Barring a legal miracle, the state of George is about to stick a needle into an innocent man, paralyze his nervous system so that he cannot breathe, and then stop his heart.
His name is Troy Davis. That's him at left. When he was put on trial, there were witnesses against him, but most of those witnesses now say they were bullied by the police into falsely testifying against Davis.
The truly horrifying part of the story is that thanks to something bizarrely named the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the courts have refused to review this new evidence and grant Davis a new trial.
This act of Congress prevents the courts from reviewing fresh evidence even when a state is about to execute an innocent person. Of course, the Supreme Court could declare that the law is unconstitutional, but don’t expect it from the cast of right-wing characters sitting on the Roberts court today. (We also ought to brand as murderers every member of Congress who voted to prevent reviews of fresh evidence that could prevent an innocent person from going to his death -- or spending more time in prison for a crime he did not commit.)
Oh, did I mention that George Bush could grant the guy clemency, too? Whoops sorry, President Bush uses that only for political operatives like Scooter Libbey facing five years for a crime they really did commit, not for innocent men about to be put to death.
You can read a summary of “legalized” murder by the state here: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/11470.html
Somehow, this all brought to mind a little ditty I wrote in a cranky moment well over a decade ago. It had to do with the electric chair, but it works just as well for any form of capital punishment.
It was meant to be sung, to an upbeat banjo twang. Just in case you like to twang one.
Enjoy, while you think of the murderers in Washington positions of power – and the innocent guy they’re going to kill to keep the death penalty “effective.”
They are bolting down the death chair
To the concrete prison floor
And they're checking all the wires out
A dozen times or more
And they're testing out the switches
And they're trying out the fuse
They are gonna fry a kid tonight --
The story's in the news.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
Meanwhile, just outside the prison gates
They're starting to drink beer
They've got noisemakers and banners
And they're full of vengeful cheer
Some are here to mourn and others toast
The final muffled cry
Of a guy the prosecutor framed
And justice says must die.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
Watch them drag him down the hallway
Weak and trembling, full of fright
Just a kid without his mother
In the middle of the night
See him cuddled in the rough embrace
Of leather, wood and steel
Now they jam a gag into his mouth --
It's all part of the deal.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
Then the warden reads the sentence
And the priest he reads a prayer
Next the whining of a generator
Fills the stagnant air --
Then upon the stroke of midnight
All the power of the state
Flows through shiny copper cables
With a final surge of hate.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
.
Now the young kid lurches forward
'Neath the straps his body strains
While his blood and liver boil
And smoke gushes from his brains
See the writhing torso twitching
Muscles fracture every bone
Underneath the flaming leather mask
There comes a final groan.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
Smell the room fill with the stink of
Urine, vomit, burning skin
Hear the clamor in the prison
As the inmates raise a din
And a hearse's purring engine
As it carts off the remains
Of another hapless victim
Of the justice system's games
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
Now the mob outside the prison
Breaks into a joyful shout
And the guileful prosecutor prays
No one will find him out
And the justices in black robes
Cooly dine and sleep quite well
But if there's really any justice
They will surely fry in hell.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
Just a kid, you high court buzzards
Couldn't vote or take a wife
But in our kinder, gentler nation
Young folks have no right to life
In the death room with ammonia
Now a trusty mops the floor
But who'll clean up the piece of filth
You've handed down as law?
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
You can fry 'em you can hang 'em
Or squirt poison up their veins
You can gas 'em you can even
Shoot a bullet through their brains.
Can't afford no fancy lawyers
So they must deserve to die
Execution's as American
As Mom and Apple Pie.
Yes, it's good to deep fry people
The Supreme Court says, Well hey,
'If we do not cook all the Accused
They'll just get in the way.
Too damn bad they had bad lawyers
And let's cut out those appeals
For we're busy and it's lunchtime
And it's torture missing meals.
C) The New York Crank
No comments:
Post a Comment