A quick note on Troy Davis

As you may or may not know (and if you’ve been following my twitter feed, you certainly do), Troy Davis was executed this evening in Georgia.

Although I am studying abroad in a country that executes more people annually than any other, I am an American, and that is the country that I have power over.

The charade that was Troy Davis’s appeals process and final execution was abhorrent.

From the huge amount of doubt surrounding his conviction, to the circus of a 3 hour delay as the Supreme Court debated granting a stay, to his final end, this case represented everything wrong with the American justice system and our bloodlust.

Collecting my thoughts and emotions about this moment will take a while, and I hope to write a more extensive piece on the death penalty and its effects in the coming weeks. For now, I’ll leave you with a status copied from my facebook.

“Tonight, my country has failed me. Today, I have lost much pride in being an American. Today, the United States justice system has failed. And we could all suffer the same fate as Troy Davis.”