On The Heels of Death: The Day After

What a whirlwind week this has been.  The execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer.  The execution of Troy Davis.  So many emotions.  Highs when Troy’s case was appealed to the Supreme Court.  Lows when his appeal was denied just hours later.  Is it a coincidence that on the heels of all this Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson, two Black men who pled guilty to murder charges, were released from jail in Asheville, North Carolina? 

True, there are questions looming about disparities in the judicial system for the poor and for people of color.  Nevertheless, I gotta marvel at the irony.  In the cases of Brewer and Davis, both men claimed they were innocent of murder yet were executed while the latter two men pled guilty to murder and were released.  I am scratching my head, shaking my head, bumping my head…well, not bumping my head.  What happened differently?  I’ve read accounts of multiple reports since yesterday trying to figure this out and I’m still baffled.  Though race is indicated, nothing about this is exactly Black and White.

Take Troy Davis, for example.  From the moment he was accused, found guilty and sentenced of killing a white off-duty officer, his response has been consistent – “I’m innocent.”  Even during the moments preceding his execution, he declared his innocence.  Not only that.  According to the Christian Science Monitor, the murder weapon was never found.  And get this, seven of the nine witnesses testifying for the prosecution either recanted or changed their testimonies.  I don’t know whether this young man committed the crime, but I am not conflicted that it does suggest reasonable doubt.

Then there’s Lawrence Russell Brewer.  A man who was a walking poster child for hate.  Though he denied affiliation with a White supremacist gang, he did confess boldly to being a separatist.  Whites on one side, Blacks on the other and n’er the twain shall meet.  The full account is reported by Linda Kovacevich of KFDM News.  He touts of how the tattoos on his arms show his loyalty to the Confederate Knights of America.  But get this.  He admitted to assaulting James Byrd but not to dragging him or driving the truck.  He even claimed that Mr. Byrd was dead before any of this took place.  I gotta take a break and have a Suzette moment here:  Are you kidding me?  This is like saying ‘I didn’t drown the baby, I just turned on the water faucet.  My friend held him down.’  Oh Lord, shaking my head again.  Okay, okay I got it out. Whew!

Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson?  To me, this is the biggest irony of all.  Here you have two Black men who confessed to the murder of Walter Bowman during a house robbery gone wrong.  I’ll say it again, they confessed to the murder.  So why were they released?   USA Today reports both men said they felt coerced to accept a plea deal so they wouldn’t face the death penalty or life in prison.  For one, the idea of not seeing his child was more than he could stand.  It gets better.  A prisoner confessed to the murder.  This led to DNA testing and so on and so on.  Possibly the greatest impetus was that of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.  Or maybe, just maybe, the death of Troy Davis brought a raised consciousness and a blaring light to the multiple miscarriages of justice. 

American Civil Liberties Union 2003 statistics state “People of color have accounted for a disproportionate 43 % of total executions since 1976 and 55 % of those currently awaiting execution.   And our own University of North Carolina’s findings were in all homicide cases in North Carolina between 1993 and 1997 “the odds of getting a death sentence increased three and a half times if the victim was white rather than black.” Wondering if there was more current data, I searched US Bureau of Justice Statistics.  Didn’t find much regarding executions but, as we are all aware, the numbers of incarcerated individuals for non-Whites are significantly higher.  Thank God there are folks out there advocating for our men and women.

To find out more about North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission and the cases they take, call 919-890-1580 or email nciic@nccourts.org.