J.R.
12-13-2005, 09:51 AM
by JR
Tookie Williams, the co-founder of the violent Crips street gang, was executed by lethal injection at 12:01 AM for the 1979 robbery murders of four people in Los Angeles.
The execution went ahead as scheduled after the U.S. Supreme Court late Monday rejected a last-minute appeal.
The high court's ruling followed California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to deny clemency for Williams.
"Based on the cumulative weight of the evidence, there is no reason to second-guess the jury's decision of guilt or raise significant doubts or serious reservations about Williams' convictions and death sentence," Schwarzenegger said in a five-page statement explaining his decision.
Williams has maintained his inocence in those slayings and had denounced gang violence and wrote anti-gang books while in prison.
Having been convicted of murder and sentenced to death, Tookie Williams was not always the model prisoner, he had been a member of a prison gang and had been in numerous incidents while in prison, including throwing chemicals into a Prison Guards face.
He never admitted that he committed these murders thereby showing no real remorse for his crimes.
Could Tookie Williams be innocent of the four murders? I suppose it's possible but highly improbable.
There is something else that must be considered, Tookie Williams was the co-founder of one of the most violent street gangs in history, The Crips. The Crips are responsible for many murders, robberies, and rapes. They have destroyed many young peoples lives in the process of their mayhem. As a co-founder of the Crips, shouldn't Tookie Willams share some of that responsibility ?
If Tookie Williams were a gun manufacturer the answer would be YES. We hold gun manufacturers responsible when someone kills or seriously injures someone with a firearm, yet we don't apply the same standard to someone who is truly reposnsible for not just four persons murders but probably thousands of violent crimes committed against innocent people daily, including murder.
Let's face it. Had it not been for Hollyweird, Jackson or Sharpton, not many would even know of Tookie Williams. My question is this, and I don't mean to offend anyone, if Tookie Williams wasn't black, would we have heard from any of them about this case.
Tookie's case was reviewed more than twenty times during his incarceration and not one judge found any reason for a new trial.
I take no solice or joy in the death of Tookie Williams. It is indeed sad whenever we have to take someone's life. But Tookie Williams himself was the instrument of his own demise.
Tookie Williams, the co-founder of the violent Crips street gang, was executed by lethal injection at 12:01 AM for the 1979 robbery murders of four people in Los Angeles.
The execution went ahead as scheduled after the U.S. Supreme Court late Monday rejected a last-minute appeal.
The high court's ruling followed California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to deny clemency for Williams.
"Based on the cumulative weight of the evidence, there is no reason to second-guess the jury's decision of guilt or raise significant doubts or serious reservations about Williams' convictions and death sentence," Schwarzenegger said in a five-page statement explaining his decision.
Williams has maintained his inocence in those slayings and had denounced gang violence and wrote anti-gang books while in prison.
Having been convicted of murder and sentenced to death, Tookie Williams was not always the model prisoner, he had been a member of a prison gang and had been in numerous incidents while in prison, including throwing chemicals into a Prison Guards face.
He never admitted that he committed these murders thereby showing no real remorse for his crimes.
Could Tookie Williams be innocent of the four murders? I suppose it's possible but highly improbable.
There is something else that must be considered, Tookie Williams was the co-founder of one of the most violent street gangs in history, The Crips. The Crips are responsible for many murders, robberies, and rapes. They have destroyed many young peoples lives in the process of their mayhem. As a co-founder of the Crips, shouldn't Tookie Willams share some of that responsibility ?
If Tookie Williams were a gun manufacturer the answer would be YES. We hold gun manufacturers responsible when someone kills or seriously injures someone with a firearm, yet we don't apply the same standard to someone who is truly reposnsible for not just four persons murders but probably thousands of violent crimes committed against innocent people daily, including murder.
Let's face it. Had it not been for Hollyweird, Jackson or Sharpton, not many would even know of Tookie Williams. My question is this, and I don't mean to offend anyone, if Tookie Williams wasn't black, would we have heard from any of them about this case.
Tookie's case was reviewed more than twenty times during his incarceration and not one judge found any reason for a new trial.
I take no solice or joy in the death of Tookie Williams. It is indeed sad whenever we have to take someone's life. But Tookie Williams himself was the instrument of his own demise.