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Tookie Williams Execution
Two versions of an appeal for clemency for Stan Tookie Williams, an open letter to Gov. and a letter to Williams' supporters. Plays off terminator character, YES, but also Kindergarten Cop, and makes a cogent moral appeal. Execution is set for Dec. 13th.
November 17, 2005
Open Letter to Governor Schwarzenneger:
I write this letter on faith that you are not, at core, the Terminator, for we know that the Terminator would not hesitate to execute people in cold blood, and my appeal to grant clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams would fall on deaf ears. As you know, Crips co-founder, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and writer, Tookie Williams has been scheduled for execution on December 13, 2005.
I write with the conviction, rather, that you identify with Kindergarten Cop—hard when necessary, soft when humanity requires it.<>
<>Crimes against humanity are the terminator’s reason to be: terminators are the non-human state’s means of eradicating human imperfection, and nothing is more imperfect than violent, gratuitous homicide. The movie that made you famous teaches us that human beings are morally superior to robotic terminators. We do not terminate imperfect human beings; we embrace them—we embrace ourselves. When (we) people sin, we forgive them (ourselves), we show mercy. Kindergarten Cop understands this. Kindergarten Cop has a big heart.
<>It’s the Terminator who coldly endorses capital punishment, the Terminator who, like George W. Bush when governor of Texas, shows no mercy. The Terminator loves our practice of terminating human beings who, by committing homicide, have taken human imperfection to the limit. Actually, one needs only be convicted/ /of homicide, since justice, as it happens, is as imperfect as the people who dispense it. Guilty in fact, or guilty by conviction—the mark of imperfection either way. <>
To the terminator, Kindergarten Cop himself is a jumbled mess of emotions and, therefore, does not deserve to live. If the Terminator had his way, you would not be Governor sitting in final judgment over the lives of condemned men, and I could not be appealing to your softer, human side. Thankfully, the original Terminator was terminated before he could execute Kindergarten Cop. <>
Whether Stanley “Tookie” Williams is innocent, as he claims, or guilty, as determined at his original trial by (an imperfect) jury, or whether he deserves all the attention, awards and honors—including a 2005 Presidential Call to Service Award by merciless George W. Bush-- bestowed on him for his Herculean efforts over the past two decades to dissuade kids from joining gangs and embracing violence—these question are beside the point. <>
Kindergarten Cop knows that systematic, cold-blooded termination of people is wrong. If one of his kindergarten munchkins were to hits the kid who hit her, Kindergarten Cop would tell her that violence is not the way to solve a problem. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We don’t kill people just because they kill us. We talk to them, we tell them how their killing us made us feel; we give them a very long, maybe (or often) even a permanent time out, but we do not kill them back. Our restraint makes us human; we are civilized. <>
As your decision whether to grant clemency nears, the civilized world will be rooting for the strong but compassionate voice of Kindergarten Cop to drown out the heartless, violent screeching of the Terminator and his kind. <>
Please, Governor, do not sign off on yet another American crime against humanity. Help the state of California and the nation regain the civilized high ground. <>
Grant Stanley “Tookie” Williams clemency now.
Tom Kerr
(Tom Kerr teaches writing at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.)
<>104 Miles Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13210
tkerr [at] ithaca.edu
November 17, 2005
Campaign for Clemency
To persuade the Governor to grant clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams, we must not appeal to the Terminator, for we know that the Terminator would not hesitate to execute people in cold blood, and our appeal will fall on deaf ears. As is by now well known, Crips co-founder, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and writer Tookie Williams has been scheduled for execution on December 13, 2005.
We must appeal, instead, to Kindergarten Cop—hard when necessary, soft when humanity requires it.
Crimes against humanity are the terminator’s reason to be: terminators are the non-human state’s means of eradicating human imperfection, and nothing is more imperfect than violent, gratuitous homicide. The movie that made Scharwzenneger famous teaches us that human beings are morally superior to robotic terminators. We do not terminate imperfect human beings; we embrace them—we embrace ourselves. When (we) people sin, we forgive them (ourselves), we show mercy. Kindergarten Cop understands this. Kindergarten Cop has a big heart.
