As I went to Yahoo! this morning, I found some interesting news. Two men from North Carolina, Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson, are being freed from prison after some interesting DNA evidence. DNA evidence proved that these two men were not the ones who committed a murder an a home invasion. These two men served a decade in prison for a murder they didn't commit. Kagonyera was coerced into pleading guilty. To hear that these men were proven NOT GUILTY according to sufficient evidence tells me that there is some justice out there.
It also tells me that the justice system can also fail. Two people are doing time for murders they did not commit. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff happens. It is all too common. This is one of the reasons I do not support the death penalty. Stuff like this can happen. You have two people who were serving time for something they did not do. This isn't to say that the home invasion being committed was right. Time should have been served for that. However, DNA has done wonders and getting people exonerated for crimes they did not commit. It shows that sometimes innocent men can go to prison..What if these two men had been executed? It would have been two people going to the death chamber for crimes they didn't commit. This has also been know to happen two. Go look it up sometime on google. Of course, there are some people who feel like "So what if some innocent people get executed, that isn't worth the ones who are still behind bars". I don't feel that way.
http://news.yahoo.com/2-nc-men-walk-free-murder-exoneration-222600983.html
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Troy Davis executed as of 21 September 2011.
Somehow, I knew Troy Davis was going to be executed. It is not surprising that this happened. No surprise. Maybe I'm cynical, but it just doesn't surprise me that he was executed. There still wasn't enough solid evidence to prove that he actually murdered the police officer. Still, he was found guilty and sentenced to die. Seven out of nine witnesses took back their testimonies, some admitting their stories were a lie. There is also some possibility that the police coerced them into telling those stories. Either way, it doesn't surprise me. I believe if you have been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be guilty of murder, you should be punished for your crime. With that said, if there isn't enough evidence to prove you did it, and you are still found guilty and you are sentenced to die, there is something wrong here.
I also find it very appropriate to mention a story I know of in Georgia. A 25 year old man, Christopher Erdman, he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Shannon Lawrence, in front of his 2 children. Lawrence was being abused by him and she left him. He was known for having very controlling behavior and being very violent. There was documented evidence of this. Still, no one did anything about him stalking her. He went and shot her and she later died. He is going to do life in prison for his crime, but he isn't going to get the death penalty for this crime. It was obvious he committed the crime. It is proven that he committed murder. However, he isn't getting life in prison. Troy Davis didn't have enough physical evidence against him, not to mention, 7 out of 9 witnesses made bogus testimonies and took them back. He was denied clemency, was denied a polygraph test to prove his innocence or guilt. What fairness is there in that. My gut feeling is that there is bias in this. Erdman, a White male, murdered a White female. Troy Davis, a Black man, was found guilty of murdering a White police officer. Sounds like a throwback to the old days. Why is it that murdering your ex-girlfriend doesn't get the death penalty for you, but allegedly murdering a police officer does? Why is it that a Black man who kills a White man is more likely to get the death penalty than a Black man who has killed a Black man?
I also find it very appropriate to mention a story I know of in Georgia. A 25 year old man, Christopher Erdman, he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Shannon Lawrence, in front of his 2 children. Lawrence was being abused by him and she left him. He was known for having very controlling behavior and being very violent. There was documented evidence of this. Still, no one did anything about him stalking her. He went and shot her and she later died. He is going to do life in prison for his crime, but he isn't going to get the death penalty for this crime. It was obvious he committed the crime. It is proven that he committed murder. However, he isn't getting life in prison. Troy Davis didn't have enough physical evidence against him, not to mention, 7 out of 9 witnesses made bogus testimonies and took them back. He was denied clemency, was denied a polygraph test to prove his innocence or guilt. What fairness is there in that. My gut feeling is that there is bias in this. Erdman, a White male, murdered a White female. Troy Davis, a Black man, was found guilty of murdering a White police officer. Sounds like a throwback to the old days. Why is it that murdering your ex-girlfriend doesn't get the death penalty for you, but allegedly murdering a police officer does? Why is it that a Black man who kills a White man is more likely to get the death penalty than a Black man who has killed a Black man?
Troy Davis to be executed today.
