A Brief Respite

A brief respite for a moment from the sublime beauty of baseball and other entertainment.

On Tuesday, the state of Georgia is preparing to execute a man whom the governor, parole board, numerous courts and district attorney all know is probably innocent of the shooting death for which he was convicted.  The word for this execution is murder -- unfathomable, preventable, state-sponsored first-degree murder.

So I'm asking you to join millions of other Americans in attempting to prevent this travesty by visiting here and signing a petition.

There was no physical evidence linking Troy Davis to the killing of police officer Mark MacPhail in 1991. He was convicted entirely on the testimony of nine people, seven of whom have since recanted, some of them alleging police coercion. The remaining two witnesses are the main suspects in Officer MacPhail's murder.

The main argument in favor of Davis's execution is that he got a fair trial. Does anyone truly believe this should be the standard by which we execute human beings? 

This is not a referendum on capital punishment except in the sense that if capital punishment includes executing people whom we know are likely innocent then we can probably all agree that it must be abolished. That's a subject for another day. For now, let's prevent the murder of Troy Davis.

Please take the minute and add your voice.