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Monday, October 10, 2011

I Am Troy Davis


  
 The State of Georgia executed Troy Davis September 21, 2011. There are many different sides you can take when it comes to the death penalty. I personally will never look at the death penalty in the same way after the events of last month. This blog is not for me to express my personal views on the politics of the situation but I would like express some feelings. On Tuesday night one night before the scheduled execution all of the housemates including myself went to the steps of the Georgia Capital to join 500+ people to protest the killing. This was the first protest that I had ever been a part of and what an experience it was. We chanted, held signs high in the Georgia sky, listened to speakers (including the head of the NAACP) as cars passed and honked their horns to show support. The crowd represented people of all races, ages, social class, and sex all coming together as one voice. That night we all cried out pleading justice for a man that was about to be killed by the State. With all the energy in the crowd and across the globe it felt that this was the start of something new.

Standing on the steps of the State Capital

                September 21, 2011 the night of Troy Davis execution. Again as a house we all went down to the steps of the Capital to oppose the execution. The night was also a vigil to remember the life of Troy Davis and others who were executed by the State of Georgia. The vigil was lead by Ed Loring who is the director of the Open Door Community in Atlanta. The execution was scheduled for 7:00pm and right before the scheduled time we learned that his lawyers had put in a last minute appeal to the United States Supreme Court. At this point there was a lot of hope in the crowd and we continued to show our support for Troy with songs and chants. Unfortunately the appeal did not hold up and Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection around 11pm. Participating in the events was very powerful to me and has given me a new perspective on some government policies. Is it ever right to kill a person?

Protesting at the Capital, picture was in the paper (If you look hard you can see me in the back left of the picture)