In 1939, Billie Holiday sang of blacks hanging from trees in the
protest classic “Strange Fruit.” Since then, the means of racist
execution have changed from extra-legal lynching to cold and
calculated state murder, but the inherent cruelty of execution
and the aim of preserving ruling-class power remain. The
September 21, 2011 execution of Georgia state prisoner Troy
Anthony Davis at 11: 08 p.m. by lethal injection sheds a
powerful spotlight on the criminal “injustice” system and
capital punishment practiced in the United States. The campaign
to defend and save Troy Davis’ life became an international
struggle with celebrities, civil rights organizations, public
officials, students and grassroots activists demanding a stay of
execution. The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole denied
Davis clemency even when he offered to take a polygraph test;
even a last-minute effort to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court
using the “Hail Mary” defense to stop the execution failed.
Davis was accused and convicted without