Author Archive
Sarah Howell
I Am Lawrence Brewer
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
Two nights ago, the state of Georgia executed Troy Davis, a man widely believed to be innocent. A last-minute delay went to the Supreme Court, where a stay of execution was denied.
Meanwhile in Texas, another man was executed. There was no widespread outcry for the life of Lawrence Brewer. His horrific crime was one of which he boasted, one in which there was no doubt of his guilt. He “deserved” to die.
I blogged two nights ago that I was troubled by the preoccupation with the “too much doubt” that characterized the Troy Davis case. Not because I disagree with the emphasis; the fact that our government would sentence an innocent man to death—and, by the way, “since 1973, 138 people in 26 states have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence” (DPIC)—and then follow through on that sentence amid mounting doubt is appalling.