If many of you have been watching the news, Troy Davis will get the death penalty. By the time I am done editing this post or publishing this post, he might be dead.
To give some background on this, this is what I found out from this situation. Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Savannah Police officer, Mark McPhail, in 1989. He was sentenced to the death penalty. Some people say it is open and shut and he should face the death penalty. However, I found out some more information about this.
Before I go any further, I am going to give some anecdotal notes on this. I was in the International Student Retention Services office(the Global Village) at Kennesaw State University last week. A woman came and told everyone of a rally that would be going on in Atlanta for Troy Davis' life to be spared. She stated that there was no solid evidence to convict him, and that witnessed were coerced by the police into saying that Troy Davis murdered Officer Mark McPhail. I decided to do some digging.
So far, it looks as if everything that I was told was true. Nine witnesses testified against Davis. However, Seven out of nine witnesses rescinded their testimonies and some admitted to lying. The way I see it, there was no physical evidence that he committed the murder. Even some of the witnesses were not reliable. I don't know for a fact that he killed that cop. There isn't the evidence to prove it. Witnesses have taken back their statements. The physical evidence is not there. There isn't enough proof. For this reason, I don't think Troy Davis should be executed. I feel he shouldn't be executed because there isn't enough evidence to show that he murdered Officer Mark McPhail. He has also been denied many appeals for clemency. I don't know what is going on in this instance, but something tells me that if he actually did commit that murder, if there was absolute proof beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would have been executed sooner.
He has also been denied a polygraph test to prove whether or not he committed the murder. For those who don't know what a polygraph is, it is basically a lie detector test. He can't take a lie detector test. There is an intent to execute him. This shows that the justice system in the USA can have unfairness and bias.
Statistically, Black people who have murdered White people have the highest rate of execution. If it is Black people murdering Black people, that rate is lower.Here is a link: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides#Black Defendants and the Race of the Victims
I feel that this statistic is rooted in history. Black people were often considered worthless by the larger society. A Black man who killed a White man during the days of Jim Crow could expect to die. Sometimes a Black man didn't even have to murder anyone. Often, mob killing, also known as lynching, could take place often for much smaller reasons. A 14 year old African-American boy, Emmett Till, was murdered for simply making a pass at a White woman. Troy Davis facing execution doesn't surprise me when one looks at the history of how things have been done in the USA.
Furthermore, to show the bias in the justice system, look at the West Memphis Three. These are three men who were convicted of murder. They made a deal that if they plead guilty, they would be let go. They are free today while Troy Davis is going to face the death penalty. All of these men are White. Troy Davis is Black. Kind of makes me not trust the justice system as much.
Sources:
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/witnesses-back-off-testimony-555778.html
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/20/opinion/wexler-witness-memory-davis/index.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/peopleevents/e_lynch.html
To give some background on this, this is what I found out from this situation. Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Savannah Police officer, Mark McPhail, in 1989. He was sentenced to the death penalty. Some people say it is open and shut and he should face the death penalty. However, I found out some more information about this.
Before I go any further, I am going to give some anecdotal notes on this. I was in the International Student Retention Services office(the Global Village) at Kennesaw State University last week. A woman came and told everyone of a rally that would be going on in Atlanta for Troy Davis' life to be spared. She stated that there was no solid evidence to convict him, and that witnessed were coerced by the police into saying that Troy Davis murdered Officer Mark McPhail. I decided to do some digging.
So far, it looks as if everything that I was told was true. Nine witnesses testified against Davis. However, Seven out of nine witnesses rescinded their testimonies and some admitted to lying. The way I see it, there was no physical evidence that he committed the murder. Even some of the witnesses were not reliable. I don't know for a fact that he killed that cop. There isn't the evidence to prove it. Witnesses have taken back their statements. The physical evidence is not there. There isn't enough proof. For this reason, I don't think Troy Davis should be executed. I feel he shouldn't be executed because there isn't enough evidence to show that he murdered Officer Mark McPhail. He has also been denied many appeals for clemency. I don't know what is going on in this instance, but something tells me that if he actually did commit that murder, if there was absolute proof beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would have been executed sooner.
He has also been denied a polygraph test to prove whether or not he committed the murder. For those who don't know what a polygraph is, it is basically a lie detector test. He can't take a lie detector test. There is an intent to execute him. This shows that the justice system in the USA can have unfairness and bias.
