Though President Obama was reluctant to weigh in on the controversial execution of Troy Davis on Wednesday, his predecessor Jimmy Carter wasn’t so shy. Carter issued a statement partly reading, “If one of our fellow citizens can be executed with so much doubt surrounding his guilt, then the death penalty system in our country is unjust and outdated. We hope this tragedy will spur us as a nation toward the total rejection of capital punishment.” Davis was executed in Georgia, which is Carter’s home state. The former president pledged to redouble his efforts to fight capital punishment.
