The eCrozier

The state of Georgia executed Troy Davis Wednesday night. Mr. Davis was convicted of a horrible murder (most murders are) of Savannah police officer, Mark MacPhail. At the trial 20 years ago, however, the testimony contained many inconsistencies. Also, there was never any physical evidence linking Mr. Davis to the crime. After his conviction, all but two of the witnesses from the trial recanted or contradicted their testimony. Nine individuals have signed affidavits stating they witnessed another man committing this awful murder.

At a recent presidential debate the audience uproariously cheered when Texan Rick Perry proclaimed that he has presided over a record 234 executions as governor. If those who support the death penalty really, as they claim, base it on a high sense of morality, then we should expect them to view it as a somber necessity and not with such apparent cheerfulness.

Such cheering reminds me of another crowd at another time and place; a crowd exhibiting a similar lust for blood. But in that place, at that time, the cry was “crucify him!” When he died, the whole earth shook. In that death, an amazing thing occurred. Death itself died as Jesus offered up new life in the midst of the evil of the cross.

When faced with evil, we can choose to respond with those who desire to return evil for evil. Or we can choose to respond with Jesus who, acknowledging the evil around him, responded with such a demonstration of God’s merciful love that not even the cross and grave could contain him.

The cross of Jesus teaches us we must learn to respond to the savagery of evil with the mercy of God’s love. We who receive the mercy of Jesus by his cross and precious blood have no other choice but to practice such merciful love with others. This isn’t a minor point of the Gospel. Jesus tells us that if we wish for God to forgive us, then we must forgive others.  The amount of mercy we show will be the mercy we ourselves receive.

Please do not misunderstand me. This crime was horrific and my heart grieves for Officer MacPhail’s family. Our common sense of justice demands that those who are guilty of such crimes be punished. But in our own frustration in dealing with the evil around us, we can allow ourselves to give way to the violent impulses that reside in each of us. When evil begins to overwhelm us and we find ourselves reaching down in desperation to the evil within ourselves, then we have chosen to dwell with the very evil we claim we want to overcome when we execute a person.

I have serious doubts as to Troy Davis’ guilt in this case. I believe we have executed an innocent man. But even if he were guilty of this brutal murder, the faith on which we stake our lives calls us to stand with life and not death. Any other stance is not worthy for those of us who take up the Cross of Jesus and follow him.

+Scott