Posted on 12/16/2005 7:31:03 AM PST by NotchJohnson
Schwarzenegger Proves He's Just A "Girlie-Man" December 15, 2005
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Nobody really expected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to commute the sentence of Stanley “Tookie” Williams. Yes, he went through the motions of meeting with Tookie’s supporters. But that was pure political theater, designed to give the appearance of fairness — when, in fact, he’d already decided to appease California’s blood-thirsty pack of wolves.
Arnold’s political advisors told him he had to look tough by upholding the death penalty. But they were dead wrong. Refusing to commute Tookie’s sentence from execution to life in prison without parole didn’t make Arnold look tough. It made him look like a great big “girlie-man.”
Arnold made a cowardly decision. In capital punishment cases, it’s easy to follow the lynch mob. What takes courage is doing the right thing, even if politically unpopular. Instead of dancing to the drumbeat of death-penalty supporters, Arnold should have followed the lead of another Republican, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who commuted the sentences of everybody on death row — because he knew the death penalty itself was fatally flawed.
Therein lies the irony of Schwarzenegger’s decision: By trying to uphold the death penalty in the Tookie Williams case, he did just the opposite. He actually undermined the case for capital punishment by proving how unfair, unjust and unevenly applied it is across the country.
After all, why did Tookie Williams get so much political and media attention? Not because he was founder of the Crips or author of several children’s books advocating nonviolence. It was for one reason only: because his cause was embraced by celebrity defenders Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg, Joan Baez, Mike Farrell and Rev. Jesse Jackson. Without them, we never would have heard of Tookie Williams. He’d have been put to death with no fuss, no muss.
What about all the other men and women on death row across America? Surely they deserve the same last-minute chance of reprieve. But they’ll never get it, because they don’t have any movie-star friends. And that’s the big problem with the death penalty. Not only is it unconstitutional (“cruel and unusual punishment”) and immoral (“Thou shalt not kill”), but it is never meted out in equal measure in all 50 states. There are too many variables.
Application of the death penalty is, in fact, so fickle from state to state that the nature of the crime committed ends up being less important than other factors: the state or county in which you committed the crime; the competence of the prosecutor or public defender; the whims of the judge and jury; the color of your victim’s skin; and, most important, how much money you have to hire a good lawyer.
After reviewing many death-penalty appeals, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discovered one common denominator: lack of funds for proper representation. As she reports, “I have yet to see a death case . . . in which the defendant was well-represented at trial. People who are well-represented at trial do not get the death penalty.”
She’s right. And tragic examples are legion. In Texas, Calvin Burdine was sentenced to death after his court-appointed lawyer fell asleep in the courtroom. In Alabama, Judy Haney was sent to death row even though her attorney was so drunk in the courtroom he was held in contempt and sent to jail himself.
Same with race. Minorities are much more likely to be sentenced to death than whites. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 43 percent of all executions were minorities. Today, 55 percent of all those on death row are people of color. Both numbers are way out of proportion to the population of blacks, Native Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans.
And, of course, DNA testing has shown that even many people in prison are not guilty. This week alone, Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia pardoned two criminals exonerated by DNA of crimes they did not commit. One had already spent 20 years in prison. Where’s the justice?
Even inadvertently, Arnold Schwarzenegger has rekindled a re-examination of the death penalty, which, I am convinced, will lead eventually to its abolishment. Meanwhile, one thing is for sure: As long as we continue to torture prisoners in other countries and execute prisoners here at home, we Americans cannot claim the moral high ground.
And his reaction if a Democrat had refused?
Williams was executed by the laws of California.
Bull. There were dozens of posters on FR who claimed that they were "sure" that he'd do just that. And we'll be reminding the Arnold-haters of that when re-election comes around.
And, of course, Press is a demagogic buttwipe who was off his meds when he wrote this.
I thought Bill Press was dead.
And I thought those books backhandedly glorified the gang lifestyle, from what I have read.
Next time you post something by Bill Press, how about a barf alert?
No, just his career!
Yep Bill. The good ol USA has no moral highground versus the Islamoscum. Just like we did not have it over the Commies, the Viet Kong, Red China, Saddam, Pol Pot, Imperial Japan, Hitler's germany, France, the myriad African despots, or Kim Jong Il.
We are all the same Billy.
What a F******G idiot.
Councillors in the Austrian city of Graz yesterday voted to remove the California governor's name from the local football stadium.
The move comes after the Terminator star denied clemency to convicted murderer Stanley 'Tookie'Williams, 51, the co-founder of Los Angeles' notorious Crips gang.
From this morning's This is London
I couldn't have said it better! I have NEVER agreed with this guy on anything, and his positions are contrary to anything logical.
"In capital punishment cases, it’s easy to follow the lynch mob." "As long as we continue to torture prisoners in other countries and execute prisoners here at home, we Americans cannot claim the moral high ground."
Press hurts himself trying to come up with conclusions like that.
*Conclusion based on pathological discognition:
*State execution of murderers is supported by blood thirsty "lynch mobs." The death penalty is "racist."
I'm sure Ah-nuld will be tossing and turning over that!
Press is full of it.
I emailed Press telling him he was nuts and that the "brother needed to die".
"discognition" I hate it when someone makes me open a dictionary for a word that does not exist.
Yo, Bill, we get your point now. Set 'em all free! Open up the jails and forget about "justice," there is no justice in "Amerika," right?
This was one of the more poorly reasoned articles I've seen on this forum in the last five years.
Nor have I, but I also disagree with everything that Jon Stewart has to say - yet I don't find Stewart nearly as despicable as Press even though Stewart is such a wiseass.
It's because Press has a really smarmy, condescending, nasty, "I'm smarter than you and you're lucky I'm even taking the time to explain things to you" affect that I would probably want to punch him in the face if I ever conversed with him personally.
(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.")
"As long as we continue to torture prisoners in other countries and execute prisoners here at home, we Americans cannot claim the moral high ground."
bah.. at least we no longer use the guillotine, hanging, or firing squad for executions. and i haven't heard of any prisoners being put on a rack or an iron maiden or have a cat-o-nine used on them.
The tortures and execution devices you describe should be reserved for delivering justice to irresponsible cockeyed leftist pseudo-journalists. The evil pen having writ...
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