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The School Newspaper of Harriton High School

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The School Newspaper of Harriton High School

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American Injustice: The Troy Davis and Casey Anthony Trials

A terrible injustice was committed on September 21st at the hands of the U.S. government. On that day Troy Davis was executed for committing a murder with his guilt still seriously in question. The original trial in 1991 was a simple case with many witnesses claiming that they saw Davis murder Officer Mark MacPhail and two claiming that Davis confessed the murder to them. A little over 10 years later several of the witnesses came out and claimed that strong-arm police tactics and threats of being charged with crimes themselves brought about their testimonies. Both of the witnesses who claimed that Davis confessed to them that he committed the murder later recanted their statements. Three witnesses signed affidavits claiming that another man, Redd Coles, committed the murder. Yet after all of this and after multiple appeals at almost every level of our court system, Troy Davis’ conviction was upheld and he died by lethal injection.

The Casey Anthony Case was another highly publicized lawsuit that is currently being compared with the Troy Davis trial. Casey Anthony was accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. The trial lacked the physical evidence needed to prove that Anthony was guilty, but it was shown that Anthony repeatedly lied during the investigation and misled the investigators. In the end she was acquitted of the murder charge. Many have since dubbed this the second coming of the O.J. Simpson trial due to the shocking not-guilty verdict.

You may wonder what these two cases have in common; the honest answer is very little. The Troy Davis case was particular due to the witnesses changing their accounts and testimonies. The Casey Anthony case was a trial where the prosecution simply couldn’t prove that Anthony was guilty. What both of these trials have done is expose a tremendous flaw in the American legal system; that the defendant must be proven guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The idea itself is an excellent one. A long sentence in jail or even the death penalty should not be imposed if there is any sensible doubt. The error is that this is decided based upon the opinion of only a few people. Troy Davis appealed his ruling several times. As the accounts changed and the appeals and doubt mounted, the judges and juries still shockingly said that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Their, what many would call flawed, judgment ultimately resulted in the death of a man.

Casey Anthony was found innocent when there was just as much doubt about her as there was about Troy Davis. Yes, the physical evidence in her case was lacking, but her character was proven to be seriously flawed possibly to the extent that she would commit a crime as horrific as killing her daughter. In the end, the jurors did not believe that she was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The belief of a select few may have possibly let a murderer go free and an innocent man die. It is due to the opinionated nature of our legal and judicial system that over 10,000 people are believed to be wrongly convicted of serious crimes each year. This cannot be allowed to continue. We cannot stand by as we watch lives be ruined as people hand out judgment on the lives of others. This is why I believe beyond ANY doubt that America has a serious problem with the judicial system that must be fixed.

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