Troy Davis; How Bill Clinton and Democrats contributed to his death…

by Staff September 19, 2011 15 Comments Misc. News Opinion Politics Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) For a large number of African Americans, Bill Clinton was not only the first Black President but he was the best thing that ever happened to us since sliced bread and fried chicken. I never subscribed to this belief. In fact I considered Clinton, his democratic party and his policies as a direct threat to African Americans, in particular as it regards our enhanced interaction with the prison Industrial complex. Strange since once upon a time Bill Clinton supposedly was an opponent of the death penalty.

What I remember starts when the then Governor of Arkansas was running for the Presidency in 1992, Clinton returned to Arkansas for the execution of Ricky Ray Rector. Reports note that Rector had severe brain-damaged such to the extent that on the night of his execution he saved his dessert to eat later in his prison cell. I considered this posturing on behalf of Clinton as an effort to show that he was tough on crime to voters. Rector was executed although the Arkansas Supreme Court said that Rector’s was a case that should be considered for executive clemency, Rector, a 40-year-old black man had been convicted of killing a black police officer. After shooting the cop, Rector shot himself in the head and damaged his brain.

Clinton continued to state his support for the death penalty after this period. In 1994 he pushed a crime bill through Congress that allowed prosecutors to seek the federal death penalty in 60 more crimes than they could prior, including murder of a law enforcement officer. He ignored critics who requested a nation-wide moratorium on federal executions. He made three-strikes-you’re-out the law of the land, so that criminals go to jail for life, with no chance of parole. More abhorrently was Clinton proposing and signing into law, a feature to limit appeals for persons on Death row – something Troy Davis knows well. Yes, the fate of Troy Davis is due to the Democratic Party and their hardline laws against crime, which when implemented, disparately impacts African Americans.

How is this the fault of Bill Clinton and the democrats one may ask? Well first, it was Clinton and the democrats who provided almost $8 billion in new funding to help states build new prison cells so violent offenders serve their full sentences. Then in 1996, after the Oklahoma City bombing, Clinton advocated, unsuccessfully legislation that a provision that would have curtailed the writ of habeas corpus — the power of federal courts to second-guess state courts on whether or not a fair trial had been given. It would have allowed inmates only one federal death row appeal filed within one year of exhausting all state appeals.

In Clinton’s first six years as president, more than 300 people were executed compared to compared to 185 during the 12 years of the Republican presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. In 1997 alone, the Clinton Administration executed 74 people (the most in a single year since 1956) and 68 in 1998. Senate Democrats voted 44 to 1 in support of Clinton’s 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill. In the House, 154 Democrats voted for the bill, and only 26 voted against. Supporters included former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and Illinois Congressman (and former Black Panther) Bobby Rush.

Troy Davis, if executed will be directly attributable to the policies of the laws put in place by democrats and President Bill Clinton. Data has since then shown empirically that more than 70 percent of those on federal death row are minorities, mostly African Americans. Then there is the Columbia University study that noted two-thirds of death penalty cases appealed between 1973 and 1995 were lawed to the extent they had to be overturned.

Davis is set to be executed September 21 for the 1989 shooting death of a police officer in Savannah, Georgia. Although ample and is strong evidence supports his claim of innocence. Also are the facts that seven out of nine witnesses who gave evidence at his trial in 1991 have recanted or changed their testimony, no murder weapon was ever found, no DNA evidence or fingerprints connect Davis to the crime, and other witnesses have since said the murder was committed by another man, who was a witness who testified against him, interject serious and probably doubt.

If Davis is executed, we all can honestly say no justice was served and that a new standard of proving one’s innocence has replaced proving guilt. And all thanks to Democrats who wanted to prove they were tough on crime to beat Republicans. From the way I see it, it may as well be Bill Clinton giving Mr. Davis his lethal injection. Yes, the favorite child of African Americans and the beloved Democratic Party is just as responsible for his death, if it occurs than the courts and state of Georgia.

Staff Writer; Torrance Stephens

For more articles by this talented brother do visit; Raw Dawg Buffalo.

15 Comments

rawdawgbuffalo says:

September 24, 2011 at 5:34 pm

PS: Black Beauty
I take it you belive in santa. No one in thier right mind would think they were going to not murder mr. davis because of 15 minutes of attention, the last 15 minutes of 22 years. Study your history.

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rawdawgbuffalo says:

September 24, 2011 at 8:53 am

Mrs. Beverly.

I never knew opinions could be fradulant. But I respect your opinion but it lacks merit without any supporting evidence. But Like the great Malcom X said, “If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.”

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Rufus says:

September 24, 2011 at 2:00 am

http://www.fop9.net/markmacphail/debunkingthemyths.cfm

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Beverly Stewart says:

September 23, 2011 at 1:23 pm

Gee whiz, Obama is not powerless. And you state fraudulent information as a blogger. You should check out your info before telling lies.

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Eric Poole says:

September 22, 2011 at 9:18 pm

All of the presidents since Carter have been pro-death penalty, and the comparison of executions by president is less than irrelevant because executions are done at the state level (except for Tim McVeigh, who was a federal prisoner executed during the George W. Bush administration). The president doesn’t control, or even influence, how many people get executed. Governors do.

