Tookie is scum...now, DON'T kill him

[scoopmeister]

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002563.html

Williams and Abu-Jamal are highly intelligent and charismatic people. They are compelling authors with a message to the world outside their prison walls. They are also the worst possible arguments for opposing the death penalty -- not when there are so many others on Death Row who are poor, illiterate, inarticulate, and who were coerced into confessions, or railroaded by the justice system, by faulty IDs or jailhouse snitches.

Abu-Jamal killed a cop and was caught with a smoking gun, literally. And now comes multiple killer and gang leader Tookie Williams, playing to the same gullible crowd. There should be a ban on writing that someone was "nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize." We could be "nominated" for a Nobel Peace Prize, and so could you. And anyone who's reading this and has not killed four or more people is more deserving.

And yet in spite of all of this, we want Tookie Williams to live.

To truly oppose the death penalty, one must oppose it not just for the innocent or the remorseful, but for the most vile scum among us. The idea of a government taking someone's life is offensive to our core religious beliefs -- and most likely to yours as well. A so-called Christian fundamentalist who supports capital punishment is going through more twists than a South Philly pretzel. Even the Pope -- and maybe even Rick Santorum -- can get this one right.

Beyond that, there is no practical reason to kill Tookie Williams. It won't bring back Albert Owens, Yen-Yi Yang, Tsai-Shai Yang or Yee-Chen Lin. There's no evidence that capital punishment is a serious deterrent to murder. It costs more of our tax dollars and yours to execute someone like Tookie Williams than it does to keep him locked up.

Williams and his supporters claim that he is doing society more good by staying alive, by writing children's books and by preaching a message of non-violence. Some of that may be overblown, but we do agree that in a heavily guarded setting behind bars, Williams can do much more good for society than harm. We should give him the opportunity, and see what he does with it.

If there is justice in this world, then some day Stanley "Tookie" Williams will be judged by a Higher Power.

Do you really think that higher power should be Arnold Schwarzenegger?

[SaveElmer]

1. Well said...

Nice summation of the arguments against capital punishment...and I agree wholeheartedly

[Cronus Protagonist]

18. I think Arnold will commute his sentence to life without parole

He needs the moderate voters back on his side. He's a Republican, so the GOP smear machine will laud his decision, knowing they need more voters in CA.

Sadly, if we had a Democratic governor, there would be no clemency.

[SaveElmer]

20. I hope you are right...

Although I thought he might allow the gay marriage bill top go through...but I was wrong.

[Cronus Protagonist]

22. There were no votes in the marriage bill - generally opposed by both sides

And I know about that one because I fought HARD against Prop 22.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[Silverhair]

21. What makes you think moderates are anti-DP?

I don't have a link, but I read today that 77% of Americans are pro-DP.

[Cronus Protagonist]

23. Apparently my prediction was not correct - Tookie dies

Arnold refused to commute. I thought he was desperate for votes, but apparently not desperate enough.

[Warpy]

2. I'm not against capital punishmen because of who they are

I'm against capital punishment because of who I am.

[goclark]

4. You must be extra special! That was an awesome assessment nt

[sui generis]

6. I change my mind every other day

What I'm finding is that if I have to qualify what rigidly controlled circumstances I support the DP under, I'm working really hard to prop up something that is unrealistic to begin with. Twenty years on death row? What, oh what in the hell is that?

If we as a society have to work so hard to justify the deaths of so few (relative to our total population), then maybe we should back off from these atavistic social ideas.

Life in prison without parole doesn't cost me any angst or rigid qualifications. If someone IS indeed innocent we are spared the collective guilt of collective murder, although I personally find the compensation given to such "victims" of the justice system for taking years out of their lives to be utterly shameful.

At the end of the day, my thinking leans away from from the visceral gratification of the DP onto the more difficult path of social responsibility.

[Warpy]

8. I've found only one case that might have justified the DP

although I think even he could have been put somewhere secure: Ted Bundy. He escaped twice and continued to kill.

None of these garden variety murderers belong on death row.

And yes, I've survived the murder of a family member.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

12. I can only think of one other scenario...

...where I could support the death penalty, and it's someone like Osama. And I'm not even sure I'd support his execution. The reason for it is not particularly simple. If you've got someone like Osama, with thousands of followers ready to die or kill themselves for a cause, you create the potential for all sorts of savage hell with kidnappings demanding the release of the prisoner in exchange for the hostages. I'm not sure it'd be worth the trouble to keep Osama alive through all of that.

On the other hand, turning him into a martyr isn't a swell choice either.

[sui generis]

15. that's where I was going

if the exceptions are SO few, then would I really want to burden the legal and penal system with all the bureaucracy that surrounds managing just a few undeniable DP cases?

For those few, I'd rather spend the money on Ft. Knox prisons and warehouse these guys until they're dead on their own. I'm sure that an intense focus on our penal system and reallocation of priorities, financial and legal means we can come up with better prisons for our dangerous populations, and better pay for the people who have to watch over them, and therefor be able to claim that we took the more humane and enlightened path.

Heck, I'd even offer a state sponsored assisted suicide if someone didn't want to sit out their years, and you wouldn't even need to be a lifer to qualify.

[Silverhair]

19. Bundy also managed to have groupies claiming he was innocent.

Yes, for awhile he too was a cause celebre, just like Tookie.

[mrfrapp]

7. Brilliant

That is without doubt the best response to this divisive subject I've heard.

[melody]

9. Well said. I agree. n/t

[kiteinthewind]

3. Thank You

My thoughts exactly. If we want a more humane world, the death penalty is one place to start. Thank you for your comments.:)

[melody]

11. How do we destroy inhumanity by acting inhumane? n/t

[okieinpain]

5. tookie...

[roguevalley]

10. in a 'Christian' country, this wouldn't even be on the table. I have

watched the news today, the polls ask if redemption should be part of a process like this, if the person has become 'redeemed'. By 2-1, most polls say no. I find that remarkable considering how loudly people proclaim their Christianity.

[Johonny]

13. If there is no higher power

then Tookie will just get judge by his fellow man. Since man hasn't shown any particular interest in not killing his fellow man. I imagine Tookie is getting a fair sentence. Frankly it's the law of the land. I think Arnold has to up hold the law of the land. You might dislike the law, but a majority of Californians do not. People are less civilized than you may wish, but killing Tookie seems on par with people being about as civilized as I've come to know them. Will mankind improve in the future... got me. But I tend to doubt it.

[Xenotime]

14. It's no way to treat a human...

by killing them. This guy has changed his life. He could help society.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. I think most folks who think a DP is worse than prison

haven't ever visited a prison facility or watched documentaries about them. The SuperMax prisons across the country let prisoners out of their cells for only one hour. Even ordinary prisoners aren't automatically allowed TVs and other luxuries. I have a friend who has been a prison guard and she says that a lot of prisoner's time is spent in their cells, doing nothing much. The overwhelming feeling is of extreme sadness. To think that you would never ever be able to leave such a place is, to me, sufficient punishment for a person-besides, there is always the chance they will redeem themselves via rehabilitation.

[Nickster]

17. Great article, pretty much exactly what I've been thinking about this

particular issue. Why shouldn't we keep him alive to get some "value" out of his life, rather than just get rid of him and get absolutely nothing back from him?

[Zynx]

24. That's my position. Against the DP, but no special sympathy for Tooks