Possibly innocent man on death row

At this point, it seems redundant to recap the story of Troy Davis, but here goes: In 1991, Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. However, there is no physical evidence linking him to the crime — the gun he purportedly used was never found. Instead, his conviction was based on the testimony of nine witnesses, seven of whom have since recanted. Of those who recanted, several said they were coerced by police to implicate Davis in the crime.

One of the remaining two witnesses who did not recant, Sylvester "Redd" Coles, is the other suspect in the murder. Since 1991, witnesses have said he has claimed that he killed MacPhail.

The doubt surrounding Davis's conviction hasn't gone unnoticed — his execution has been set back four times since 2007 — but it is set to be carried out Sept. 21. He has exhausted all his legal options.

Tomorrow, a potentially innocent man may be put to death.

This isn't justice — it's a crime. It calls into question the judgment of the State of Georgia. If the execution is carried out, it means no one is safe from the arbitrary nature of the state's legal system. It sets a precedent that all the evidence the state needs to execute a person is, essentially, the testimony of one witness.

The Troy Davis case illustrates the main problem with the death penalty: human fallibility. If the state is wrong and puts an innocent person to death, it is no better than the criminals it purports to punish. Wrongful convictions are more common than you might think: Between 1973 and 2005, 123 death-row prisoners were released after further evidence revealed their innocence.

With so much evidence — or lack thereof — practically screaming that Davis is potentially innocent, how is his execution even a remote possibility? Another salient point in Davis's case is the fact that he is black. Although African-Americans make up about 12 percent of the total U.S. population, they make up 41 percent of death row inmates. This can be traced to the quiet oppression of this group in our society — the assumption that they are more likely to be criminals, the lack of resources devoted to inner-city schools, gentrification of historically black neighborhoods, frequent traffic stops by police, and the list goes on. The fact is that poor people of any race, ethnicity or background do not have access to good legal aid. Because they cannot afford the best defense money can buy, they may lose their court cases, which continues to perpetuate the stereotype that the poor — particularly poor African-Americans like Davis — are violent and predisposed to criminality. It's understandable that MacPhail's family wants closure and seeks justice for his murder. But if Davis is innocent, his execution isn't just. It's simply another murder.