I am just going to come out and say what many are afraid to: There are people in this world who deserve to die. Now, this is an extremely uncomfortable thought for the vast majority of people, and I hope it always remains that way. However, when a man kills for no reason other than to simply kill, when a man shoots a police officer who was rushing to protect the defenseless, that man deserves to die. The adamant outrage at the execution of Troy Davis is somewhat shocking to me. From what I have heard and read, those in opposition to the execution oppose it for two reasons. First, many are against the death penalty completely, and if they are not, then they do not believe there was enough evidence to sentence Davis to death. But as I review the known facts of this case, there can be no doubt in my mind that Davis is one of those men so evil that he deserves nothing less than death.
On Aug. 18, 1989, Police Officer Mark MacPhail was shot once in the face and once through the heart. His gun was not drawn although he had one on him. MacPhail never had a chance to confront his attacker. But why, we must ask, why was this man slaughtered? Witnesses at the scene established that a man in a white shirt pistol−whipped a homeless man and then shot MacPhail in the face... then once more after MacPhail hit the ground. MacPhail had rushed over to help the homeless man that was being attacked. Yes, the police officer was ruthlessly killed for trying to help a man who could not defend himself.
The police later arrested Davis, and he was tried by a jury of his peers, like any other American citizen accused of a crime. The prosecution called 34 witnesses: Nine of them identified Davis as the shooter. Now, I have heard many throw around the fact that seven of the nine witnesses recanted their statements. This is true. However, most of those who recanted only made minor changes, and those who made major changes had most of their testimony thrown out. In fact, Davis' lawyers did not call the witnesses who made major changes, specifically because the judge had thrown out their testimony. After hearing the evidence, including ballistics experts who matched the shells at the scene to Davis' gun, the jury convicted Davis and sentenced him to a punishment of death.
In this country, we don't leave justice up to a judge or a bureaucrat. Rather, an impartial jury is selected by both sides, and they decide the fate of the accused. But, we know people make mistakes, so we have an appeals process. Davis appealed for 22 years. Over that time, it is hard to imagine how many people in total have heard his case. Yet, each and every time they decided the verdict should be upheld. This is one of the primary reasons I support the death penalty. While the death penalty is severe, it is not treated lightly. In order to be executed, not only must 12 people unanimously agree that it is deserved, but the State Supreme Court must also sign off. In this case, not only did the State Supreme Court agree, but so did many other federal judges as well as the United States Supreme Court. To me there can be no fairer way to determine a punishment. That said, I am well aware that there are those who oppose the death penalty on moral grounds and believe that no one deserves death as a punishment. But when I hear cases like this, I know that there are men with nothing but evil in their hearts, and these men must die.
First Davis hit a homeless man, but this wasn't enough violence for him. No, after that he felt the need to shoot a police officer right in the face — a police officer that wanted to nothing but to stop this violence. But still, that wasn't enough for Davis. No, he had to make sure that this cop was dead, so he shot him straight through the heart. Point blank. A man like that does not deserve to live.
No matter what he could have done the rest of his life, it would have never atoned for this sin. Mark MacPhail was simply trying to help those who are defenseless, and Troy Davis mercilessly slaughtered him for it. Like I said before, the thought of execution makes me uncomfortable, but deep down I know it was exactly what he deserved, and I applaud the justice system for doing the right thing.
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David Eder is a junior who is majoring in computer science and quantitative economics.
