Tookie died. Do you feel safer?

At 3:01 AM EST, while you were sleeping, the federal government authorized murder.

Every 5 seconds a person is shot. That means 6500 people were shot after Tookie was killed.

A woman is battered every 13 seconds. 2500 were battered since Tookie was killed.

God only knows hot many are dying in Sudan, North Korea, and elsewhere due to impoverishment and malnourishment.

2000+ men and women are dead in Iraq. How many innocent civilians died since Tookie was put to death.

I'm not defending the slaughter of 4 innocents at Tookie's hands. I'm asking why the Government needs to stoop down to his level and legally murder a man when it accomplishes nothing.

END CAPITAL PUNISHMENT NOW!

wasn't it the state of California that executed Tookie? Not the federal government?

If the people of California want to get rid of the death penalty just vote it out.

*exits from the Tookie debate*

I support the death penalty and victims rights.
I also support one's right to earn clemency....
By expressing remorse for your crime (Yes, I think he was guilty, not everyone who SAYS they're innocent is) AND going state's evidence to save more lives.

yes that's right.... ya don't want to repent or snitch. the state of Ca. no longer wants responsibility for you.

This is a fight Democrats should avoid. Face it, this monster belongs in hell with Ronald Reagan and George W. "I killed 32,140" Bush.

whether he belongs in hell. He wasn't some decent guy who was victim to some unfair process. I'm questioning the validity of the death penalty. He'd have the same hell to look forward to whether the government killed him or not, but I'd rather the Government not take matters into its own hands and use federal money to kill someone.

Was it the single shotgun shell they found that matched his weapon -- a weapon which was kept at the house of one of the criminals, then under indictment for murder himself, who testified against him?

Or the statement by a known jailhouse snitch, who was facing years in prison, who Williams inexplicably trusted to confess to?

The only meaningful testimony in the case came from people who could benefit by cutting a deal with the DA's office. The shotgun shell was the only physical evidence.

The DA's office wanted to take down the leader of the Crips, and they did so by cutting a deal that let a real murderer or two go uncharged with the crimes. Sure, Williams was a bad man, and he deserved a long stretch in jail just for what is known, and admitted to by him, but I can't but see this as a political trial where he was set up by the DA's office.

His stepfather... who (by the way) broke down on the stand and said that he COULD NOT actually account for his whereabouts.

Why exactly do you think he is innocent?
There was a racially mixed jury in this case.... so that possible point is rendered moot.

All it means is that is one place he was not, not where he was.

And your racially mixed jury was what, 1 black and 11 white? Having been moved out of his own venue into a prosperous suburban area which, if like most suburbs, knew nothing about gangs and fears them all the more?

I don't claim that he was innocent -- just that he was a long way from being proved guilty. The testimony was bought and paid for, and the single piece of physical evidence had no direct connection to him -- not so much as a fingerprint on the shell. Only that he owned the weapon it came from. It was a terribly weak case, buttressed only by suspect testimony. If the trial had not been held where it was, he would likely have walked.

There were four brutal murders committed, and I have to wonder if the murderer is still at large.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised to see him rise from the grave by Friday morning, the way people are talking about him.

I'm not even a personal supporter of capital punishment but, Tookie this and Tookie that like he's everyman's best friend, a hero of black empowerment... are the Crips a black empowerment organization or something? My sympathy and my senses are just not triggered by all this outpouring of "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?" posts.

No. I'm not happy. But even if Arnold granted clemecy I would never be one of these people who apparently think Tookie was an innocent man and should have been pardoned to boot. I'm sorry, I'm just not. I thought Arnold's statement was amazingly fair, thorough, and honest about the exact issues Arnold looked over, in the difficult position he was placed in. (I'm not sure he thought much about being in this position when he ran for office.) I compare this favorably to the gnashing of teeth and screaming at other people I'm seeing around DU today. I don't need to prove I'm holier than everyone else, but then again, maybe that's why I'm not happy.