Goodbye Tookie

Tookie Williams was killed today. He was murdered by the state of California, after having been denied clemency by the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although I am not surprised, I am greatly saddened by his death. If ever a person deserved clemency and recognition of personal transformation and redemption, it was Tookie.

Although he was responsible for helping found the Crips, he was also nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize and wrote nine children's books about the importance of staying out of gangs. In speaking with some friends today, I realized that people given clemency are usually given pardon because of some problem with the system - not solely because of redemptive acts committed after their incarceration or because of personal transformation.

Although I realize his case was complicated and high-profile, I cannot help but believe that his peace work should have been recognized and given consideration. Perhaps it was, but Schwarzenegger's comment leads me to believe that it wasn't really considered. So what does someone have to do? I mean if being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize isn't enough, why should anyone ever bother to try and redeem themselves?

And Tookie probably wouldn't have been granted clemency even if he'd met Schwarzenegger's criteria. If he'd admitted he killed those people, he *surely* wouldn't have been given a reprieve. Goodbye Tookie - your light and your message will be remembered.