The murder of Troy Anthony Davis (calling it an “execution” might make it sound legal, but that still doesn’t make it moral or right) last week has reignited the death penalty debate with a vengeance. Couple his questionable death with the roar of approval that went up at the Tea Party debate when Texas Gov. Rick Perry bragged that he was a legalized mass murderer, having used the power of the state to kill 234 men during his tenure, and this issue should take front and center in the upcoming presidential elections… but for some reason I doubt if it will.
President Obama should throw down the gauntlet and tell folks who believe in the death penalty that he doesn’t want their vote… they really should vote for his opponent. That’s the type of courage progressives hoped he would demonstrate when they sent him to Washington. He should also tell those who support eroding the safety net of social security the same thing: Find someone else to cast their ballot for. He can’t lose with such a strategy, since none of these folks were going to vote for him anyway, but he could reignite his base by making such confrontational statements.
Back to the death penalty: For years I’ve waited, wondering why no voices of experience ever rose up against this barbaric practice. Why didn’t those who know firsthand (as opposed to those who sit home in their easy chairs eagerly awaiting news of yet another state-sanctioned killing to gloat over) tell it like it really is. My wait is now over.
Perhaps the most important voices in this life and death matter — the voices of experience — weighed in on the morning of Sept. 21, the date scheduled for the murder of Davis. Six retired, formerly high-ranking corrections officials, including Dr. Allen Ault, the retired Director of the Georgia Department of Corrections and former Warden of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison where Davis was executed, sent a letter to Georgia corrections officials and Governor Nathan Deal asking them to urge the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider the decision they made on Tuesday (September 20, 2011) to deny Davis clemency.
They cited serious concerns about his guilt. “Like few others in this country, we understand that you have a job to do in carrying out the lawful orders of the judiciary. We also understand, from our own personal experiences, the awful lifelong repercussions that come from participating in the execution of prisoners. While most of the prisoners whose executions we participated in accepted responsibility for the crimes for which they were punished, some of us have also executed prisoners who maintained their innocence until the end. It is those cases that are most haunting to an executioner.
“We write to you today with the overwhelming concern that an innocent person could be executed in Georgia tonight. We know the legal process has exhausted itself in the case of Troy Anthony Davis, and yet, doubt about his guilt remains. This very fact will have an irreversible and damaging impact on your staff. Living with the nightmares is something that we know from experience. No one has the right to ask a public servant to take on a lifelong sentence of nagging doubt, and for some of us, shame and guilt. Should our justice system be causing so much harm to so many people when there is an alternative?
“We urge you to ask the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider their decision. Should that fail, we urge you to unburden yourselves and your staff from the pain of participating in such a questionable execution to the extent possible by allowing any personnel so inclined to opt-out of activities related to the execution of Troy Anthony Davis. Further, we urge you to provide appropriate counseling to personnel who do choose to perform their job functions related to the execution. If we may be of assistance to you moving forward, please do not hesitate to call upon any of us.”
Respectfully and collegially,
Allen Ault – Retired Warden, Georgia Diagnostic & Classifications Prison
Terry Collins – Retired Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Ron McAndrew – Retired Warden, Florida State Prison
Dennis O’Neill – Retired Warden, Florida State Prison
Reginald Wilkinson – Retired Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Jeanne Woodford – Retired Warden, San Quentin State Prison
These are the voices of reason and experience we all should be listening to and heeding in America as the death penalty debate moves forward.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.