the execution of troy davis

I moved from one state that takes pride in killing innocent people to take up domicile in another which feels the same way. Today, pending intervention from the governor, Georgia will put to death a man that no rational person can say is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But the law isn't about justice.

A US Supreme Court judge (that's the joke, folks) recently wrote in an opinion that it was not only legal but appropriate to put an innocent man to death if it takes place in accordance with the judicial apparatus of the State.[1] Seriously, the US Supreme Court says it's ok to knowingly execute an "innocent" man. We are watching the erosion of the legitimacy of the American legal system one innocent person put to death at a time.

This is not justice. This is a miscarriage of justice.

My heart goes out to Troy Davis and his family.

UPDATE:
19:26 It looks like a delay has been ordered for the execution. It's not a stay so the execution could still happen tonight. In this case, justice delayed may *NOT* justice denied.
19:31 Here's livestream coverage of what's going on with the execution.
19:46 It looks like it's a 1 to 7 day reprieve. That means Troy can still be executed as early as tomorrow.
22:30 US Supreme Court denies the stay. Execution of Troy Davis will go forward. May happen tonight.
23:08 Troy Davis has been murdered by the state of Georgia.

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[1] The quote from Justice Scalia in his 2009 dissent to the unsigned Supreme Court opinion ordering a Georgia trial court to re-examine the evidence that could prove Troy Davis' innocence states:

This court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas court that he is ‘actually’ innocent.

Bye bye Austin, hello law school

Today I got into a truck to begin the 15 hour drive from Austin, TX (my home of the last 18 years) to Atlanta, GA to attend Emory Law. I attended high school in Austin, got my undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. I've met most of my friends and all of my exes in Austin. 18 years is a long time to accumulate memories, both good and bad. So it is with mixed emotions that I depart. I am sad and scared to leave behind so many important people and familiar surroundings. But there's also a lot of pain left behind there. Moving away quite literally is moving on. UTA has a great law program, no doubt, but they don't offer the area of study I'm most interested in. Emory does.

Moving is also a chance to start over, to shed the scales of the past to become somebody new, hopefully somebody better, happier. That doesn't mean anybody is getting cut out. I'm just interested in ch-ch-ch-changes.

So it's a new city, major educational endeavor. Big changes. A number of my friends have had the law school experience; most have not. I'll start by sharing my 1L experiences here on this blog as (legal mullet). If you're hoping for something salacious like Lena Chen's Sex and the Ivy (the infamous Harvard sex blog), you'll be disappointed. I'm not like that and I certainly don't kiss and tell. I'm almost 32 for crissakes, not 19.

Instead, what you'll get is an idea of the brutality of the Socratic method, study groups, exam hell, and the reading, reading, reading (among other things). I'll also review those handful of Atlanta places I can afford to frequent on my student allotment of money and time.

Orientation officially starts on Wednesday, August 18 and runs through Friday, August 20 from 8 am to approximately 4 pm. Attendance is mandatory. There are also some events scheduled on the 16th and 17th. Kaplan/PMBR are sponsoring Building Community Day on Tuesday. They say it's an opportunity to meet about 90% of my fellow 1Ls and includes, among other things, a scavenger hunt. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll let you know how the lottery goes on class draw. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, I'll explain it when I receive my fall class schedule.

Classes starts on August 23. In the meantime, I have to get to Atlanta, sign my lease, and move in to my apartment. Then I'll need to scout out the neighborhood for essentials like the grocery store and a yoga studio (more on that to come).

I'm really excited to start this new phase in my life. It has been a long time coming.


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