It’s the Terminator who coldly endorses capital punishment, the Terminator who, like George W. Bush when governor of Texas, shows no mercy. The Terminator loves our practice of terminating human beings who, by committing homicide, have taken human imperfection to the limit. Actually, one needs only be convicted/ /of homicide, since justice, as it happens, is as imperfect as the people who dispense it. Guilty in fact, or guilty by conviction—the mark of imperfection either way.
To the terminator, Kindergarten Cop himself is a jumbled mess of emotions and, therefore, does not deserve to live. Thankfully, we should remind Arnold, the original Terminator was terminated before he could execute Kindergarten Cop.
And we must argue that it is beside the point whether Stanley “Tookie” Williams is innocent, as he claims, or guilty, as determined at his original trial by (an imperfect) jury, or whether he deserves all the attention, awards and honors--including a 2005 Presidential Call to Service Award by merciless George W. Bush--bestowed on him for his Herculean efforts over the past two decades to dissuade kids from joining gangs and embracing violence.
Kindergarten Cop knows that systematic, cold-blooded termination of people is wrong, and we need only remind him. If one of his kindergarten munchkins were to hit the kid who hit her, Kindergarten Cop would tell her that violence is not the way to solve a problem. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We don’t kill people just because they kill us. We talk to them, we tell them how their killing us made us feel; we give them a very long, maybe (or often) even a permanent time out, but we do not kill them back. Our restraint makes us human; we are civilized.
The civilized world will be rooting for the strong but compassionate voice of Kindergarten Cop to drown out the heartless, violent screeching of the Terminator and his kind. Who is Arnold going to listen to? That's what we need to ask.
Tom Kerr
(Tom Kerr teaches writing at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.)
104 Miles Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13210
tkerr [at] ithaca.edu
Open Letter to Governor Schwarzenneger:
I write this letter on faith that you are not, at core, the Terminator, for we know that the Terminator would not hesitate to execute people in cold blood, and my appeal to grant clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams would fall on deaf ears. As you know, Crips co-founder, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and writer, Tookie Williams has been scheduled for execution on December 13, 2005.
I write with the conviction, rather, that you identify with Kindergarten Cop—hard when necessary, soft when humanity requires it.<>
<>Crimes against humanity are the terminator’s reason to be: terminators are the non-human state’s means of eradicating human imperfection, and nothing is more imperfect than violent, gratuitous homicide. The movie that made you famous teaches us that human beings are morally superior to robotic terminators. We do not terminate imperfect human beings; we embrace them—we embrace ourselves. When (we) people sin, we forgive them (ourselves), we show mercy. Kindergarten Cop understands this. Kindergarten Cop has a big heart.
<>It’s the Terminator who coldly endorses capital punishment, the Terminator who, like George W. Bush when governor of Texas, shows no mercy. The Terminator loves our practice of terminating human beings who, by committing homicide, have taken human imperfection to the limit. Actually, one needs only be convicted/ /of homicide, since justice, as it happens, is as imperfect as the people who dispense it. Guilty in fact, or guilty by conviction—the mark of imperfection either way. <>
To the terminator, Kindergarten Cop himself is a jumbled mess of emotions and, therefore, does not deserve to live. If the Terminator had his way, you would not be Governor sitting in final judgment over the lives of condemned men, and I could not be appealing to your softer, human side. Thankfully, the original Terminator was terminated before he could execute Kindergarten Cop. <>
Whether Stanley “Tookie” Williams is innocent, as he claims, or guilty, as determined at his original trial by (an imperfect) jury, or whether he deserves all the attention, awards and honors—including a 2005 Presidential Call to Service Award by merciless George W. Bush-- bestowed on him for his Herculean efforts over the past two decades to dissuade kids from joining gangs and embracing violence—these question are beside the point. <>
Kindergarten Cop knows that systematic, cold-blooded termination of people is wrong. If one of his kindergarten munchkins were to hits the kid who hit her, Kindergarten Cop would tell her that violence is not the way to solve a problem. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We don’t kill people just because they kill us. We talk to them, we tell them how their killing us made us feel; we give them a very long, maybe (or often) even a permanent time out, but we do not kill them back. Our restraint makes us human; we are civilized. <>
As your decision whether to grant clemency nears, the civilized world will be rooting for the strong but compassionate voice of Kindergarten Cop to drown out the heartless, violent screeching of the Terminator and his kind. <>
Please, Governor, do not sign off on yet another American crime against humanity. Help the state of California and the nation regain the civilized high ground. <>
Grant Stanley “Tookie” Williams clemency now.
