Ironies trailing executions of American murderers

Paul Arhewe, WITH AGENCY REPORTS
 Published 23/09/2011



Troy Davis



As US President Barack Obama, including other world leaders was busy with the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, at the wee hours of yesterday, executions of condemned murderers were enforced in two other American states.

The irony in these two murder cases has to do with differences in race, colour, and the personalities of the villians and the victims. One of the convicted persons was a white American who along other two whites killed an African-American, while the other case involved the murdering of a white police officer by a black American. While, the execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer in Texas neither went with any remorse from the murderer nor clamour to halt it, the other involving Troy Davis in Georgia, indeed, posed a tough task and challenging moments for the US judicial system.


Lawrence Russell Brewer



Davis not only reiterated his innocence, even at the point when the needle transmitting lethal fluid was fixed into his body, but the US judicial system went ahead to execute him despite protests from millions of people across the world because of doubts expressed in some quarters over whether he actually killed police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. Prominent world figures like Pope Benedict XVI, former American President Jimmy Carter and a former FBI Director intervened but to no avail. This case, that drew international attentions, is one that is full of white spots and the decision in carrying out the execution order is termed as half-baked by some people. Troy Davis lifted his head and declared one last time that he did not kill a police officer before being executed yesterday, while outside the prison a crowd of more than 500 demonstrators cried, hugged, prayed and held candles. “I am innocent, all I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth.

Cancelled US DV -2012 results:Cries of 22,000 selectees

By Paul Arhewe, Online Editor

The hopes of many people world- wide that had nursed the dream to travel to God’s Own Country next year through the visa lottery programme were dashed last week as the United States government announced the invalidation of the released results due to computer glitches. About 22,000 entrants who were notified to proceed to the next level of the exercise would have to forfeit that opportunity, as the American government says the process for selecting them was neither fair nor randomly carried out.
The US Diversity Immigrant Visa programme began in 1994. The annual programme gives skilled and educated adults from selected countries across the globe the opportunity to travel to America on a work visa.