Governor Schwarzenegger, do not execute Stanley “Tookie” Williams!

Advocates for capital punishment often argue, in exasperation, that if a child molester, serial killer or anyone deemed sufficiently evil (in the eye of the beholder) does not deserve the death penalty, then who does? And this is an eminently sensible argument; but it arises from a misguided premise. Because, the question is not who deserves the death penalty but whether it should even exist as a form of punishment in any civilized criminal justice system?

I do not think so!

I am categorically opposed to the death penalty because I find it morally reprehensible (in every case), patently wanton as a deterrent against crime and fraught with racism, abuse, unfairness and incompetence in its due process determination.

Nevertheless, I accept that intelligent and well-intentioned people can disagree violently on this question. But this is hardly the forum for such a volatile debate. It just that intellectual honesty compels me to declare my position as a prelude to this plea for the life of Stanley “Tookie” Williams.

Williams is a 51-year old death-row inmate who is scheduled to be executed by the state of California in 16 days. He was convicted for the 1979 slayings of a Whittier convenience store clerk and three people at a Pico Rivera motel. But, from the time of his arrest to this day, Williams has vehemently denied any involvement and claims that only tainted, contaminated or planted evidence could have connected him to these murders. (Please click here to read why his claims in this respect are all too credible.)

Of course, since almost every convicted felon proclaims his innocence, it is entirely understandable that many people are inured to Williams’ protestations. But just as this is not the appropriate forum to debate the death penalty, it is also not the appropriate venue to re-argue the facts of his case.

Nonetheless, I confess that I am too acutely aware of my own fallibility to ever render a death sentence against another human being; especially given the alarming frequency with which “evidence” that led to the execution of individuals later proved to be tainted or demonstrably false. But I entreat those of you who are blessed with the messianic confidence to sentence someone to death to re-examine, for the sake of our shared humanity, how you reconcile the values of retribution, rehabilitation and redemption with capital punishment; especially given the record of injustice in the American criminal justice system.

Unlike others who are pleading for his life, I am loath to argue that if Williams does not deserve clemency, then who does? It is noteworthy, however, that even those demanding his execution concede that Williams has lived an exemplary life in prison. Alas, such a concession seems only the kiss of death when execution is the consummation devoutly to be wished.

Therefore, I challenge those who remain committed to the proposition that justice demands death for Williams to take a moment to browse here to see why we believe his execution would constitute a perversion of justice. (I have no doubt that the chronicles of his life will move even the most ardent advocate of the death penalty to join us in calling on the governor of California to grant Williams clemency.)

The power to grant clemency to condemned felons is the most awesome and controversial power vested in state governors in the United States. Because, with the stroke of a pen, they can determine whether a person lives or dies.

Therefore, I was very encouraged when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Friday that he will review Williams’ case to see if he’s worthy of clemency. And, like a Roman Emperor, Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to give Williams a thumbs up or down, on or before 8 December.

I am acutely aware that sometimes it takes a great deal of courage to do the right thing. But if Governor Schwarzenegger has only a smidgen of the courage demonstrated by Governor George Ryan of Illinois, then he will commute Williams’ sentence – from death to life in prison – without hesitation.

Note: Governor Schwarzenegger has reviewed 2 previous pleas for clemency and gave the dreaded thumbs down in both cases. Nevertheless, I am confident that the reasonable doubts that have arisen about his conviction in recent years, coupled with the worthy deeds he has performed in prison, will compel the governor to spare the life of Stanley “Tookie” Williams.

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