by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright November 26, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

aced with deciding the fate of Crips' gang co-founder and convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger walks a razor's edge weighing a politically charged clemency request before the Dec. 13 execution. Already suffering in the polls, Arnold can't afford to alienate anyone heading into next year's election, let alone African Americans whose support propelled him to the statehouse in a landslide recall election, defeating former Gov. Gray Davis Oct. 8, 2003. Since his stunning victory, the actor-turned-governor watched his popularity plummet from 70% to 34%, reducing his chances for a second term. Rolling the dice Nov. 8, Arnold also witnessed his stunning defeat in a costly special election, rejecting his conservative agenda. Traveling on state business in China, Arnold admitted he approached deciding Tookie's fate with “dread.”

      Tookie's clemency petition takes on added significance because of Arnold's standing in the polls. Whether Williams deserves the needle or not will have little significance weighing on Schwarzenegger's decision. “It's never a fun thing to do, let me tell you,” said Arnold. “This is the toughest thing when you are governor, dealing with someone's life,” yet life-or-death issues didn't stop Arnold from allowing the execution of convicted child molester and killer Donald Beardslee Jan. 19. Like Tookie, Beardslee was a “model prisoner,” prompting former San Quentin warden Daniel Vasquez to say, “killing him would be a shame.” Pardoning Beardslee would have offered only negative political fallout, especially from Arnold's pro-death penalty base. Spokeswoman Margita Thomson wasn't kidding when she said clemency requests were evaluated on “a case-by-case basis.”

      Williams, 51, faces lethal injection Dec. 13 for the 1979 execution-style murders of Whittier Seven-Eleven clerk Albert Owens and Tsai-Lin Yang, Yen-I Yang and Yee-Chen Lee in a Pico Rivera motel. Williams has never admitted guilt, despite what Los Angeles County District Atty. Steve Cooley called “overwhelming” evidence. Tookie appealed to the California Supreme Court, alleging faulty forensics linking him to the crimes. Without eyewitnesses, video or compelling evidence, who knows what really happened. Whatever happened in 1979, there's convincing proof that Williams renounced gang violence and co-wrote a series of anti-gang children's books, earning him a Nobel Prize nomination. Tookie was also the subject of the 2003 award- winning TV movie starring Jamie Foxx called “Redemption,” warning wayward youth about the dangers of gang life.

      Revisiting trials is never easy, especially for victims' families seeking justice. Schwarzenegger has more to weigh than compelling evidence against Tookie but whether extenuating circumstances—including political repercussions—warrant clemency. Formally responding to Williams' clemency petition, the Los Angeles DA's office went over the top calling Tookie “a cold blooded killer” who has “left his mark forever on our society by co-founding one of the most vicious, brutal gangs in existence, the Crips.” Founding the Crips wasn't the reason Tookie landed on death row—nor should it be a compelling reason to deny his clemency petition. Only first-degree murder warrants today's death penalty, despite objections from death penalty opponents. By overstating its case against clemency, Cooley's office reveals possible legal flaws in its original case against Williams.

      Spending the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole gives Tookie a lifetime to redeem himself. Since California's death penalty was reinstated in 1978, only 10 of the 600 death row inmates have been executed. Yet that doesn't stop the Los Angeles DA—and the families of Tookie's victims—from arguing vociferously to mete out Williams' punishment. Tookie must “be held accountable for the crimes he committed and the lives he took,” said Harriet Salarno, chairwoman of Crime Victims United of California, a pro-death penalty advocacy group trying to raise money to send victims' families to watch Tookie fry. Most law enforcement officials, including LA County. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, LA Police Chief Bill Bratton and LA County Sheriff Lee Baca, stand united urging the governor to go forward with Tookie's Dec. 13 execution, believing it deters capital crime.

      Arnold has more to do than debate the merits of the death penalty, or, for that matter, whether Tookie has adequately redeemed himself. It's too bad Tookie's fate rests on whether his execution helps or hinders Arnold's reelection bid. High profile district attorneys like Cooley shouldn't speculate on whether starting street gangs warrant paying the ultimate price. It's one thing to argue that the gruesome nature of Tookie's murders justifies the death penalty but still another to advocate execution for founding one of the nation's most deadly street gangs. It's reasonable to argue that jailhouse conversions or good behavior in custody don't reverse the heinous nature—and serious penalties—of Williams' crimes. No amount of forgiveness will bring back the dead but, by the same token, neither will Tookie's execution. Between now and Dec. 13, Arnold has his work cut out for him.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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