Do you think Troy Davis would be convicted and executed if he was a white man?

[Cali_Democrat]

Poll question: Do you think Troy Davis would be convicted and executed if he was a white man?

I say no.

What say you?

[connecticut yankee]

1. I think

if he had been convicted, the Parole Board would have granted clemency.

[Kennah]

2. I would lean towards No, but say Hell No if he had been upper middle income, any race.

[tblue]

3. 1/2 the men on Death Row are black, 13% of Americans are black.

It's all effed up. Hasn't changed all that much.

[Empowerer]

4. As I noted in another forum -

You don't have to be white to get justice. You don't have to be rich to get justice. But you'd better be one or other other . . .

I believe that, if he were white and poor, he would likely have been executed. But being black and poor increases the odds.

[JI7]

5. yes, maybe, but i think it's less likely he would be executed if he had killed a black man

[Azathoth]

6. He would certainly have been convicted. The evidence at trial was very strong

Executed? That's tougher to say.

[ChandlerJr]

7. Why not? Lawrence Brewer was executed today for the same crime

killing a black man.

[Lost-in-FL]

30. Was that man a cop? nt

[RandySF]

8. Yes

Poor whites are subjected to injustice every day. It's time they wake up and realize they share more with other groups of people than they care to acknowledge.

[pettypace]

9. 5 blacks on the jury that convicted him

Convenient that is never mentioned.

[Azathoth]

10. Seven n/t

[U4ikLefty]

14. Same number of recanted eyewitnesses

hmmmm

[Zax2me]

19. 15 years later...and not under oath....hmmmmmmm

[U4ikLefty]

37. 15 years...long enough to regret caving to police intimidation...hmmm

[Azathoth]

22. Apparently '7' has some kind of cosmic significance in this case

On the other hand, coincidences do happen...

[Mr Deltoid]

12. Doh!

There ya go again with da facts jeeze...

[CherokeeDem]

15. Convicted him.....

on possibly erroneous testimony....would they have if they had the recent information?

[Cali_Democrat]

20. I said convicted AND executed

Were those folks part of the legal appeals process after the conviction? No. Their guilt finding did NOT take into account recanted eyewitness testimony.

I think if he was a white man, the board and the courts would have looked at him more favorably.

However, that's just my opinion.

[pettypace]

24. Let me ask you something CaliDem

And before I do, I will say I do respect your posts. You're a DU vet and you've had a good share of solid takes.

Do you think Obama would be president (or even a US senator) if he was white?

[Cali_Democrat]

31. Yes. Absolutely.

Obama's ability to connect to people with a specific message is what got him elected. If anything, his race and his name (Hussein) certainly doesn't help his election chances in a country like the USA. Many people in this country are racist and xenophobic. However, those people probably never voted for Obama anyways.

[CherokeeDem]

11. I voted "I don't Know'

Only because I think it depends on the location...obviously Texas has no qualms about killing anyone, black, white, male or female.

I swear, how does this tragic event make us any different than Iran or any other nation that murders its own people?

It is barbaric....

[WhoIsNumberNone]

13. I think if he'd been white it would have taken more then just "he done it" to convict him

Maybe a murder weapon? Certainly when 7 of 9 eyewitnesses recanted he'd have gotten a new trial.

There is also the "cop killer" angle. DAs hate admitting they're wrong in th first place, but with an accused cop killer? Forget it.

[Joe the Revelator]

16. Depends on if he was a poor white man.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Mostly NO... though if he was a poor white man

his chances are better.

[FourScore]

18. You're asking the wrong question.

It should say:
Do you think Troy Davis would be convicted and executed if he was a white man accused of killing a black officer?

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. A cop was killed so, in this instance, probably yes.

On the conviction part. On the execution? Quite probably. When cops and babies are involved, stays are hard to get. Just ask Cameron Willingham... oh wait, we can't an innocent (white) man was killed.

[corpseratemedia]

23. to me it was a modern-day lynching, innocence be damned

[Hippo_Tron]

25. Convinced, maybe, excuted probably not

But unlike the pro-death people, I'm not going to say I'm certain of that. He might be guilty and he might have just as easily been convicted if he were a white guy. My only argument this whole time is that there's too much doubt to inflict an un-doable punishment.

[pacalo]

26. I said "yes" after reading John Grisham's "An Innocent Man" -- but it was a poor white man

who had mental issues. He lived in Oklahoma & cut grass for his living. And there were parallels to Troy Davis' experience. Convicted on false testimony & the witness against him was actually the guilty one, which was discovered years later when DNA tests became available. The state of Oklahoma refused to pay for the expensive DNA test & it took years before the accused was able to get one through the Innocence Project. Even after the accused was proven innocent through his DNA test, it took years before the state would release him.

I'm outraged all over again, except in Troy's case, there was nothing on which DNA could be tested & he was actually murdered by the state on the same flimsy "evidence" as the accused in John Grisham's book.

[cabot]

27. I voted yes

The killing involved a cop. If they thought a white man did it, the white man would have been executed. The only one who would have escaped the death penalty are the wealthy members of any race. If you're white and poor, black and poor, etc. forget it.

[Lost-in-FL]

28. Yes

Just because the victim was a cop. You don't want to piss off the police remember you gotta be "tough on crime". Cops are more valuable than your regular citizen.

[Rex]

29. No.

With no physical evidence a white man would have walked free. It is the difference between 'foraging' and 'looting' according to the M$M.

[abelenkpe]

32. I think has more to do with being accused of killing a cop.

[FrenchieCat]

33. I tend to agree some.....

But it is also true that White folks are seen as being able to clean up better
in the eyes of this society....even in the eyes of many Black folks. A jury
is moved by many things, appearance often being one of them.

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. Tell that to Cameron Willingham. It is true that, if a cop or a child is

killed, and you are accused...you have a tough road ahead of you. :(

[fortyfeetunder]

35. where's the HELL NO button?

:shrug:

[MrSlayer]

36. Yes. If you kill a cop they're going to kill you in return.

Cop killers don't usually get special treatment due to race. Now if it were a civilian murdered I'd say the white guy would most likely not be executed while the black guy almost certainly would. Cops or kids, you're probably going to die regardless of race.