TO THE EDITOR
In the midst of a looming execution of Troy Anthony Davis, a 42-year old American death row inmate convicted of killing a Georgia cop, the DTH remains, yet again, silent on an issue that has sparked worldwide debates, rallies, petitions and certainly rage. Being a publication that is quick to put Twitter hashtags on its front page, I would have thought that the outburst of #TroyDavis and #TooMuchDoubt hashtags would have caught your attention. But I guess not.
Troy Davis, an African American man who has spent the last 22 years on death row, was scheduled to be put to death at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Despite having his case stayed four times, lack of DNA evidence or a murder weapon, and although all but two of the witnesses have recanted or contradicted their story or admitted to being coerced by the police, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has just recently denied clemency to Davis and he will be put to death.
The NAACP, numerous musical artists, civil rights advocates, former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI have all spoken out against using the death penalty in this case.
The lack of coverage of this event, and many, many other events concerning African Americans causes me great concern. I don’t know if it’s a lack of diversity within DTH staff or just ignorance, but the DTH must do better to address concerned readers who feel that their stories, and the stories of people who look like them, aren’t told.
Whether or not this case has to do with racism or class discrimination was not the point of my letter, though I believe it has to do with both. What matters is that the DTH, which at times seems to be the voice of the privileged, takes a better look at the world around them.
Michelle Bellamy
Senior
Dramatic Arts