Tom Kerr
(Tom Kerr teaches writing at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.)
<>104 Miles Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13210
tkerr [at] ithaca.edu
November 17, 2005
Campaign for Clemency
To persuade the Governor to grant clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams, we must not appeal to the Terminator, for we know that the Terminator would not hesitate to execute people in cold blood, and our appeal will fall on deaf ears. As is by now well known, Crips co-founder, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and writer Tookie Williams has been scheduled for execution on December 13, 2005.
We must appeal, instead, to Kindergarten Cop—hard when necessary, soft when humanity requires it.
Crimes against humanity are the terminator’s reason to be: terminators are the non-human state’s means of eradicating human imperfection, and nothing is more imperfect than violent, gratuitous homicide. The movie that made Scharwzenneger famous teaches us that human beings are morally superior to robotic terminators. We do not terminate imperfect human beings; we embrace them—we embrace ourselves. When (we) people sin, we forgive them (ourselves), we show mercy. Kindergarten Cop understands this. Kindergarten Cop has a big heart.
It’s the Terminator who coldly endorses capital punishment, the Terminator who, like George W. Bush when governor of Texas, shows no mercy. The Terminator loves our practice of terminating human beings who, by committing homicide, have taken human imperfection to the limit. Actually, one needs only be convicted/ /of homicide, since justice, as it happens, is as imperfect as the people who dispense it. Guilty in fact, or guilty by conviction—the mark of imperfection either way.
To the terminator, Kindergarten Cop himself is a jumbled mess of emotions and, therefore, does not deserve to live. Thankfully, we should remind Arnold, the original Terminator was terminated before he could execute Kindergarten Cop.
And we must argue that it is beside the point whether Stanley “Tookie” Williams is innocent, as he claims, or guilty, as determined at his original trial by (an imperfect) jury, or whether he deserves all the attention, awards and honors--including a 2005 Presidential Call to Service Award by merciless George W. Bush--bestowed on him for his Herculean efforts over the past two decades to dissuade kids from joining gangs and embracing violence.
Kindergarten Cop knows that systematic, cold-blooded termination of people is wrong, and we need only remind him. If one of his kindergarten munchkins were to hit the kid who hit her, Kindergarten Cop would tell her that violence is not the way to solve a problem. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We don’t kill people just because they kill us. We talk to them, we tell them how their killing us made us feel; we give them a very long, maybe (or often) even a permanent time out, but we do not kill them back. Our restraint makes us human; we are civilized.
The civilized world will be rooting for the strong but compassionate voice of Kindergarten Cop to drown out the heartless, violent screeching of the Terminator and his kind. Who is Arnold going to listen to? That's what we need to ask.
Tom Kerr
(Tom Kerr teaches writing at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.)
104 Miles Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13210
tkerr [at] ithaca.edu
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With so many cases in our criminal justice system ending with prisoners released after years of confinement, freed by DNA evidence unavailable at the time of their convictions, we cannot trust our justice system to be perfect enough to justify the excution of any person, much less a person of color from a poor neighborhood convicted by an all-white jury.
