Were it not for the excessive news coverage of this man's road to execution, I doubt that I would write in my journal about it. But it reminded me of the biblical story about the people calling for the release of the criminal "Barabas" (over Jesus). Sometimes people are just disappointing.
As a founder of the "Crips", one of the most vile criminal street gangs to come out of Los Angeles, and a murderer of 4 innocent people (that we know of), Stanley (Tookie) Williams could have been a poster child for why the death penalty was reestablished in the 70's.
There are plenty of people that are against the death penalty completely. They have always been around and always will be. They believe in life without the possibility of parole if necessary, but not in the taking of a life. I have no problem with people who believe that way. It is a theologically sound and civilly appropriate philosophy to have. I too...have felt that way. Perhaps I will again. For now, I abide by monsters being erased.
Then there are those that picked this opportunity to stand up for a man that supposedly had been "reformed". Not that they don't believe in the death penalty, just not in this case.
"Tookie wrote children's books that advised against gang life."
"Tookie was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize."
"Tookie is reformed."
What I found interesting about these people is that in every interview I heard where the question was asked, none of them could remember the names of the four people Stanley Williams murdered in cold blood. The real victims have disappeared into history.
Stanley wrote some children's books about staying out of gangs. He also started the Crips gang and refused (till his dying day) to cooperate with police regarding the gang and its members. Stanley was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Bill Handle (a radio personality) arranged to be formally nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, just to show how easy it was. My God....Yassir Arrafat was nominated....and GOT the AWARD!! During my life time, I can't think of anyone who spent so much time standing in the way of peace. Even when awarded, not to mention nominated, the prize is not always so impressive.
A couple of other things. Number 1: I find it inappropriate that one can sit on "Death Row" for 24 years as Stanley Williams did. It is either a sentence of death, or it isn't. A sentence of death after a quarter century of waiting seems...unusual to say the least. It may qualify as cruel. If we are going to have the death penalty, then sentences should be carried out no later than 5 years after incarceration. If there is such a lack of confidence in the verdict that the prescribed sentence can't be carried out in that amount of time, then the death penalty should be revoked in that case.
As a founder of the "Crips", one of the most vile criminal street gangs to come out of Los Angeles, and a murderer of 4 innocent people (that we know of), Stanley (Tookie) Williams could have been a poster child for why the death penalty was reestablished in the 70's.
There are plenty of people that are against the death penalty completely. They have always been around and always will be. They believe in life without the possibility of parole if necessary, but not in the taking of a life. I have no problem with people who believe that way. It is a theologically sound and civilly appropriate philosophy to have. I too...have felt that way. Perhaps I will again. For now, I abide by monsters being erased.
Then there are those that picked this opportunity to stand up for a man that supposedly had been "reformed". Not that they don't believe in the death penalty, just not in this case.
"Tookie wrote children's books that advised against gang life."
"Tookie was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize."
"Tookie is reformed."
What I found interesting about these people is that in every interview I heard where the question was asked, none of them could remember the names of the four people Stanley Williams murdered in cold blood. The real victims have disappeared into history.
Stanley wrote some children's books about staying out of gangs. He also started the Crips gang and refused (till his dying day) to cooperate with police regarding the gang and its members. Stanley was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Bill Handle (a radio personality) arranged to be formally nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, just to show how easy it was. My God....Yassir Arrafat was nominated....and GOT the AWARD!! During my life time, I can't think of anyone who spent so much time standing in the way of peace. Even when awarded, not to mention nominated, the prize is not always so impressive.
A couple of other things. Number 1: I find it inappropriate that one can sit on "Death Row" for 24 years as Stanley Williams did. It is either a sentence of death, or it isn't. A sentence of death after a quarter century of waiting seems...unusual to say the least. It may qualify as cruel. If we are going to have the death penalty, then sentences should be carried out no later than 5 years after incarceration. If there is such a lack of confidence in the verdict that the prescribed sentence can't be carried out in that amount of time, then the death penalty should be revoked in that case.
Number 2: The people that some people choose to fight for: Stanley Williams was an African American. The choice of other African Americans (primarily) picking up the fight for such a man speaks more about the attitudes of that sector of society than it does for the death penalty being right or wrong.
Of all the people in the world to stand up for, of all the other black Americans that could benefit from effort and time...a multiple murderer and gang founder is chosen. I'm fairly confident that most other people who observed this felt as I did: The real reason behind the demonstrations was because Stanley Williams was black.... and that's about as racist a reason as there is. I guarantee: the only people who would have been demonstrating if he had been white, would have been those philosophically against the death penalty in general.
Right now, our society feels that there are some criminals who must pay for their crimes with their life . The crimes are so heinous, we require the guilty party to literally be removed from the planet. It is similar to the reasoning behind removing a virus from the face of the earth. It has wrought results so vile that complete elimination is warranted. It shouldn't be here anymore... at all. The sentiment and the law can't be any clearer.
Those that stood by Stanley Williams claim that his books have helped keep some young kids out of gangs. If that is true, it's a good thing and his death should not stand in the way of efficacy. But I must say that I hear logic and common sense screaming out: If you have to depend on a murderous gang member and death row inmate to do any parenting at all on your behalf, you probably shouldn't be having children in the first place... no matter what color you happen to be. (Joseph Holbrook ©2005 )
Of all the people in the world to stand up for, of all the other black Americans that could benefit from effort and time...a multiple murderer and gang founder is chosen. I'm fairly confident that most other people who observed this felt as I did: The real reason behind the demonstrations was because Stanley Williams was black.... and that's about as racist a reason as there is. I guarantee: the only people who would have been demonstrating if he had been white, would have been those philosophically against the death penalty in general.
Right now, our society feels that there are some criminals who must pay for their crimes with their life . The crimes are so heinous, we require the guilty party to literally be removed from the planet. It is similar to the reasoning behind removing a virus from the face of the earth. It has wrought results so vile that complete elimination is warranted. It shouldn't be here anymore... at all. The sentiment and the law can't be any clearer.
Those that stood by Stanley Williams claim that his books have helped keep some young kids out of gangs. If that is true, it's a good thing and his death should not stand in the way of efficacy. But I must say that I hear logic and common sense screaming out: If you have to depend on a murderous gang member and death row inmate to do any parenting at all on your behalf, you probably shouldn't be having children in the first place... no matter what color you happen to be. (Joseph Holbrook ©2005 )
JOSEPH HOLBROOK
The execution of Stanely (Tookie) Williams
Stanley Williams Execution, Joseph Holbrook journal
