Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Long Time Coming

I had just developed a substantial reader base and was interested in the stories the I would publish here. I had a great time doing it and I do not intend to stop, nor did I intend to take a break, but I had to. This is my explanation to all of you who may be wondering what happened to me.
It was the execution of Troy Davis...that was something that has taken control of my mind and left me feeling helpless and hopeless. I took a personal interest into several individuals that I felt were wrongly convicted given the evidence and the heartfelt stories of their families. When petitions needed to be signed and calls made to try to put a stop to his sentence to death I jumped at the chance to see him have at least his life if not his freedom, but we all know how that turned out.
Troy's story made national headlines and there was an outcry from the nation to this injustice. I heard some snide comments about him being black and that is why he got so much attention, but to those who made the comments you are simply fools. He was a human being and deserved a fair trial which he never got. There are so many others like him that luckily have not been sentenced to death but instead are serving life terms in prison. At the very least their families can find small comforts in phone calls, letters, and visits. Troy's family has lost that.
I suppose I took this very personally. I cried for days over a man that I had never met and for a gross injustice. To this very day he is in my mind and heart, as is his family. I will continue to pursue my interests in journalism but for now I think I will focus on stories versus interviews until I can overcome this feeling. I still read information posted about Rodney Lincoln, Michael Amick, Ryan Ferguson, etc. but when Troy lost his life I felt that I had somehow personally let him down. In reality I know that I alone could do very little however, the feeling consumes me.
I've tried to continue to live my life taking a break from school and this blog so that I could regroup. In a way it has helped some. I want there to be people in this world who care and who can see that punishments of death should only be inflicted upon the accused by God as only God knows the true heart of the accused. We spend far too much time persecuting others and it makes me wonder if it is because we have lost the faith in God to deliver the appropriate justice. I don't want to push my religious beliefs on anyone and that isn't my intention, but I think that in our day to day lives that God has become an afterthought when he should most definitely be the forethought.
I hope that for my loyal readers that this will clarify some things for you and know that I am sorry to have distanced myself or if you felt that I have let any of you down, especially when it comes to being an advocate for the wrongly accused. I haven't forgotten. My Rodney Lincoln pin sits right next to my bed on the nightstand and I see it every single day. I continue to pray for your families. Please accept my sincerest of apologies.

1 comment:

  1. No apologies needed Elizabeth. Every single person who has a real interest in justice was affected by the murder of Troy Davis. And every true advocate that I know needs a moment to step back and regroup. I just experienced this myself, still am to a point. There is no time frame to grieve and there is no time frame for self-introspection. We now you stand with us and with the families of the other wrongfully accused people we support. We love you! We are waiting........

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