We grownups do kill people who kill ours; obviously it would be too late to kill those who kill us. Tookie may redeemed himself by his good works in prison for cofounding the Crips. He still needs to answer for the quadruple homicide. The State will commit cold-blooded murder of a cold-blooded murderer. That is how the system works.
Tookie killed a 7/11 clerk after robbing the store of $122. Tookie does not value life very highly. He has already cost us much more than $122. Lights out, Tookie. Time to go.
I understand that Tookie Williams may have "allegedly" performed good works during his latter days on death row. However, this is all just a smoke screen. This is the same Tookie Williams who has raised havoc in the prison system, broken sets of handcuffs, assaulted people in prison, and intimidated countless other people with his words and actions. Tookie Williams has not truly forsaken the "crips" organization. To this day, Tookie Williams has refused to debrief or give up any information on his knowledge of the crips gang, or any details of his past criminal history (at least the criminal endeavors for which he has not been caught). He is also still very active in keeping in contact (discreetly of course) with other crip members on the streets and in other prisons. Now tell me, does this sound like a man who has truly repented and forsaken his past? I think not. It is finally time for Tookie Williams to pay the price for the lives he has already extinguished. On December 13th, we can finally close the book on Tookie Williams.
I guess there's no way to talk ourselves across the gulf between those who want the state to kill people convicted of heinous, homicidal crimes and those who don't want the state to kill its own citizens, no matter how depraved. Killers don't value the sanctity of life when they kill; my view is the state ought to value the sanctity of life, on principle, even if it means forgoing the emotional satisfaction people derive from "taking an eye for eye."
But I realize the gulf between the two positions is wide. It's gulf that probably has more to do with feeling and temperment than reason and logic (death penalty costs tons, is imperfect, and does not deter). And the prosepct of coldly exterminating people, even if/when guilt of cold-blooded murder, does not feel right to me.
For me, there's plenty of death and destruction on earth without building it into one's criminal justice system.
But if it feels good to people, if if feels right and just--what can be said? Not much, right? Can't argue people into or out of mercy. In Governor Ryan's case, only experience convinced him that captial punishment was wrong. Watch the documentary Deadline to see why he changed his mind.
But I realize the gulf between the two positions is wide. It's gulf that probably has more to do with feeling and temperment than reason and logic (death penalty costs tons, is imperfect, and does not deter). And the prosepct of coldly exterminating people, even if/when guilt of cold-blooded murder, does not feel right to me.
For me, there's plenty of death and destruction on earth without building it into one's criminal justice system.
But if it feels good to people, if if feels right and just--what can be said? Not much, right? Can't argue people into or out of mercy. In Governor Ryan's case, only experience convinced him that captial punishment was wrong. Watch the documentary Deadline to see why he changed his mind.
So if it the death penalty doesn't "feel right", tell me what you think would be an appropriate remedy in the Clarence Ray Allen case. He's coming up this January. Haven't heard a peep on this one. Read up on the specifics if your not familiar. If your anti-death penaly, you can't stay silent on this one either. After all, a life is a life, no matter how heinous the crime or dramatic the redemption.
I oppose the death penalty in all cases, as my letter makes perfectly clear. Mercy isn't like a shopping trip to the mall: like this, don't like that. The state either models mercy or vengeance. I'm for mercy and restraint. Cold-blooded murderer's show neither mercy nor restraint, and look at the havoc they wreck on society. The modern, civilized state must practice what it preaches: mercy and restraint, not vengeance.
Great call on the Clarence Ray Allen case. One would think all the cry babies on these sites would be rallying around his case also, I mean come on, he's 76 years old and in a wheel chair, what harm could he cause? But then again it closes the door once and for all on the anti death penalty argument.
It's barbaric--two wrongs don't make a right--period. It's funny people will let mass murderers like Bush, Cheney, Rummy et. al. have a pass, though.
