A Mute, But Unquiet, Exit for Williams

A Mute, But Unquiet, Exit for Williams
By Jenifer Warren, Times Staff Writer

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He tilted his head to the left, making eye contact in turn with his close friend Barbara Becnel, and two other friends, who responded by pumping their fists in the air. Out of his line of sight sat John Monaghan, the deputy district attorney from Los Angeles who led the fight against his mercy plea.

As the prison technician searched for a vein, Williams swiveled his head from side to side — mouthing words of support to friends. In return, Becnel and the others blew him kisses and mouthed messages back — "God bless you" and "I love you" among them.

As the minutes crawled by, Williams grew clearly frustrated by the continued prodding. At 12:12 a.m., he raised his head and spoke to an officer at his right shoulder, who swallowed but said nothing. Two minutes later, he raised his head, looked at the technician and appeared to say, "Still can't find it?"

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Don't be surprised, warned Gregory Goldstein, if you feel panic, anxiety or other emotions similar to those one might experience while "stuck in a natural disaster." An execution, he added, is a "highly unusual event."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-121305witness_lat,0,5664853.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Totally, disgustingly barbaric. Sanitized torture. I am ashamed to be part of a culture that allows this.

I'm completely against the death penalty, but at least they've managed to do it chemically instead of the old, slow painful ways. There's small comfort in that, very small.

My own feeling is that he wouldn't have lasted long in the general population as the gang warfare he started when he was young and stupid is still going on, and offing the guy who started the Crips would have given enormous street cred to anyone who did it.

It just wasn't our job to do it.

the details of the chemicals used in lethal injection. These same chemicals were banned for use in veterinary euthanasia as being extraordinarily painful. Yet they are used on humans. Neither quick nor painless.

I think lethal injection is a bad idea, because a barbaric act is made to seem "civilized." If we are honest about the whole thing, we should just behead people.

not, apparently, in our society, where the machinery of death continues to hum....on our behalf.....
vile. barbaric. primitive. a stain on our national honor.
end it now!

good job, Ahnuld.

had I been in Tookie's shoes I think I would rather stand in front of a firing squad.