Images complicate clemency clash [Tookie Williams]

Contra Costa Times ^ | 11/20/5 | John Simerman

[digger48]

ok, I shoulda said white male

but I see your point. Too many people making excuses for others. Women and minorities are exempt from responsibility.

[BenLurkin]

Exactly.

Just ask Karla Faye Tucker . . . . . . by all accounts a fully reformed and born again inmate.

Executed nevertheless -- and rightfully so.

[Congressman Billybob]

Actually, the L.A. Times, of all newspapers, has an honest article on this subject. It notes at paragraph 21 that Tookie's Nobel Prize nominations "were made by friends of his." As I said in an earlier post, these are self-nominations, regardless of what the official Nobel Rules say.

Of course, saying that in print would drastically undercut the MSM's "Save Tookie" effort, as would the fact that he has never admitted or apologized for the murders, nor has he ever talked about his associates in the Crips -- despite his much-publicized rejections of gang violence.

In short, the L.A. Times has run one of the most thorough and accurate articles on this subject of any articles in the whole MSM. How could that have happened? Well, maybe it was during the recent turmoil in which all the editors of the paper were either on their way out the door, or distracted by the prospect of being justifiably fired. LOL.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "What If the French Had Pulled a 'Murtha' in 1781?"

[IronJack]

Five to one that Schwarzenegger caves.

[wardaddy]

that's it....white males don't garner much sympathy in the old media unless there is an angle they like

[wardaddy]

good example

[indcons]

"Network news programs have spread his story of transformation from thug to peace-seeker, spotlighting his children's books and Nobel Peace Prize nominations and his mentoring of gang youths by phone from prison. Actor Jamie Foxx portrayed him in a cable TV movie aired last year."

More proof that the MSM has no frickin' clue!!

[DumpsterDiver]

Actually, the L.A. Times, of all newspapers, has an honest article on this subject. It notes at paragraph 21 that Tookie's Nobel Prize nominations "were made by friends of his." As I said in an earlier post, these are self-nominations, regardless of what the official Nobel Rules say.

I was tryng to find out who had nominated him so many times, but that information is sealed for 50 years by the Nobel group. Drats! I'll be dead by then (but, so will Tookie).

Of course, saying that in print would drastically undercut the MSM's "Save Tookie" effort, as would the fact that he has never admitted or apologized for the murders, nor has he ever talked about his associates in the Crips -- despite his much-publicized rejections of gang violence.

He's still claiming his innocence.

In short, the L.A. Times has run one of the most thorough and accurate articles on this subject of any articles in the whole MSM. How could that have happened? Well, maybe it was during the recent turmoil in which all the editors of the paper were either on their way out the door, or distracted by the prospect of being justifiably fired. LOL.

You hit the nail on the head. LOL

[digger48]

LOL!!!

[Leisler]

Tick tick tick tick.....

[Jane Austen]

Exactly. This guy may well have done all kinds of good dead (Bundy was a heck of an effective person on the hot-line), but this does not change the fact that he committed those murders.

A woman in Texas committed years ago a horrible murder and then became a born again Christian and truly repented her acts. If I am correct, she accepted the death sentence.

[dagnabbit]

A compromise is in order. Mr. Williams should be allowed to take his own life.

Or perhaps he can dress up for the execution as a character from one of his children's books.

Watch kiddies - as Mr. Fluffy, the "say no to crack" Bunny, rides the needle!

[SmithL]

She referred to over a hundred thousand emails.

Be nice, now. I know that I consider all those E-Mails for size enhancement, refinancing, and fake Rolexes to be ringing endorsements for Tookie Williams. Don't you?

[DoughtyOne]

Well, okay. I hadn't thought about it that way. Why the Viagra Cialys emailings could account for 60k emails alone.

[Cicero]

It's just possible that he has genuinely repented and turned into some kind of saint. That still doesn't mean that he shouldn't receive his just punishment. God will reward him in heaven.

A friend of mine, who wrote his PhD dissertation under my direction some years ago and was a terrific High School principal in a tough school, started out in life as the Warlord of a youth gang in the South Bronx. He reformed and made good. Married a good wife, has children. The difference is, he didn't blow a couple of victims to smithereens, or at least he never got caught and convicted for it. I never asked him for all the details of being a warlord (the guy in charge of defending the turf against rival gangs) but I would assume that he acted honorably back then, by his lights.

[Erasmus]

If I want to gauge the degree of civilization in a given jurisdiction, I inquire as to the number of Nobel Peace Prize nominees they have executed.

[Daring Darling]

That would be true justice! I'm sure we can find someone better than Williams to teach our kids about gang violence. He should be proud though, his hatred spawned many to kill for their "homies". His life has lasted 20 more years than it should have. Did his victims have their good deeds taken into account. I think not! If he has truly turned his life around he will accept his death sentence and tell those young gang members that this is what you can expect if you stay in that type of life. That is if your not gunned down first.

[goldstategop]

All murderers deserve to die. In the Talmud, a case from 2,000 years ago established the principle that every life is of equal worth and that no one may surrender an innocent person to the authorities in order to save one's own life. "Why should your blood be redder than theirs." But the collorary principle is that if every human life is precious, we are obligated to see to it the murderer is executed since his life is not more important than the lives he stole. God demands an accounting for the blood of the innocent and remembers them and enjoins us to pursue justice for them for the sake of His Name. It is time Stanley "Tookie" Williams be put to death precisely to make the lives of those people mean something. His blood is certainly not more special than theirs. When he took their lives away, he forefeited his right to breathe on this earth.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[goldstategop]

Remorse is a condition for a commutation of sentence. But I don't think I could forgive a murderer. The only people with the power to forgive are the ones who are gone now. In Judaism, Yom Kippur provides absolution but only for sins against God. For sins against other people, we must ask them personally to absolve us. The murderer by definition, can't do that. I will always remember reading Simon Wiesenthal's account in The Sunflower of his encounter with a dying Nazi soldier and after hearing him out, he turned around and left the room in silence. It was the only thing he could have done. No one can forgive on behalf of those who were murdered. Not even God can grant it and it is beyond the power of the Governor Of California to wipe away Williams' crime.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[albee]

"A woman in Texas committed years ago a horrible murder and then became a born again Christian and truly repented her acts. If I am correct, she accepted the death sentence.

See post #31.