While I'm am opposed to the death penalty, I now have to re-think that position after learning of the Ray Allen case. Quite a quagmire........
after I read that one comment, that I likely posted myself, I am "rethinking" my position
or
after that one guy stranger on and made such a solid right-wing arguement I think I am agreeing more and more with right-wingers
not buying it, pal
or
after that one guy stranger on and made such a solid right-wing arguement I think I am agreeing more and more with right-wingers
not buying it, pal
At least I have an open mind and am willing to do a little research.
I was for the death penalty, but now I think I'm against it. It really doesn't make sense that we are one of the only "civilized countries" that still uses it. Also, our so-called leaders can be guilty of mass murder and skate while poor people kill one or two and are executed....
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.
changed my mind when I realized that the only poeple they can find to work on the electric chair are neonazis.
http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2000/020300/cover.html
changed my mind when I realized that the only poeple they can find to work on the electric chair are neonazis.
http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2000/020300/cover.html
We could just fly a missle into the area in or around San Quentin, and if a few others were killed, we'll call the m terrorists or supporters or something like that. And if anyone complains we'll like them up and do a smear campaign, question their patriotism and accusing them of aiding and abetting the enemy.
I have yet to see someone come up with another way to stop people like Clarence Ray Allen, other than capital punishment. I'm open to suggestions........
well, there's a thing called prison
some people get life in prison
go figure
some people get life in prison
go figure
That's the point we are trying to make, use your head.
Allen was already in prison for murder, life without parole.
He was trying to appeal his conviction and get a new trial. He figured if he got a new trial and the witness were dead, no case.
So he had the witnesses killed.
Allen was already in prison for murder, life without parole.
He was trying to appeal his conviction and get a new trial. He figured if he got a new trial and the witness were dead, no case.
So he had the witnesses killed.
He could not and did not kill anyone else while in jail.
Some other jerk did. You think this other jerk wouldn't have killed other people not on the hitlist, seeing as he had such a high regard for life? Of course he would have killed other people for some other reason.
Allen is a red herring and shows nothing about the wisdom or whathaveyou of the death penalty.
Some other jerk did. You think this other jerk wouldn't have killed other people not on the hitlist, seeing as he had such a high regard for life? Of course he would have killed other people for some other reason.
Allen is a red herring and shows nothing about the wisdom or whathaveyou of the death penalty.
Maybe you can enlighten us a little, please tell us how many guards and other inmates (in for lesser crimes) have been killed by "lifers" in prison over say, the last ten years? Who are you going blame for those?
You assumed capital punishment is an effective deterrent to homicide. This point has been hotly debated for many years, and I don't think the facts clearly support your premise. Can you back it up with CREDIBLE materials? Please do so. Don't attempt to "prove" your point, however, with any of the reams of fascist propaganda being pumped out by the likes of New York Governor George Pataki. That won't work with me
"Over 80 percent of [eminent professional criminologists] believe the existing research fails to support a deterrence justification for capital punishment. Over three-quarters believe that increasing the frequency of executions, or decreasing the time spent on death row before execution, would not produce a general deterrent effects."
-- from http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/dp/dppapers/mike.deterence
Many other similar reports here:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=12&did=167#STUDIES
The real unambiguous value of the death penalty seems to be the message it sends to the public, and I daresay this has nothing to do with crime and deterrence, but with conditioning the people to accept the state's "absolute right" to kill anybody it damn pleases. Consistent with this, it was the fascist Reagan administration that initiated the big push to reinstitute the death penalty.
"Over 80 percent of [eminent professional criminologists] believe the existing research fails to support a deterrence justification for capital punishment. Over three-quarters believe that increasing the frequency of executions, or decreasing the time spent on death row before execution, would not produce a general deterrent effects."
-- from http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/dp/dppapers/mike.deterence
Many other similar reports here:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=12&did=167#STUDIES
The real unambiguous value of the death penalty seems to be the message it sends to the public, and I daresay this has nothing to do with crime and deterrence, but with conditioning the people to accept the state's "absolute right" to kill anybody it damn pleases. Consistent with this, it was the fascist Reagan administration that initiated the big push to reinstitute the death penalty.
