Good Night
I used to say supporting the death penalty and disavowing affirmative action made me more of a moderate as opposed to a liberal. Now those two issues are overshadowed by my commitment to civil rights and concern for the poor.
I’m a liberal after all.
Imagine my surprise at finding common ground with Governor Schwarzenegger. Quite pleased he didn’t give in to famous friends and racist ideology when deciding that Stanley “Tookie” Williams, founder of the Crips, deserved to die for brutally murdering four people in 1979. Proving once again there are no atheists on death row, Williams’ recent change of heart and good deeds don’t matter. He murdered a life and therefore doesn’t deserve his own.
This isn’t the first time I’ve agreed with a Republican governor. Remember Karla Faye Tucker and arguments that she should be treated differently due to two breasts and a vagina? Slightly sexist, don’t you think? People suggested clemency ought to be offered to the lady. If someone takes an ax to a fellow human being, gas ‘em up or shoot ‘em up. Allowing murderers to live, cultivate relationships, smile and breathe in and out is an affront to us all.
Color or gender doesn’t matter. Isn’t that what we always say? That's my message and I'm sticking to it. No matter the circumstances.
posted by kate @ 5:46 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I might be a mistake taking this post seriously...
Color is important when it comes to the death penalty. Color is important as it is often helps determine the what type of felony count one might face, and the type of sentence that is imposed upon you. Color determines who is more likely to be sentenced to death and actually put to death.
While I was no fan of the recently deceased Williams, killing him (and Tucker) did little to further the cause of justice in the United States.
Vengence on the other hand...
I respectfully disagree. Those two, at the very least, will never kill again. And most of the time, it gives the victims' families some closure and allows real healing to begin. They deserve that much. They really do.
The death penalty is wrong. Period. I am shocked to hear that you sit on the same side as GW on this issue.
I don't think the death penalty is wrong so the Prez and I agree on one thing. I believe it's ugly, but necessary.
I also don't believe that just because more people of color sit on death row that automatically makes it suspect. Just means we need to get better at condemning all murderers - not just the poor, black ones. No one should draw breath after murdering someone. I believe that is wrong. Period.
Something that I haven't heard from anywhere else is this; Tookie, as founder of the Crips, is responsible even if indirectly, for countless thousands of other deaths across the nation. So, he wrote a couple of childrens' books and found "The Lord", who cares.
Tookie is responsible for many of those black men sitting on death row. How many are there for gang killings? How many are Crips? How about we grant THEM clemency on the basis that they are, in some convoluted fashion, also victims of Tookie Williams.
Tookie (and his conteporaries) are 100% directly responsible for the rise in black-on-black crime that started in the 80's as a result of the rise of gangs. How many young men of color are either dead or in prison because of what Tookie and his ilk started? How is he any different than Slobodan Milosevic? Tookie is an architect of genocide.
That man made his choices in life and now he has reaped the results of those choices. Just because he is black does not make him any less evil.
It's not called the Death Justice.
It's the Death Penalty.
Every crime deserves a penalty. The most heinous crime deserves the most powerful penalty possible. That's neither a liberal or a conservative value. It's what society demands.
If they'd had the ability to kill Tookie a thousand times at the hand of an Uzi, it still wouldn't penalize him enough for the lives lost or the pain caused.
I wonder if Tookie would have turned his life around and changed his tune without incarceration or death staring him in the face.
Enjoy hell, Took.
I'm with you guys - these gang leaders are guilty of crimes against humanity. Just yesterday I had to reprimand a student who wrote "Bloods" on the white board. The kid is fifteen years old.
"Oh you know about us, Ms. Robinson?"
They get these kids for life and ought to be held accountable. Well, Tookie was held accountable. And I applaud it.
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