To: Governer Arnold Schwarzenegger Please grant clemency to death row inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams. He is helping to save troubled youth across the world. I know that you, Governer Schwarzenegger, are also an advocate for helping troubled youth through your own programs. Please do not let a good man die.
Sincerely, The Undersigned
A good man? Hmm.. I do think he spend his jailtime well. Sure hope he is granted clemency and can continue his good work from behind the barred window..
Update, Dec. 13th: Governator denies clemency. Tookie will be executed 9.00h Dutch time, 12.00h local time.
Final update: Crips gang co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams was executed early today for the 1979 murders of four people in two separate robberies. The U.S. Supreme Court late Monday rejected the convicted killer's last-ditch appeal, hours after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also denied clemency. Williams' supporters argued that he was a changed man. But the stepmother of one of his victims said justice was being done.
6 comments:
Definitely needs to stay behind the bars, but would be more useful alive than dead. Gangs are a BIG problem here and the head dude saying it 'ain't so kool' might help, as his death will just stir up more,,,, well,,,, death.
I think every execution "diminishes' Society.Its surprising to me a country like the USA continues in our modern day world to opearte under a system of different states "upholding " the death penalty. It's in contravention of human rights, but I guess the American version of death in those states has a diffferent conotation to the rest of the world, considered just,like its fundamentalism in Religion. The event has occured .......despite I understand an absence of any real support.His conviction I understand relates to murders in 1979 ?
The death penalty has been demonstrated to show it does not act as a deterrence.In fact I understand in some of the states that uphold the death penalty, the homicide rate is higher. Nor does the death penalty provide a panacea for the victims, depite it being a perfectly natural reaction to seek a life for a life.
I undertand the only people supporting the death of Williams were a few claiming it was the will of Christ.
Interestingly enough in a country which I undestand has 44 % of practicising christians of sorts or embrace religion, it seems puzzling to me States continue to have Governors elected who campaign on the "maintenance" of the death penalty.
I think a reverence for life is an essentail part of any religion. It is religion.
May we morn his passing
Best wishes
I'm opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances ... this is a sad example, but more sad are those who are executed who did not do the crime (many have turned out innocent).
Justice yes - state murder... no.
I hate the death penalty and will not rest until the U.S. abolishes it. My position was tested when one of my best friends from law school was murdered; because he was a District Attorney, his killer received a death penalty sentence upon conviction.
I wondered if I would waver in my opposition because I love and miss Gil and was sickened by his death. But neither the imposition of the death sentence nor the execution of it (no pun intended) made me feel a whit better about his loss. I stick by my position that it is hypocritical and useless to kill others for killing.
Violence begets violence. I don't want to tie up someone else's blog with a lecture but my friends from overseas may not realize what a violent history my country has.
When Ted Bundy was executed, a disc jockey in Florida played the sound of bacon frying.
Crowds gather outside San Quentin as if it were a party.
Talk radio has a field day.
Specifically Linday, when I checked the letters to the Sacramento CA Bee, the "hang em high" letters outweighed the anti-capital punishment folk.
Oops - said I wasn't going to do this.
My friend Lindsay made most of my points for me except that our California governor has lost much of his support in this last year and is reaching out to the religious right in areas where he once would have been considered moderate.
I'd be interested in what Scott has to say about CA politics and the death penalty.
I will admit it's very difficult for me sometimes when an especially evil crime is committed (particularly where kids are involved) for me to maintain a stand on principle. My first human impulse is vengeance.
My nephew was murderered many years ago, Lisa. I know how you feel.
Maybe sometime I'll write about it.
Come visit me on granny sometime, Dimitri. Some of your commenters are already hanging around.
I'm still blaming a sticky keyboard, Lindsay. I got your name right the second time.
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