Justice? What's That...

Twenty-two years ago an undercover Georgia police officer by the name of Mark MacPhail was shot and killed. Two years later,  Troy Davis was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death row.

The conviction came with no evidence linking Davis to the crime, no murder weapon, and more reasonable doubt than evidence, yet he was sentenced to death based on the testimony of nine "eyewitnesses", seven of which have since admitted they cannot truly tie him to the crime and were coerced by officers to convict him.

Since the conviction, his execution has been postponed three times and all appeals have been denied by the Supreme Court. (Death has been dangled in his face three times; something akin to torture really.)

Davis's first execution date was in 2007. We are now in 2011 and the case is just now receiving rightful publicity. Today was his fourth execution date. He was supposed to die by lethal injection today at 7 p.m., and before this morning no one knew. 

Before seeing it on Twitter we did not care.

I am not sure if this is a fact of which, as a journalist, I should be proud or ashamed. It makes me wonder if I would have a voice in getting cases like these the publicity they deserve. Instead of spending years focusing on Casey Anthony and months focusing on her conviction and after-plans, why was the public not informed of the Troy Davis case? 

It seems the U.S alone has been keeping the details of the case under wraps. Twitter stopped "Troy Davis" and "#toomuchdoubt" from trending for fear of it being "offensive," but that did not stop millions of people from voicing their opinions. It did not stop us from reading up on the case and becoming informed. It did not stop us from being enraged with the so-called justice system.

Supporters in the UK, Peru, Hong Kong, France, Germany and Mali  have been actively involved in demonstrating for the cause. Amnesty International has pleaded for his case. Even Pope Benedict XVI and former President Jimmy Carter signed the petition for the cause, which up until September 17 had more than half a million signatures.

It is now after 10 p.m. and Troy Davis will be put to death in approximately half an hour. He has waited anxiously in the death chamber for more than three hours for the supreme court to consider one last appeal, and once again it has been denied. In half an hour a man is going to be put to death, while his family watches, for reasons that have not been proven. They are going to kill a possibly innocent man to prove to the world that killing is wrong.

There is something wrong with that picture.

How can mankind be the judge of whom should die and whom should live if mankind didn't create each other? How can you justly destroy what you did not create? What kind of message is it sending when you ignore the pleas of a death row inmate who wants nothing more than a fair trial?

This case has corruption written all over it. An officer died so someone else needs to. It is a concept I have never been able to understand and I hope I never do. The fact is, revenge does not bring your loved one back. It never has and it never will.

So why does it make people feel better to see someone else pay for the hurt? For twenty-two years the MacPhail family sought revenge. For twenty-two years they have been trying to kill someone in the name of justice. Twenty-two years? At what point do you just accept that your loved one is gone and try to gain peace from his or her memory? At what point do you stop and say to yourself that murder for murder is not an even option?

Will the MacPhail family really sleep that much better tonight?

Today we witnessed history, as we have so many times in the past decade. The case of Troy Davis will never die. His case will live on in time and hopefully, after this, history will never ever repeat itself.

RIP.

Casey Anthony: Once and For All

Admittedly, I am completely ignorant of the explicit details of this case. Being a journalism student, I should probably be ashamed--but shame does not change the fact.

I was never one to indulge in the excess of the media and their most often insignificant targets. I always found that the things the news glorified, even by demonizing, were never worth the attention. Casey Anthony's case is no different. Sad story? Yes. But worth years of airtime? No way.

Granted, I think we got hit extra hard by being in Orlando, but it was still too much of a story for my liking. And in the end, the verdict only helped to push it further along on the popularity scale--so much so that I already see a movie and possibly even a book coming out of it.

Well, here is my ignorant unbiased opinion: media hype is not supposed to get involved in the facts, or lack thereof, of a judicial case. No matter how many news anchors insinuate that she did it, or how many people interviewed were certain, it does not change the fact that there was little evidence to prove it. Even though many people may feel disgusted and outraged at the fact that she did not report her child missing for 31 days, that is not evidence that she committed the crime.

It is not what you know; it is what you can prove in court.

We can wail and scream and cuss about it from here until next year, but at the end of the day only Casey knows what happened to that little girl. And whether she spends the rest of her life in jail or not, the sad truth is that Caylee is still dead. No amount of demonizing her mother or criticising the judicial system will bring the little girl back. So what difference does it make? Our judgments have no significance in the grand scheme of life. People will always do what they want so long as they can get away with it. Just the same this may be an unfair ruling, I am sure there are dozens of people behind bars who don't deserve to be. People get locked up every day for using drugs, many of them spending years in jail for a decision they took which harms no one else but themself. (I mean if they want to snort the white stuff what does it matter to everyone else, or better yet, how does jail fix it?)

Millions of people are dying across the world from preventable and curable diseases. Little children are dying every day from malnutrition and dehydration by living in inhumane conditions. But these are not the things we wear out on the news. They are not as 'dramatic' and entertaining, I suppose.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, right?

In the end, the final judge of life, whoever it may be, will deal with Casey Anthony as he/she/it sees fit -- and that is really all we can hope for. In the meantime, we get to watch the monster we created as she uses her newly found fame to gain money from selling her story to writers and movie directors. Welcome to America.

The End Where I Begin

My last week in Australia has lent itself to a lot of analysing and reflection, as it should have I suppose.

I am not quite sure why it would take until my very last few days for me to realise what a feat I have overcome, but I am glad to acknowledge it nonetheless.

Here goes...

Those who go across the world for short programs always come back home feeling like they experienced the best thing life has to offer. They tell everyone how much fun they had, how amazing the place was, and how they would love to go back if the opportunity lent itself. But until now, I have never stopped to analyse these sentiments from a more realistic perspective, to where I ask questions like "what about homesickness? Culture shock? Adjustment issues?" Surely it can't be all peaches and cream.

Well, I've had my turn now. So what do I have to say?

To begin, going abroad alone for lengthy periods is not something that everyone can manage, especially when it involves venturing to a more expensive city. Is it worth recommending, though? Absolutely. You will learn things about yourself you never knew existed and walk away feeling like you can overcome anything. You will learn who cares enough to reach out to you, who to not depend on, and even be surprised by some unexpected people who offer you not only their support, but their respect as well--just for doing what you are doing. You will learn how to survive on your own, how to adapt appropriately to whatever circumstance is laid out before you, and most importantly, how to appreciate the life you left behind.

I came to this country expecting absolutely nothing, and left with much more than I could ever dream. I have grown so much from this experience that words could not even begin to categorise or describe my sentiments. I have grown more from this than I have throughout my three years of college, and if you have been following my blog then you know just how much that is. I am truly proud of myself for diving into the unclear waters and, though apprehensive at first, swimming in it until I reached the shore.

With all of the setbacks and frustrations, the days of feeling more alone than anyone ever should and the days of crying just because it feels right, I would not go back and change anything if ever I could. At my weakest moments I prepare myself for the toughest battles--after which I become stronger than ever before, with a mind incapable of going back to what once defeated me. And no matter how much I hate depending on public transportation, or how much time I wasted waiting around for false promises, or how tired I grew of the food selection, I know already that I will surely miss this place that I have called home for the past six and a half weeks.

I grew to love it in its own sense; the helpful bus drivers, the cafe worker who automatically brought me ice every day at lunch, the cold weather that helped me sleep well at night, the internship placement that provided me with great clips, my genuine co-workers who helped me find my way, and all who have made the trip even just a little bit easier. You will not be forgotten.

But now, it is time for me to go. And hopefully one day I can return--stronger, older, richer, and with someone whom I can share the experience.

Until then ...

Veni.

Vidi.

Vici.