While the 1000th execution since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1977 became a new landmark in American history, it’s really the number 1003, the one that has drawn the most attention. At 12:35 of the morning of Tuesday, Stanley “Tookie” Williams was put to death by lethal injection at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Williams had been in death row for twenty years. Williams was convicted in 1981 for the murder of four people while committing two separate robberies in 1979. In a 6-0 vote, the California Supreme Court denied his last petition to stay his execution on Monday. Last week the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), urged the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to grant Williams clemency, on the grounds that he was helping young African-American men stay out of gangs, since he had spent his two decades on death row at San Quentin Prison, as an anti-gang activist by writing children's books on the dangers of gang life. The curtain finally came down on Williams, when Governor Schwarzenegger denied his clemency request also on Monday. In a press release in which he explains the grounds of his refusal, Governor Schwarzenegger stated: “there is nothing that compels me to nullify the jury’s decision of guilt and sentence and the many court decisions during the last 24 years upholding the jury’s decision with a grant of clemency.” I firmly agree.
The sole fact that Williams wrote children's books while on death row has apparently blurred the reasoning of many. Supporters for Williams have failed to take into account to begin with, that Williams was the alleged co-founder of the Crips, one the biggest, most violent and most prolific gangs of modern criminal history. The Crips are credited with the introduction of crack cocaine, one of the most lethal drugs on the streets today. During the twenty years Williams stood on death row and while he was supposedly busy writing children’s books, he was involved in more than ten violent incidents. Williams also refused to admit his guilt despite the overwhelming evidence there was against him. I can’t help but wonder, what about the four victims and their families? How come their suffering for the senseless and vicious loss of their four loved ones is not the issue that is captivating everyone’s attention now? Have we lost our sense of compassion for the true victims of heinous crimes like the ones Williams scored under his belt? In times like this, my heart goes out for the grieving families of these victims.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - JELIEL
NOT!
Taking life, is taking life, period. To say that one can take life and others can't, only propagates the concept of inequality. One man's criminal is another 's saviour.
10 violent incidents on death row in 20 years. Wow! That's kinda low considering the people he's bunking with.
Also his execution brings no relief to the victims families, maybe it does, but it won't last. It'll be days short. Then the loss will still be there. Who are we as equals to decide who lives or dies? Death penalty is about revenge, not about justice.
He deserved to go on living in my opinion. Everyone has a right to life. Everyone means even low-lifes like Tookie. The beauty of Ethics is that they apply to EVERYTHING and EVERYONE regardless. No Exeptions. People can redeem themselves. Many bad people have, some have become monks and dedicated their lives to becoming better persons
"An eye for en eye leaves everyone blind" -- Martin Luther King
2 - RogerMDillon
"The sole fact that Williams wrote children's books while on death row has apparently blurred the reasoning of many."
Can you cite the people who used this as a sole justification for their opinion? Your use of it reveals what little you know of the arguement.
And where do you get the information that "The Crips are credited with the introduction of crack cocaine," because that differs from the US Dept of Justice version of events.
"How can a society advocate for civility towards cold blooded killers, when it is unable to be civilized with the person who has not hurried enough when the stoplight turned green?"
What are you talking about here? Where do you live that people are being sentenced to death for not getting through an intersection fast enough. I'm against that to if it happens.
"a society that fails to strengthen the confidence of the real victims of the convicted killers, which are growing old, (at the taxpayer's expense) while on death row"
If someone is in jail for life with no possibilty for parole, where's the loss of confidence come from? If you are concerned about the taxpayers' expense, then you should be against the death penalty because studies I have read show that with all the appeals involved it is more expensive for the state to kill someone than to let them rot.
You also remove all possibilty that someone could be found innocenct of the crimes. I'm not saying Tookie would have been, but if you think every single person who has ever been on death row is guilty, I must question your legal qualifications. No system is error-free. Life without parole allows the state's mistake to be rectified.
3 - Mark Edward Manning
I have to disagree. I think that if a murderer does not show remorse after 10 years in prison, and if DNA evidence clearly points to them as the killer, then the death penalty is justified.
I would not use the death penalty for manslaughter, such as killing for self-defense. But for calculated murder, I would definitely keep it.
4 - Mark Edward Manning
I must say though, in Tookie Williams' case, he should have been granted clemecy. His anti-gang activism was proof of his guilty conscience and remorse.
5 - Mark Edward Manning
I'm sorry, JCB, I meant to write "I have to agree," I had the wrong word in my head. D'oh!
6 - Anthony Grande
"The sole fact that Williams wrote children's books while on death row has apparently blurred the reasoning of many."
Then Roger said: an you cite the people who used this as a sole justification for their opinion? Your use of it reveals what little you know of the arguement.
He shouldn't have to cite anyone because EVERYONE used this as the justification for saving him.
The death penalty must be abolished because no human has the right to end another human life early. I support life for innocent unborn babies to brutal vicious killers. The maximium punishment should be life in prison.
The death penalty would work if the gap between the crime to the punishment was shortened to like 1 or two years. We would see crime drop dramatically but who would want to live in this type of society?
7 - JCB
Thank you all for your comments. Specially Mark and Anthony. Thanks Anthony for pointing out to Roger that the only one without any true knowledge about Tookie´s case is him.self.
I can truthfully relate with the struggle between who gives life and who can or can´t take it. I have formed my opinion, not disregarding this neuralgic issue, but taking into account the times we live in, which really worry me sick. I think desperate times like these require desperate measures. I see the death of this type of killers as a transition of that being, which is necessary to restore the balance of our society. It´s not a matter of revenge but of balancing out for the well being of all, the harm done.
