Top Ten Death Penalty Songs (In Tribute to Troy Davis)

Top Ten Death Penalty Songs (In Tribute to Troy Davis)

Top Ten Death Penalty Songs (In Tribute to Troy Davis)

Here’s my stab at a list of the top ten songs ever written in opposition to capital punishment.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

In tribute to Troy Davis, scheduled for execution tomorrow by the state of Georgia, here’s my stab at a list of the top ten songs ever written in opposition to capital punishment. (On the remote chance you don’t know about Davis’s tragic case, read my friend Dave Zirin’s recent post or my own recent call to support clemency.) As always, use the comments field below to let me know all the songs I missed. But please, first call Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm at 912-652-7308 and implore him to withdraw Davis’s death warrant before checking out any of the videos.

 

Top Ten Death Penalty Songs

Johnny Cash, 25 Minutes to Go

Steve Earle, Ellis Unit One

Odetta, Gallows Pole

Tupac, 16 on Death Row

Pearl Jam, Dead Man

10,000 Maniacs, I’m Not the Man

Blind Lemon Jefferson, Electric Chair Blues

Fairport Convention, Poor Will & the Jolly Hangman

Judy Collins, Tim Evans

 

Phil Ochs, Iron lady

Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x