Yup. Why flirt with the prospect of riots, etc. when the end result will be the same. He ought to make sure in his clemency declaration that Tookie will die in prison and that a future governor cannot pardon him. (If that's possible.)
What they ought to do with Tookie though, is subcontract the job out to the ChiComs, who would part him out to the highest bidder. There's probably thousands of folks who would pay large sums of money for a piece of him. Any piece of him.