Troy Davis Case Underscores Risks of the Death Penalty

Annette John-Hall, in her Philadelphia Inquirer column, writes that Georgia's execution of Troy Davis is ample evidence that if states do enact the death penalty, authorities should at least make sure their legal system is flawless.

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Walter Davis On Building a Black-Owned Bank From Zero to $2 billion

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Walter Davis On Building a Black-Owned Bank From Zero to $2 billion

I've said it before: I've got a moral problem with the death penalty. Plain and simple, it's barbaric. I don't care whether it's Davis, an African American who steadfastly proclaimed he did not murder Mark MacPhail, a white, off-duty police officer; or Lawrence Brewer, one of three white assailants convicted in the dragging death of James Byrd, who was murdered for being black. Brewer was executed in Texas, the capital-punishment capital, also Wednesday.

In fact, Texas has walked 475 people to slaughter since 1976.

See, punishment by death isn't justice, it's revenge. And if the state is going to sign off on killing, at the very least it had better make sure it's operating a flaw-free legal system.

If it can't guarantee perfection, then it shouldn't unstrap the gurney. It's as simple as that.

Read Annette John-Hall's entire column at the Philadelphia Inquirer.