"If I had known what I know now, then Troy Davis would not have been convicted."

I could not think of anything else for the rest of that Wednesday evening except for Troy Davis. The fact that there was doubt, and alot of it, was constantly resonating with me. What IF in fact he was truly innocent? I sat at home that evening and was waiting for 7PM to come. I don't know why, I just was. I was hoping CNN would have some breaking news or something. But alas, it was all over the news that no decisions were overturned. Over and over again, all I could think was "he was powerless, absolutely powerless" and nothing could have changed his fate. I was pretty shocked that the supreme court's involvement changed nothing. I can say that there was one good thing that came out of this; the support of the public. I think the most touching thing about this case are the supporters who came together for Troy Davis. If I had to go the way Troy Davis did, then I would have been happy that there were people who believed I was innocent. I don't know what happened that night, no one does, but there is something terribly wrong with the picture before us.

Here's a video with more background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DGqRFM443Y&feature=player_embedded#!

Most of the jurors stated they were pressured to make false confessions. Some were forced to sign statements they didn't agree with, one could not even read. Martina Davis-Correia, Davis's sister, takes us through what one of the witnesses "saw". If you watch the camera zooms, then you will see that it was impossible how she saw Davis "standing over the body, grinning". This is what I think. You might have your opinions, but I was pretty convinced that it wasn't possible.

I feel like because an officer was dead, people who looking for answers. For someone to blame. They needed some kind of explanation, anything it sounds like. I refuse to believe that something like this actually happened in our country, in this age. Its absolutely absurd and appalling. It makes me feel like it could happen to me, my family, my friends, my classmates, my professors, anybody.

Do I support the death penalty? Yes. Most of my family and friends do not believe me when I say "yes" to this question. It's very complicated for me to explain why, but I will say that there has to be absolutely no doubt what so ever. I have thought about the pros and cons of this "death penalty" idea many times, and I realize that cases similar to Troy Davis's are inevitable, which is unfortunate. But take this case for example:

Lawrence Russell Brewer from Jasper, Texas was a white supremacist. He and a few others were convicted and sentenced the death penalty after dragging James Byrd on the back of his car by the his ankles, shredding and dismembering his body. He did it because Byrd was black. All the evidence was there and there was no questions about who had committed this hateful crime. He said he had "no regrets" about what happened, meaning "Yeah, so?" in my book. He was sentence to death by lethal injection the day after Troy Davis was.

Here's the article if you want to read more:
http://www.chron.com/news/article/The-city-of-Jasper-still-copes-with-racial-2181357.php

I'm not trying to convince anyone anything, but its cases like THESE that make me really believe in the system for this so-called "justice" thing. I will however admit that after the Troy Davis case, I don't know. I would rather people like Lawrence Brewer be locked up for the rest of their life without parole than to risk the possibility of killing innocent people.

What do you guys think? Death penalty or no? Why?