prize. Now does his conversion absolve him of responsibility in the crimes he committed or the lives he took? No it doesn't, and not getting Clemency was the right choice in that situation. Do I think there are disproportionate numbers of "Us" on Death Row? Yes. Do I think there are sentencing disparities between Whites and Blacks ...Yes I do. I am still for Capital Punishment. The two death sentences that were carried out on Wednesday were two sides of the same coin. One man was put to death for the heinous murder of a Black man, he also single handedly put an end to a centuries old tradition of providing a special last meal to a condemned prisoner in the state of Texas. The other was put to death in my opinion, because nobody wanted to admit mistakes were made in the investigation and prosecution of a murdered police officer.
