Some people were a little taken aback when a question from NBC's Brian Williams that started mentioning how Texas "has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times" stirred applause in the Texas audience. Lots of people had lots to say, and not much flattering, about that cheering crowd. Could their remarks about Texas indicate or cause some cooling in holiday travelers considering Texas as a destination?
It might not be such a worry to scare travelers off, but some wonder how many of the cheerers in the crowd were aware of the man who'd been executed and is now widely considered to have been innocent. That was one of Governor Perry's numbers, and I haven't heard of him having any regrets over his work in it. It's been said that it won't hurt Perry's chances much in running for President, and maybe that's true. But has he considered the dampening effect of tales like this and their popularity among the lower and working classes (vacationers). Until the internet is further secured, vacationers will continue to spread these anecdotes of government mishaps or "meanness" possibly causing them to look to other economically depressed areas for that weekong getaway in the summer. Georgia would be a great second choice, but now we've got a stinker on our hands. The Troy Davis Story is everywhere. Moveon, Amnesty, the Pope, Jimmy Carter, Reagan's FBI director, death penalty endorsing former Congressman Bob Barr, and most people who look into the story through anything other than the State's summary of the case seem to see way too much doubt of guilt in the guy they convicted to kill him. Two jurors from the original case. Seven of the nine witnesses. A crop of new witnesses who came out to indicate another man as the murderer when they realized the guy convicted, the guy set up by the man they call the real killer, was going to be executed. The man they say shot the officer is the same man who went to the police station the day after the murder to point the police in the direction of the man who ended up convicted.
Anyway, I'm not trying to write "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" here, although the DA in this case is the same DA in that story... and also had two other guys on death row who turned out to be not so guilty and released. So... Anyhoo... I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. If William Sessions and Bob Barr wanting clemency doesn't convince you that some guy we're going to kill shouldn't be killed, I don't think I can. But what will the tourists think?
Isn't visiting Black History sites a big tourist draw these days? Think that would be affected? How did the South Carolina flag affect tourism dollars?