8 - Anthony Grande
You put up a good argument for the death penalty there. But I still have to disagree because one that executes is one that murders. No human should have the power to take away another human's life because we are all equal.
9 - JCB
"You put up a good argument for the death penalty there."
Despite the fact we disagree and stand on opposite sides of the argument, I appreciate your kind comment. That´s the way it should be in the real world!! =o)
10 - Chris Evans
Don't you think it makes more sense to force a criminal to suffer for the rest of their lives than to make it easy for them and just KILL them? Most criminals probably don't have lives worth living anyway, I'm sure they'd probably PREFER death. Not to mention, with the number of appeals allowed for the death penalty (and rightly so), it is more expensive to execute someone than it is to have them in jail for life.
11 - Anthony Grande
Chris, I don't know about that. Knowing that another man is going to strap you down and end your life like it is worth nothing can be pretty harsh.
JCB, yeah I wish we could all be nice to one another in the real world because then there would be no reason to have the death penalty.
12 - Chris Evans
Yeah, but think about criminals whose lives are so horrible that they have nothing to live for.
13 - JCB
I think the suffering of most of these criminals who sit all their life imprisoned can´t be compared to what they have done. Most of them develop a frame of mind that allows them to study, create ministries, learn a skill, become erudites in any give topic since they have plenty of time to read, etc. It´s like going away to camp but forever. They not only become an economic burden to the system while imprisoned but also in most of the cases, it´s the goverment who is picking up the tab for their numerous appeals, since most of the can´t afford their legal fees.
And Chris, since the fact of the matter is that we don´t live in a society where we can respect and treat our fellow man with respect, desperate measure are neccesary to restore order.
Thanks again for your comments
14 - Chris Evans
Okay...sitting in prison doesn't compare, but somehow a quick and peaceful death does?
15 - JCB
Granted. A peaceful death doesn´t compare to the probably very, violent death of the victim. The true point of comparison here is to live or die on account of having senseless taken someone elses life. It´s not fully comparable but as I said in my article "the most equitable justice available, is been served"
16 - Chris Evans
But like I said...to most criminals, death doesn't mean the same thing it means to us.
17 - JCB
Well touché my friend. That precisely strengthens my point. Justice is being served to the victims, thier family and us all remaing elements of society, not for the criminal. The lesson has been learned if the criminal feels it is appropiate to die.
18 - Chris Evans
But MY whole pint is, death of the criminal is NOT justice to the victims, because the criminal is not suffering in death.
19 - JCB
I respectfully disagree. I think the very instinctive nature of most humans beings, will feel relief with the death of the criminal that took their loved one away. To say the least, the rest of us probably feel safer with that guy dead than in prision for life.
20 - Troy
...You do realize, people in prisons often kill themselves, or at least attempt to do so, because their lives suck so bad, right? Dying is the easy way out. We view the loss of our own lives as something terrible, because we have lives worth living. But these people, just don't. And I think having a nice, long, shitty life is a much better punishment in the long run than a nice, quick, painless death. Like someone else said before, it's not ABOUT justice for the families of these murderers' victims... it's about revenge. And as understandable as those feelings of hatred and wanting to get back at someone who hurt someone you love are, the truth is, we must learn to overcome those kinds of emotions to progress as a society. If everything we did to punish people for their wrong-doings was based on getting simple revenge, then where the hell would we be? By that logic, someone could justify killing someone else because they hit their pet with their car. Or let's say someone killed someone else's family member. Would that justify that person then going out and kill their relative's murderer? No. They'd face the same penalty as the murderer. Because it's still killing. It's still murder. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."
21 - Troy
Also, let's not forget that these murderers have families of their own. I'm sure many of them have families that still love them, reguardless of what they've been accused of. What gives us the right to take away the life of someone that THEY care for?
22 - Anthony Grande
"I think the suffering of most of these criminals who sit all their life imprisoned can´t be compared to what they have done."
If they are guilty of something terrible then let's let the higher being take care of them. We are humans and the criminals are humans. We are equal. We should not be able to, by law, end the life of our equals.
23 - JCB
It´s not a matter of hatred. Again it´s about justice. You have failed to establish a congruent example. The death of pet hit by a car is an accident. Brutal murders like the ones commited for example by the "Green Acres" killer, who explained justified when interviewed by the police that he killed 40 something women for free sex --because for prostitutes he had to pay--, is not an accident but deliberate criminal intent.
We are not saying that everything should be eye for an eye, but with something as precious as life itself, equitable relief should be sought. Freedom can never be held in a higher esteem than life. That´s why the death penalty truly serves it´s purpose not life behind bars.
24 - Troy
But the EMOTIONS involved are the same. That's not the only example I gave, either. My POINT, is that the reason people want to sentence a loved one's murderer to death is because they want revenge. Whether they realize it or not. And when it comes to INTENTIONALLY killing someone, which is EXACTLY what the death penalty IS, murder is STILL MURDER. No matter what the reason behind it is. No matter what that person may have done in during their life, what makes it okay for any one person or group of people to kill THEM? They're still killing. How can we say that it's wrong for someone to murder another person, but that it's okay to turn around and murder them? Also, many of these murders are VERY mentally ill. In their minds, what they've done was justified. They often believe that their killing these victims is okay, or right, or good, because they're prostitutes, or because they upset the murderer in some way, or whatever their reason may be. But, though they may really and truly believe these things, that still doesn't make what they've done RIGHT.
25 - Chris Evans
Whaa'? That doesn't even make any sense.