Example: In my home state of Pennsylvania, Robert Casey (best known for being anti-abortion, but also an opponent of the death penalty) refused for eight years to sign a single execution order. Casey was governor from 1987 to January of 1995, That was two years under Reagan, all four years of George H.W. Bush and only the first two years of Clinton. Pennsylvania, as one of the nation’s more populous states, has one of the larger death rows.

If, as this article seems to imply, Reagan and George H. W. Bush were less execution-happy than Clinton, it’s because Casey pushed down the numbers for Casey and Bush significantly. When Tom Ridge succeeded Casey in 1995 and stayed there for the last six years of Clinton’s presidency, he reopened Pennsylvania’s death house and inflated the figure for Clinton.

I’m not saying Casey-Ridge is the sole reason that more people were executed during Clinton’s presidency than under the two presidents that preceded him, but the difference exposes the folly of this articles central premise – that a president has much influence on executions.

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rawdawgbuffalo says:

September 22, 2011 at 2:20 pm

African American, from Memphis
Morehouse Grad

for u mr. French:

“Facts do not cease to exist because they ARE ignored” Adous Huxley

I wrote This: Torrance Stephens, PhD

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David E. French says:

September 22, 2011 at 11:14 am

@ al (September 20, 2011 at 2:59 pm comments)

Obviously, YOU, sir, are a member of a NON-People of Color race in America.

Another thing that is quite obvious is that you also were probably born before the Korean War. How do I know this? Easy……….

Your Ignorance & Stupidity is beyond question.

You were born, reared, nurtured and conditioned in a social/political/ economic environment in America that tolerated racial HATRED and injustices toward people outside of YOUR own race.

You have the “Willie Lynch” mentality, many of your race had, and thought of as NORMAL, several decades ago. You WILL NEVER change your ideology of Racial Hatred and Cultural Ignorance.

I didn’t PITY you because Life didn’t keep you in the mental BOX you remain in…….

You PREFERRED to stay in that BOX.

I certainly hope that you stay put in your own neighborhood.

With the “karma” you carry around with you everywhere, there are many places you SHOULDN’T go……….

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David E. French says:

September 22, 2011 at 10:56 am

Yet another INNOCENT African American MAN was put to DEATH by the State of Georgia, close to Midnight this morning.

Nice trick, GA Board of Pardons & Paroles. Same too, for the GA Supreme Court, as well. This has all been a SHAM of the Judicial system for over 2 decades now.

In that period of time, Georgia taxpayers spent some $700, 000 (at $30, 000/yr) to house, feed and take care of ONE person, already destined to DIE in the racially-biased penal system of “smoke & mirrors” procedures, policies, technicalities, “hustle & flow” of attorneys, and legal yada, yada, yada.

But in the END, the Peach State did what it wanted to do, despite the evidence that was right in front of its eyes………….

KILL an innocent BLACK Man because it DIDN’T find the actual Killer. How “convenient.”

“Just ONE Mo’ NEGRO, to The Gallows………………………just one mo’ Negro………”

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al says:

September 20, 2011 at 2:59 pm

execute Sharpton as well .
better yet execute all the colored people..dey useless

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Patricia says:

September 20, 2011 at 11:10 am

I’ve been stating some of the same comments for Dem’s for years now. Dem’s always have to prove they can out do or be tough on: welfare, crime, defense, etc. so they go the extra mile and it ends up hurting some more than others. As far as I’m concerned some of these Dems may as well be Rep. It’s not about being black or white either. It’s the fact that they pretend to Dem. supporters to support Dem policies, then they switch direction upon needing votes! Dem’s need to remember their betrayal when it comes time for voting! Now, Obama is doing the same thing. I knew Obama would be no different. Just who it is they are trying to please is beyond me b/c Rep. don’t vote Dem. and Ind. are to screwy to even depend on and most are just closet Rep’s anyway. Anyway, great article.

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Roxanne Ivey says:

September 19, 2011 at 9:47 pm

THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL
for Troy Davis

Innocent eyes
The clearest of skies,
Though clouded by contempt,
Incite us to see
The blind tyranny
Of terror in suspense–
The scales of justice weighted
By the jaded sway of lies,
A life held in the balance
And a cradled compromise;
Yet Hope kneels at her altar
‘Til the day he is set free,
And empathetic hearts cry out,
“I am Troy, and Troy is me!”

Roxanne Ivey
Poets for Positive Change
http://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanneivey

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Mwatuangi says:

September 19, 2011 at 7:32 pm

He imprisoned more black men then any president in the entire history of the US during his two terms. Talk about our best interests.

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BlackBeauty says:

September 19, 2011 at 7:29 pm

Sorry, I’m not buying what you are selling.

“Yes, the favorite child of African Americans
and the beloved Democratic Party is just as responsible for his death, if it occurs than the courts and state of Georgia.”

It is a state issue, not a Presidential or political party issue.

Also, the title of this “commentary” is not correct, and seems meant to incite. Mr. Davis is not dead yet!

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Mark A says:

September 19, 2011 at 7:18 pm

Thank you for writing this timely article about the death penalty and the Troy Davis case. Too many people don’t know what the witnesses in the case have said. The witness testimony is online at http://www.troydaviscase.com.

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S Dear says:

September 19, 2011 at 4:26 pm

Thank you for this article. While I don’t want to defend Bill Clinton’s horrible record on the death penalty. It is worth pointing out, however, that you appear to be attributing executions by state governments to the Clinton administration, which could not have directly stopped them if it wanted to — which it did not. The death penalty is largely a state policy.

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