We’ve all heard the story of The Green Mile–where an innocent African-American male is executed despite evidence pointing to his innocence. We know of McCleskey v. Kemp, the case where the court ignored evidence that an individual was 4.3 times more likely to get the death penalty if his victim was white than if his victim was black. We learned that more than 20 percent of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries.

The aforementioned film plot and statistics manifested themselves in reality on Sept. 21 when Troy Davis was executed, despite ambiguous evidence, for the murder of a policeman. The Troy Davis case is a real-life example pervading injustice in our nation’s judicial system.

The evidence against Troy Davis consisted almost entirely of witness testimonies, which were full of inconsistencies and possible coercion by police. Regardless, witness testimony should never be considered tangible evidence in a court of law. Eyewitness accounts have been proven wrong repeatedly in court, and psychology has shown that memory can be molded and manipulated at will. Perception is not an accurate representation of reality.

It can be argued that the Troy Davis case was just an example of less-than-perfect justice, but the fact is, this less-than-perfect justice is repeatedly granted to those accused of crimes, especially if these individuals are of color.

The Supreme Court made a stance against racial discrimination in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, establishing that the “separate but equal” clause is inherently unequal. However, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to make another defining step forward for racial equality since then.

In Furman v. Georgia in 1972, the Supreme Court ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. This led to a four-year moratorium on capital punishment. Since then, even when presented with concrete evidence of racial discrimination by juries, attorneys, and judges, the Supreme Court has refused to take a stance.

Advocate and lawyer for racial equality in the justice system Bryan Stephenson believes that this is because the Supreme Court is afraid of too much justice. The Court said in McCleskey that if they recognize disparities based on race in administration of capital punishment, then it will just be a matter of time before people start complaining about inequalities in other offenses.

The argument is absurd. It’s based on the fact that people accused of crimes are intrinsically bad people, even though the presumption in our system of justice is supposed to be that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

Equality is especially important in the sentencing of capital punishment. Capital punishment is the most severe punishment of any crime, and depriving someone of the right to live should be based on the crime committed, not the color of their skin.

In our society, many people are indifferent toward capital punishment. Many people believe that the issue does not really affect them unless it concerns a loved one, and if it does, the principle of jus talionis —an eye for an eye—tends to hold.

Polls show that six in ten Americans still support capital punishment in the United States. Many Americans know the gist of how people are executed and the number of people executed per year. However, most do not know the demographics of these people and the blatantly obvious fact that more black people are granted the death penalty white people who are tried for similar crimes.

Education about the death penalty may diminish support for it. Capital punishment as it stands now is discriminatory, arbitrary and unjust. Students should complain and voice their opinions against our current system of capital punishment, because it is inherently unequal.

True justice is impossible without equality, and students should take it upon themselves to learn about its administration before forming views on its moral righteousness. The Troy Davis case is just another sad reminder that racism is still very prevalent in our justice system and in our culture.