In the beautiful (ha!) state of Georgia, they killed a man who you’ve probably read about, named Troy Davis. When the news reports were coming in regarding his execution, I didn’t read them, but agreed, that the death penalty was an outdated form of punishment. But now that he’s dead, I am not sure that the world is a worse place because of it.

He killed a police officer. 

Certainly, there is room for doubt as to whether or not he did truly commit this crime. But in more than one instance, in more than one trial (and appeal) he was found guilty of doing just that. In the twelve years since his conviction, he remained that he was innocent, but he was found guilty anyway.

Sure, I agree that the death penalty is bad. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But the bad feeling in my chest comes when I think of a police officer, a man who gave his life to the safety of the community, shot and killed. There might be room for doubt, but if you’re like me and think he did do it, lethal ejection doesn’t seem that too unruly.

Maybe it’s because I have family in the force. Maybe it’s because said family was injured while doing their job, and maybe it’s because the person who hurt them is still free to walk the streets, or gutters or wherever he came from. Regardless, I believe that if you hurt a police officer, you are truly the scum of the earth. They are their to protect the community. 

The complaints I hear about police officers every day is often never really with the actual men and women who arrest the complainer, but really with the law itself, whether it be an overzealous prosecutor or a lawyer with an anger problem. Police officers are good for the community, and because of Troy Davis there is one fewer in the world, and frankly, I have no problem frying his ass for that.