Posted on 12/12/2005 12:42:27 PM PST by lunarbicep
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused Monday to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips gang who awaited execution after midnight in a case that stirred debate over capital punishment and the possibility of redemption on death row.
Schwarzenegger was not swayed by pleas from Hollywood stars and petitions from more than 50,000 people who said that Williams had made amends during more than two decades in prison by writing a memoir and a series of children's books about the dangers of gangs.
With a reprieve from the federal courts considered unlikely, Williams, 51, was set to die by injection at San Quentin State Prison early Tuesday for murdering four people in two 1979 holdups.
Justice prevails in the land of the FRee. Now this is why I spent 12 years in the militery. Thank You Govenator for making it all worthwhile....
I won't judge Tookie's heart but the law has judged his actions. Appropriately so.
Thanks are due to Governor for being steadfast in upholding the rule of law.
Course, all the Freepers who "just knew" Arnold was going to grant clemency will move on to the next reason they don't like him.
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets;
let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto
them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Luke 16:23-31
'good-bye' is actually "God be with ye."
From now on, the Nobel prize legacy is cheapened before the world by favoring leftist agenda.Two words:
Jimmy Carter.
"I do not feel any joy in the taking of another human life"
I'm with you - there is no joy in this. Unfortunately, there are some very unpleasant things that human society is forced to do, and this is one of them.
http://bibchr.blogspot.com/
Go to the Dec. 5th entry. I think he says it well.
Boy!! I'm learnin I don't know nuthin!!(hanging head in shame...)
I read an article today that says there are appeals (not on Tookie) going through that argue that even leathel injection is "cruel and unusual".
You...tookie me in with that one!
"goodbye tookie, and hell awaits you."
I wonder how many people have died because of the creation of the Cripps gang? This man is responsible for more than 4 deaths thats for sure.
Boy, it's a good thing the electric chair is no longer being used.
I think we should go back to hanging them. LOL...
The compassion your action demonstrated to the victims' families is appreciated.
It now seems pretty clear to me. Arnold released his decision immediately after the 9th Circuit court refused to stay the execution. If the 9th circuit had stayed the execution Arnold's would have had no reason to rule. And no politician is going to make a controversial decision unless he has to do so. I know that any astute reporter could have determined what was going on by talking to a judge or a defense attorney not involved in this case.
Until the 9th ruled the ball was not really in Arnold's court of last resort. But the media pretended it was. Once the state supreme court and the 9th circuit had ruled against Tookie, it was in Arnold's court and he posted his decision promptly.
No one thinks the Federal Supreme court will stay the execution. The supremes have been approached by Tookie several times to no avail. But the 9th circuit had in a previous ruling said that Tookie might merit clemency. So it is likely Arnold did not want to rule for executing Tookie and then in effect be overruled by the 9th circuit.
One of the things I used to do in cases like this was to go to another defense attorney or a judge and ask what was going on. Based on what they told me I could then do a story that had a very high probability of being correct.
I would bet a bundle that any astute attorney or Judge could have told us why Arnold was waiting to release his decision.
Often what a disinterested judge or defense attorney told me was at odds with what the defendant's council tried to feed me. Many reporters today just talk to the defendant's attorneys and then print what they say. That type of reporting even in a case like this results in inaccurate reporting.
I suspect in this case the media types wanted to make Arnie's supporters be angry with Arnie.
Very important point, very well stated.
Here's the bottomline.
If Tookie truly redeemed himself and is in good standing with God, when he's executed he will get into heaven.
Paradise will be better than life in prison, he should be thankful.
If Tookie has not redeemed himself in the eyes of God we all know where he's going and so does he. I guess you would rather put it off for awhile and stay in prison.
The Gov.... Upheld the rule of law and honored the jury system
Excellent point...Do not allow the left/media/Hollywood to frame the issue around their language. They attempt to 'shape perception'.
As a Californian..........my confidence in our system and our Governor has been restored.
Thank you Governor Arnold.
We'll talk about Gil Cedillo and Bustamante and shunning those folks at some other time.
Ahhhh....'tis another good reason to be a Californian again today..............
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