despite what everyone thinks about the death penalty, does anyone think it is wrong that he has almost been martyred? I dont really care if he was nominated for a nobel peace prize(so was hitler), i dont care if he wrote children's books, i dont care if he preaches about ending gang violence. He murdered a family and a guy at a 7-11 in cold blood.
I've got mixed feelings about it. I do not think he should be let out of prison (which he doesnt have the possibility of), yet I do not think he should be let out of prison. I think that for society he does a far greater good alive than he does dead. I think that the aim of the jail/prison system should be to better society.
The ultimate purpose of prison should be to rehabilitate inmates, which I think is apparent prison has in the case of Mr. Williams. Yes, he was convicted of 4 murders, but we've seen again and again how poor black people are railroaded in the criminal "justice" system. There was a great hue and cry when Patti Hearst was released from prison after a few years (or was it months), even though she participated in a robbery where someone was shot and killed. It didn't bother me that she was released. I have never lived in fear that Patti would ever hold up a bank again once she was released. Neither will I live in fear that if Mr. Williams sentenced is commutted from death to life he will hold up a liquor store and shoot people. Never forget that Jesus Christ was legally condemned to death and executed.
yeah, but i'm not asking whether he should be put to death, but how Hollywood has basically made this guy a hero. Is THAT right?
Come again? I don't like the death penalty, regardless of the person receiving it. But I also don't like it when people do something wrong but are being left unpunished because of the good things they have done in their lives, everyone should be punished equally severe. Of course in a more subjective situation I'd probably judge otherwise, for instance friends of mine, etcetera, but then again, I'm a hypocrite.
even tho I have some respect for sum of the crips that live around my complex.. tookie did kill those people and was caught, so he should have to pay. since he got caught and the families of teh victims want him dead, he should be executed if it makes em feel better. if he hadnt been so brutal in killing those people then it would of been tough shit for everyone else and Tookie would be free. I know he now speaks out against gang violence and all that but he is a little too late, he just needs to accept that he fucked up his physical life and hope God can forgive him. cause its not like this physical shit is all there is 2 it, I hope that by the time they kill him he was seriously sorryfor what he did. killing him wont bring the people he killed back, or stop gang violence... it will provid those families with temporary satisfaction and a fake sense of justice, but its not up to humans to serve justice anyway... thats why this whole thing is so fuckin stupid he fucked up, he's gonna die, and whatever happens after that is between him and God. it would be funny tho if God does forgive him.. the victims family would freak if they saw him in heaven... ah shit sorry if this made no sense I am very tired
Yeah, I know what you mean. It's kind of like they're ignoring the real victims: the people he murdered, and their families.
I believe the death penalty is wrong on all accounts. Humans should not take anothers life. It is hipocritical to kill a man for killing. To tookie Williams commited heinous crimes, and some would argue that he has repented ( which I do not agree with). I do however believe he should live, killing people is the unintellegent way to solve problems.
There were no eyewitnesses to Tookie killing anyone, save the other people involved with committing the crime's. They had reasons to lie (to save their own skin). Tookie has maintained his innocense. Some prison officials are condemming him for "not repenting" but how the fuck can you repent for killing someone you didn't? He HAS repented for committing the robberies during which people were killed. I am against the death penalty. For one thing, it doesn't prevent murder. A quick comparison betwen the murder rates in states that have the death penalty and the murder rates in states that don't will prove that. And as long as the death penalty exists in this country, innocent Americans will continue to be tortured to death (executed). I don't even take confessions as a sure sign of someone's guilt. I have seen too many instances where people confessed to crimes they did not commit. Sometimes confessions were beaten out of them, sometimes the torture was psychological, in some instances the person convicted was retarded and was told if he signed a piece of paper he could go home. Eyewitness testimony is also inaccurate. Sometimes the person convicted has woefully inadequate legal defense; in one case the defense att'y slept through most of the trial. Add to that cops and others who plant evidence and you'll see that the death penalty should be abolished. And even if you yourself saw the person is 100% guilty, what does torturing them to death accomplish? Nowadays there are ways to prevent lifers from escaping (an implanted computer chip). And it costs more to kill someone than it does to let them live.
Throw the switch and fry him. Believe me if he wasn't on death row he wouldn't have authored any books or said anything at all. This is self serving.
I heard a black columnist on the O'Riley Factor say that if Tookie really desired to set an example for young black men, he would step up like a man and receive the consequences for his actions. I wonder how much money the dude has made off his so called reform and how much of it has gone to the victims families of those he murdered? How much of it has gone to aid the cause he has only espoused for the last ten years? Even if he were innocent of the murders he was convicted of, how many other lives did he destroy, or crimes did he commit that he was never prosecuted for? And for those who maintain he is innocent... Don't you think that his lawyers would have been able to prove that by now? I think that once a person is found guilty and sentenced to death, if a question of sparing their life comes up, the victim's families should be given the opportunity to make that decision; not the media, and especially not the supporters of the one accused. With that said, I would probably be willing to forgive. But that's a hard call from outside the forest. Peace.
i dont see how people can argue that this guy redeemed himself. He hasnt admitted that he did anything wrong..how can one be redeemed without first admitting and then asking forgiveness? I know the rest of the western world criticizes america for our death penalty, but why dont they take our death row inmates off our hands? Save their lives..you pay for them. We shouldn't have to. I dont think we should set a precedent that smart, enterprising people can have their sentences commuted because they decide to do charity work AFTER they've comitted a crime. We need to punish everyone fairly regardless of whether they are dumb, smart, enterprising or not. Opening this can of worms is a bad idea.
Depending on your spiritual beliefs, it's not a matter of redemption. Christianity teaches that just about anyone can find redemption through Christ. So, even a killer who has been executed can make it into heaven. But here's where a lot of people get confused. God may forgive you but the world won't let you forget! You will reap what you sow. It's God's law, and it is the law of every society. How much blood, pain, misery, suffering and death is on this man's hands indirectly? And, if you choose to leave Christianity out of it, all the more reason to execute him. In my opinion, Kharma dictates his fate. What good is he doing that can't be done better by someone who has never taken a life? How do you know that if his death sentence were commuted that he would never go free? The point is, we must live by laws. If you don't agree with the law, then you are free to work to change it. Those who would abolish the death penalty altogether are naive about the implications of such a move. An "eye for and eye" was practiced long before laws were ever established for doing so. And yes, there is a benefit to his death. It serves as an example. There are some things you just can't undo, and there are consequences to pay even if you have truly reformed. Our legal system in the US may be flawed in many ways, but overall it is the most just, fair and lenient in the world. Was it the Phillipines where the guy from Australia was recently executed for attempting to smuggle heroin? And how about those countries where your hand is cut off for stealing, or a man is castrated for rape? No, Tookie has received more than a just reward for his "alleged" good deeds by having the time to live long enough to be lauded for them. Time to pay the fiddler.... Peace - Trystn
Its just too bad that our civil libretarians and press pundits cant advocate a reform of marajuana laws. Why does Mr. Williams deserve all this attention? Are people just trying to play gotcha with schwartzneger instead of trying to make our society less cohercive, vindictive and punative in a larger sense. How auful that accused killers warrant so much attention while those arrested for pot are ignored.
I think killing him is cold-blooded. I think he's an amazing man, to have not only survived six years in isolation, but to have come out educated, in my opinion redeemed, and helping others.
an amazing man? he killed 4 people. And how can a man be redeemed if he doesn't admit he wronged someone?