Statistically, Black people who have murdered White people have the highest rate of execution. If it is Black people murdering Black people, that rate is lower.Here is a link: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides#Black Defendants and the Race of the Victims
I feel that this statistic is rooted in history. Black people were often considered worthless by the larger society. A Black man who killed a White man during the days of Jim Crow could expect to die. Sometimes a Black man didn't even have to murder anyone. Often, mob killing, also known as lynching, could take place often for much smaller reasons. A 14 year old African-American boy, Emmett Till, was murdered for simply making a pass at a White woman. Troy Davis facing execution doesn't surprise me when one looks at the history of how things have been done in the USA.
Furthermore, to show the bias in the justice system, look at the West Memphis Three. These are three men who were convicted of murder. They made a deal that if they plead guilty, they would be let go. They are free today while Troy Davis is going to face the death penalty. All of these men are White. Troy Davis is Black. Kind of makes me not trust the justice system as much.
Sources:
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/witnesses-back-off-testimony-555778.html
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/20/opinion/wexler-witness-memory-davis/index.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/peopleevents/e_lynch.html
Non-traditional migration patterns for African-Americans.
For my Senior Seminar class, this is the task being presented to me. My task is to conduct a project involving one of the major subfields of geography. The topic of choice for me will be the Non-traditional migration patterns of Black people in the USA.
The questions to be asked are:
What are the factors in Black people moving to places outside of the traditional migration patterns?
From where are Black people moving from?
What are the pull factors?
What are the push factors?
To give a synopsis on this, this is what I have found in some of my research. Large numbers of Blacks are moving to the Southeast USA/Texas(I don't consider Texas part of the South). However, there are specific places Black people are moving to. Cities such as Atlanta, Dallas,Houston, Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, and other major southern cities. The places of which many African-Americans are coming from include New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. It is fitting to note that there is a large migration from the northern and some western states to the Southeast USA/Texas.
All things considered, there is a migration that is not receiving much attention. If one were to look at the percentage of Blacks moving to the Southeast, those states are not seeing the largest gains. Rather, it is where African-Americans have not traditionally migrated to in large numbers that are seeing the most rapid increases in their Black populations. Even more interesting, it is the states with the highest percentages of Whites that are seeing such a shift. This change in movement does not only include African-Americans. African refugees are also moving to such places.
This is just a synopsis of the project.
The questions to be asked are:
What are the factors in Black people moving to places outside of the traditional migration patterns?
From where are Black people moving from?
What are the pull factors?
What are the push factors?
To give a synopsis on this, this is what I have found in some of my research. Large numbers of Blacks are moving to the Southeast USA/Texas(I don't consider Texas part of the South). However, there are specific places Black people are moving to. Cities such as Atlanta, Dallas,Houston, Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, and other major southern cities. The places of which many African-Americans are coming from include New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. It is fitting to note that there is a large migration from the northern and some western states to the Southeast USA/Texas.
All things considered, there is a migration that is not receiving much attention. If one were to look at the percentage of Blacks moving to the Southeast, those states are not seeing the largest gains. Rather, it is where African-Americans have not traditionally migrated to in large numbers that are seeing the most rapid increases in their Black populations. Even more interesting, it is the states with the highest percentages of Whites that are seeing such a shift. This change in movement does not only include African-Americans. African refugees are also moving to such places.
This is just a synopsis of the project.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
First entry of Evergreen Journal
This will be the first entry of Evergreen Journal. This will be a blog pertaining to a variety of things. However, a large part of this will be issues in the African-American community. It will not be the only subject to be discussed in this blog, There will be other subjects. Like I said, there will be a variety of things discussed here. With that said, there will be alot of things pertaining to the African-American community in this blog. I am going to type about the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are things that I believe I can offer. One of them, at least, is a my own unique view on things. Not really conservative, liberal, but more, MY own view, my theories. I have my own theories on how some things work. I might add some of my own experiences in this, as I feel that there are some anecdotal experiences that I consider valuable to talk about some of the things to be of discussion in this blog.
Welcome to Evergreen Journal
Welcome to Evergreen Journal
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