December 7, 2005
Don't Execute Tookie -- Or Anyone Else
By Froma
Harrop
We who oppose capital
punishment can take a simple position on Stanley "Tookie"
Williams: Don't execute him or anyone else.
A founder of the
vicious Crips gang, Williams was convicted in California of murdering
four people. He has become a "cause" in Hollywood, which
infuriates many defenders of victims' rights. Williams is scheduled
to die by a lethal injection on Dec. 13.
Williams' supporters
assert that the former thug has totally transformed himself and
now serves society by warning youth against gangs. A TV movie
made about Williams was called "Redemption." Jamie Foxx
starred as the ex-gang leader. It should be noted that Williams
maintains his innocence in the murders. And his lawyers insist
that their black client did not receive a fair trial. Thousands
have asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to spare Williams' life.
Those pushing for
his execution contend that Williams deserves to die for the crimes
he's convicted of. And besides, who knows whether his good works,
apologies and denials are just part of a con job?
Who knows, indeed?
But we who think such state-sanctioned killing is immoral don't
have to arrive at any airtight truths on the matter. As long as
Williams is incarcerated, he is unable to harm anyone. Foes of
capital punishment do have a special obligation to protect the
public. Many Americans would join their cause only with the assurance
that dangerous criminals serve life sentences, with no chance
of parole. If Schwarzenegger grants clemency, Williams would still
spend his remaining days behind bars.
The swirl surrounding
the Williams case has a hundred angles, the most horrifying of
which involves politics. A debate is on about whether killing
Williams would help or hurt Schwarzenegger's political prospects.
Some think that granting Williams clemency would harm the governor's
standing with his conservative base. Others say that showing mercy
might shore up his appeal to the center.
That politics should
play any part in the decision involving a person's life is appalling,
but it happens all the time. While public support for capital
punishment is declining, polls show most Americans still favor
it -- and politicians read polls. Raw political calculation is
the only plausible explanation why Bill Clinton, as governor of
Arkansas, allowed the execution of a retarded man.
President Bush's
approval of capital punishment seems to come from the heart. How
else to read his refusal, as Texas governor, to commute the 1998
death sentence of Karla Faye Tucker? Convicted of murder, Tucker
had apparently become a born-again Christian and married the prison
chaplain. Bush actually mocked her pleas and ignored appeals on
her behalf from the World Council of Churches, the pope, Newt
Gingrich and Pat Robertson. I thought of Tucker last month, while
looking at a photo of the president grinning in front of two turkeys
he had just pardoned for Thanksgiving.
The celebrity crusade
to save Williams somewhat muddies the issue. Yes, Williams should
not be executed -- but neither should any of the less attractive
inmates on death row. That message is getting lost. The rapper
Snoop Dogg, Bianca Jagger, actor Mike Farrell and others note
the wonderful children's books that Williams helped write. They
point to his professions of remorse for his former gang activities.
But groups against the death penalty -- and Farrell and Jagger
have been consistent members -- confuse the public when they single
out special cases.
Furthermore, people
who oppose the death penalty must also treat the victims' families
and friends with utmost respect. Any of us would resent having
our voice trumped by the bullhorn of celebrity. The survivors
of horrendous crimes have suffered beyond measure, and we who
oppose executing their tormentors must acknowledge that fact.
All this attention
is probably why Gov. Schwarzenegger decided to hold a private
clemency hearing for Williams. He wouldn't do it for murderer
Donald Beardslee, who was executed last Jan. 19. The governor
is now hearing several arguments: Williams has "changed."
He should continue his educational work. And, the most potent
of all, he may have been wrongly convicted.
Foes of capital punishment need formulate only one opinion and
put it simply: The state should not be killing anyone who no longer
threatens the public.
Copyright
2005 Creators Syndicate
