Troy Davis spent 22 years on death row for the 1989 murder of Mark MacPhail, a Savannah, Ga., police officer who was shot dead when he attempted to help a homeless man who was being attacked. Davis, as you most likely know, was exeuted by way of lethal injection on Wednesday night, September 21, 2011 at 11:08 p.m. in Butts County, Ga., despite a last-minute plea to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor in Iran, faces the death penalty if he refuses to convert to Islam. Pastor Nadarkhani has been convicted of "apostasy," the crime of abandoning a religious faith. Despite the fact that he was never anything other than a Christian, Iranian clerics have determined that since his ancestors practiced Islam he is still considered guilty. An appeal trial actually determined that Nadarkhani was not an apostate, however, Iran's Supreme Court continued to uphold the original decision from the Provincial Court. Apostasy isn't against the law according the Iran's penal code, however, it is punishable under religious texts and Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwas.
I do believe in the death penalty, but only in cases in which there is absolutely no question about a person's guilty conviction. I don't know how I feel about Troy Davis. He maintained his innocence throughout the 22 years that he spent in prison. And I do acknowledge that Troy Davis may have had the odds stacked against him as a black man in the 1980's in Georgia.
But I am crystal clear regarding Youcef Nafarkhani, who is being sentenced to death because his ancestors were Muslims and he is a Christian. That, and the fact the he is unwilling to renounce his faith, are his only crimes. And his "crime" is not even legally considered a crime in Iran. This man has the odds stacked against him as a Christian in a Muslim world.
Yet the people who ranted and raved for Troy Davis, the people that bashed christians as hypocritical for supporting the death of Davis while opposing abortion, the people that spewed hatred and filth towards people that didn't support Davis, all have not whispered one tiny syllable of support for Nafarkhani. Human rights groups, individuals against the death penalty, and "peace-loving Muslims" have, for the most part, turned their eyes and ears away from this man. And their mouths have gone silent.
The reactions, or lack thereof, toward the Nafarkhani case from the people who ranted and raved about Troy Davis are ironic and predictable. One can hardly argue that their lack of support is certainly not consistent.
But most of all, the silence of the Troy Davis supporters regarding the Youcef Nafarkhani trial and possible execution is deafening; deafening in so many ways and on so many different levels.
I do believe in the death penalty, but only in cases in which there is absolutely no question about a person's guilty conviction. I don't know how I feel about Troy Davis. He maintained his innocence throughout the 22 years that he spent in prison. And I do acknowledge that Troy Davis may have had the odds stacked against him as a black man in the 1980's in Georgia.
But I am crystal clear regarding Youcef Nafarkhani, who is being sentenced to death because his ancestors were Muslims and he is a Christian. That, and the fact the he is unwilling to renounce his faith, are his only crimes. And his "crime" is not even legally considered a crime in Iran. This man has the odds stacked against him as a Christian in a Muslim world.
Yet the people who ranted and raved for Troy Davis, the people that bashed christians as hypocritical for supporting the death of Davis while opposing abortion, the people that spewed hatred and filth towards people that didn't support Davis, all have not whispered one tiny syllable of support for Nafarkhani. Human rights groups, individuals against the death penalty, and "peace-loving Muslims" have, for the most part, turned their eyes and ears away from this man. And their mouths have gone silent.
The reactions, or lack thereof, toward the Nafarkhani case from the people who ranted and raved about Troy Davis are ironic and predictable. One can hardly argue that their lack of support is certainly not consistent.
But most of all, the silence of the Troy Davis supporters regarding the Youcef Nafarkhani trial and possible execution is deafening; deafening in so many ways and on so many different levels.
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