If anybody deserves the death penalty-and there are penty who do-then this former Crips leader and founder would cetainly qualify as among the list of most deserving. Yet, there is a good chance that California Governor Arnold Swarzennegger will, bowing to pressure from the left, grant clemency. After all, he has a staunch array of advocates and defenders, including rapper Snoop Dogg, who refers to Williams as an "inspiration".
I would be the first to assert that anyone can change, and promote a generally positive contribution to society. But how do you make up for seven lives? Granted, four of the lives Williams was convicted of being responsible for taking were rival gang members, but there were those other three. Simple Chinese storeowners, a man and his wife and daughter. Doubtless witnesses or complainants to Williams criminal enterprises, perhaps victims who would no longer sit back and take it, who would no longer remain silent. The reason is really irrelevant. The point is, they did not deserve their fate.
True, Williams has sought to make amends, to an extent, by becomming an author of childrens books, and a seemingly tireless anti-gang activist. In this way, he has contributed to undoing the harm he has wrought on society.
Well,that would take some doing, to be sure. For one thing, it would be almost impossible for him to balance out the scales. I am not here speaking about the three innocent lives that he destroyed forever, or the grief that he caused this families friends and extended relatives, but instead I refer to the overall harm he wrought on society. In the long run, Williams is responsible for more loss of life than the seven for which he was convicted. And if it were possible to total up all the lives that were ended by violence due to the influence of this gang that he founded and ran for so long, that would still not be the end of it.
You would still have to figure in all the lives that he has irrevocably ruined, all the children who were lead into a life of crimes and drug addiction, eventual prostitution, and criminal records, some of which may have eventually resulted in their own executions.
Though I am an advocate of the death penalty, I am not one of those kill crazy types who would kill any criminal at the slightest pretext. In fact, I am a staunch advocate of prison reform. I think an emphasis on rehabilitation and education, with proper medical care, job training, and viable pay and benefits while in prison for those most deserving, is the real way to go. I also think prison safety for all prisoners regardles of the crimes for which they are convicted, is appropriate.
But at the same time, there are some prisoners that can probably never be rehabilitated, and in addition, there are some who, due to the nature of their crimes, should never be set free again. I would think the death penalty would be merciful. Why would anyone want to live their entire life in prison?
At any rate, there are some cases in which the death penalty is just simply the only option that is justified. Tookie Williams fits the bill. He is obviously guilty of all seven of the murders for which he was convicted. He is just as obviously guilty of all the ruined lives and destroyed families I have spoken of. A few speeches and books, no matter how thoughtful, positive, and sincere, is not going to atone for that.
Now if there were some viable, legitimate questions as to his guilt, I would concede that clemency is appropriate, and in fact I would be the first to demand it. But this is not the case here. This man is obviously guilty. There can be no legitimate claims made here to the effect that his execution is racially motivated. His crimes are that obvious and glaring.
Whatever good he might do toward advocating against gangs were he allowed to live, there is one inescapable conclusion. His death for these crimes would be just as dramatic, and an even more final, statement and warning against the lifestyle of criminal gangs.
I would concede there may even be riots, in addition to peaceful protests, agaisnt his execution, some of which might erupt in violence once the execution is finally conducted. The California State Police, and local police of various municipalities, should be aware of this, and prepare accordingly.
But this should simply not be an excuse for allowing this man to escape the death penalty which he is certainly deserving of. After all, there are many gang leaders and members who have a lot at stake, in a sordid kind of public relations way, in seeing that this man is not executed. If his death were to hinder or lessen in any way their future membership drives, that in itself would be a reason not to spare him.
