Unless something happens between the posting of this blog and 7:00 PM tonight Troy Davis will be executed by lethal injection. I’m not going to go into the litany of legalities that have surrounded this case nor the hundreds of thousands of people who protest his execution.
It is said that Davis murdered and because of that heinous choice, he forfeits his life.
The families and friends of his victim must once again face their sorrow and see if Davis’ execution will ease their pain and perennial call for justice.
I suspect there will always be an emptiness, a piece of their hearts they cannot mend and they need compassion and comforting for this has been lingering for twenty two years.
It is unlikely there will ever be a consensus on the efficacy of the death penalty. There is no way to satisfactorily compile statistics as to whether or not death is a deterrent to murder. The destiny of agreement may forever be housed in debate.
Perhaps the question we should ask ourselves, after every execution, is not whether the person deserved to die, right or wrong the law decides that, but how do we individually react to it.
In the vastness of attempted understanding there are many valid emotion; tears, anger, fear, and even relief.
Vengeance, however, is one emotion to which we must give prayerful thought before we choose to embrace it, for it is constantly consuming and eternally unsatisfying.
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