Remember when we were arguing about the death penalty, how it should be applied and how we should feel about it? Well, tonight (to some extent) our ideological rubber meets the road, as Georgia is set to execute Troy Davis, a man thought by many to be innocent of the crime he will be punished for, and Texas plans to execute Lawrence R. Brewer, found guilty for one of the most disturbing hate crimes of our generation. The Week has an excellent link-heavy recap of the high-profile attempt to spare Davis, while Reuters spoke to the son of Brewer's victim, who disagrees with the decision to execute the former Klansman:
"You can't fight murder with murder," Ross Byrd, 32, told Reuters late Tuesday, the night before Wednesday's scheduled execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer for one of the most notorious hate crimes in modern times."Life in prison would have been fine. I know he can't hurt my daddy anymore. I wish the state would take in mind that this isn't what we want."