The execution of a Georgia man who was convicted in the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer has provoked international dispute over the legitimacy of the sentence and the morality of the death penalty. Across campus and the online world and in a protest on campus yesterday afternoon, Tufts had a lot to say about the decision.
"I think there's a good chance that the case presented in court differed greatly from what we heard from the media, but any hint of doubt should rule out executions at least."
—ShawyounShaidani, junior
"I study the impact of race on legal judgments and the fallibility of eyewitness testimony; I've testified as an expert witness in death penalty cases in several different states. And yet still, even with that personal experience and knowledge, it was no less distressing to watch this real-life case of a man put to death on the basis of little more than a series of questionable eyewitness identifications. Like many, I had a hard time getting to sleep last night."
—Sam Sommers, associate professor of psychology
"I was just really disappointed. It's one of those things that you don't have any control over. They had worked so hard and had so much support. An ex-president was against it and they still didn't do anything."
—Sophia Wright, junior
"I'm really angry about it and I'm confused how it could have happened. It just doesn't make any sense. This shouldn't be a country in which someone would be — executed in general, I don't know — but executed, especially if your guilt hasn't been proven. I don't know what it means for the future, but it scares me."
—Miles Grover, freshman
"I'm a non-believer in the death penalty in general. I also think that race really played into this decision. It makes me really disappointed in the American justice system. I feel that not all sides were listened to and heard out. I think that the people involved should have … seen that a lot of the evidence was falling by the wayside. It seems so rushed into."
—Joe Thibodeau, sophomore
"I just recently watched ‘12 Angry Men' [1957] and I was struck by the relationship between the two. This is something that just is not going away … especially because there was doubt in the case and many of the higher courts said he hadn't been able to prove his innocence. When you say that, it sort of turns ‘innocent until proven guilty' on its head." —Austin Bening, junior
"I think it's a shame, I really do, and I don't understand how you can convict a man of a crime that he seems so innocent of. It doesn't add up in my mind, and I don't understand how the justice system could have worked so unjustly."
"I have always been firmly against capital punishment for any reason. This case is a travesty that goes beyond the general ethical issue. I feel sorry for the family of the victim and sorry for Troy Davis, his family, and for our country where this passes for justice."
—Mindy Nierenberg, Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service senior student programs manager
