Stanley "Tookie" Williams... R.I.P.
This man was a co-founder of the Crips gang, accused of 4 murders in 1979.
Williams never pleaded guilty and maintained his innocence.
Williams, recognizing his own sacrifices, became the author of childrens books, discouraging young people from getting involved in gang life.
Williams was nominated 5 times for Nobel Peace Prizes or Nobel Prizes in literature.
Williams was sentenced to death in 1981. Because of appeals and other reasons, this man was not scheduled to be executed until Dec 13, 2005. It seems to me that if we have a criminal justice system that takes over 2 decades to assess whether or not someone has recieved a fair trial, and whether or all of the evidence has been sufficiently weighed, then we do not have any business KILLING people who allegedly committed crimes. Take the example of Illinois, who decided, after DNA evidence overturned the cases of 12 or 13 Death Row inmates, that they would no longer sentence convicted felons to death... interesting.
Williams had changed his life as much as one possibly could, inside of prison walls.
The Governor of CA said that redemption could not be had without remorse, and that he essentially could not grant clemency to someone who had not apologized for the atrocious murders. Ironically, IF Williams did not commit the murders, his refusal to confess to a crime that he did not commit may have caused him his life. You can't not apologize for something that you did not do.
Please read about Williams below. May he rest in peace.
http://tookie.com/tookie_fact_sheet_10.18.05.pdf
Williams never pleaded guilty and maintained his innocence.
Williams, recognizing his own sacrifices, became the author of childrens books, discouraging young people from getting involved in gang life.
Williams was nominated 5 times for Nobel Peace Prizes or Nobel Prizes in literature.
Williams was sentenced to death in 1981. Because of appeals and other reasons, this man was not scheduled to be executed until Dec 13, 2005. It seems to me that if we have a criminal justice system that takes over 2 decades to assess whether or not someone has recieved a fair trial, and whether or all of the evidence has been sufficiently weighed, then we do not have any business KILLING people who allegedly committed crimes. Take the example of Illinois, who decided, after DNA evidence overturned the cases of 12 or 13 Death Row inmates, that they would no longer sentence convicted felons to death... interesting.
Williams had changed his life as much as one possibly could, inside of prison walls.
The Governor of CA said that redemption could not be had without remorse, and that he essentially could not grant clemency to someone who had not apologized for the atrocious murders. Ironically, IF Williams did not commit the murders, his refusal to confess to a crime that he did not commit may have caused him his life. You can't not apologize for something that you did not do.
Please read about Williams below. May he rest in peace.
http://tookie.com/tookie_fact_sheet_10.18.05.pdf
posted by ARP | 7:58 PM
2 Comments:
Everyone seems to agree except the Governator...another reason why I didn't vote for him. He should go back to making movies. Actually he shouldn't do that anymore either.
http://dizzy25.blogspot.com/2005/12/you-cant-pick-and-choose.html
I've had countless arguments with ppl who couldn't understand why people would have advocated for his clemency, citing his co-founding a sect of the crips (and what the crips ultimately became nationwide) as further justification for his death.
You don't sentence a person to death for association...not in his case anyways.
But yes, I agree that the state has the inability to fairly apply the death penatly...whether it be from the mere practice of law itself (fair vs. mistrial) to the application of level of murder (1st degree...ect)
Anyways, I've exhausted myself. I just took a long way to say that I agree with you.
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