Yesterday, I joined a bandwagon, protesting the imminent execution of Troy Davis.

Just because there was a bandwagon doesn’t make the cause right. But it doesn’t make it wrong either.

I don’t know whether Troy Davis was innocent. All I know is that there was significant evidence that the prosecution case was highly suspect. This, on its own, should have been reason enough to commute the death sentence. Reasonable Doubt. Burden of Proof on the prosecution. That kind of thing.

I know that there were victims in this case. A police officer’s family was left bereft in tragic circumstances. If there is a risk that the wrong man was killed in response to this gruesome act, how does this help the family of the police officer?

I know that another man was put to death in Texas on the same night. How does this matter? The issue is not that guilty people are often executed by the US justice system. The issue is that potentially innocent people can be executed and that no one in power thinks that this might be a huge problem.

If Troy Davis were to be conclusively found guilty, it would not stop my repulsion at this execution. He deserved, at the very least, a retrial.

The system failed Troy Davis last night. How many others has it failed? How many others will it fail in the future?