I never brought up deterrence but since you did. Please show me how life without parole is more of a deterrent than the death penally. It is not, so the point is irrelevant for both sides of the argument.
Now, I can can show you many people who were given life without parole and then went on to kill again. Please show me one person that was put to death and then went on to kill more people.
I would have no problem not using the death penalty if the system could guarantee the suspect would not go on to kill again (IE %100 isolation from other people). But then people would cry it's too cruel.
Now, I can can show you many people who were given life without parole and then went on to kill again. Please show me one person that was put to death and then went on to kill more people.
I would have no problem not using the death penalty if the system could guarantee the suspect would not go on to kill again (IE %100 isolation from other people). But then people would cry it's too cruel.
"show you many people who were given life without parole and then went on to kill again"
okay, show us. count the ways, Mr. Supposedly On the Fence
remember you said "many" as if it were commonplace
life with out parole. kill again. go...
okay, show us. count the ways, Mr. Supposedly On the Fence
remember you said "many" as if it were commonplace
life with out parole. kill again. go...
493 in the last ten years......
The following is a series of emails that were exchanged between me and the above author. what an ass!
>Thomas Flaherty wrote:
im turning off my lights so that tookie can get what he deserves.
Subject: /Re: tookie williams/
Date: /Thu, 01 Dec 2005 20:54:01 -0500/
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in such an illuminating fashion. I
guess I like cold-blooded killing even less than you do. Imagine that.
Tom Kerr
Thomas Flaherty wrote:
maybe you can sit in tookies lap and hold his hand,when the justice is administered
Tom Kerr
Isn't this what arrogant thugs and criminals do? Harass people? Treat people with disrespect? The Geek root of "sarcasm" is "tearing of flesh"--violence. You seem to love sarcasm, the lowest, easiest form of humor. Too bad, for you, I guess, it's not like the old days, when people were drawn and quartered. You could have been one of those enthusiastic bystanders who jumped and shouted with joy as the executioner applied hot coals to the open wounds made as horses pulled the limbs off the culprit. Too bad they don't let volunteers strangle the condemned with bare hands. You might enjoy that, too. I wouldn't be surprised, either, if you rooted for cold-blooded killers too when they're were killing people you don't like. And I suppose you would have been in the crowd cheering loudly when Christ was nailed to the cross. You probably would've been the last one to leave, overjoyed that "justice was administered". "Kill 'em all! An eye for an eye!" I can hear you shouting in the crowd. Mercy is precisely what cold-blooded killers lack. They show no mercy. You have that in common.
Its interesting that Good old Tom Kerr reffers to sarcasim as the lowest form of humour, yet his article(letter to the governor) is riddled with it. Yet when I use it its harrassment, when he uses it to further his cause its alright. Additionaly the antidote about christ is priceless. The idea of christ going into a bodega and murdering four hardworking immigrants is hollow, tookie is not a victim.
The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them.
Lois McMaster Bujold
In closing this man is a hypocrite
The following is a series of emails that were exchanged between me and the above author. what an ass!
>Thomas Flaherty wrote:
im turning off my lights so that tookie can get what he deserves.
Subject: /Re: tookie williams/
Date: /Thu, 01 Dec 2005 20:54:01 -0500/
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in such an illuminating fashion. I
guess I like cold-blooded killing even less than you do. Imagine that.
Tom Kerr
Thomas Flaherty wrote:
maybe you can sit in tookies lap and hold his hand,when the justice is administered
Tom Kerr
Isn't this what arrogant thugs and criminals do? Harass people? Treat people with disrespect? The Geek root of "sarcasm" is "tearing of flesh"--violence. You seem to love sarcasm, the lowest, easiest form of humor. Too bad, for you, I guess, it's not like the old days, when people were drawn and quartered. You could have been one of those enthusiastic bystanders who jumped and shouted with joy as the executioner applied hot coals to the open wounds made as horses pulled the limbs off the culprit. Too bad they don't let volunteers strangle the condemned with bare hands. You might enjoy that, too. I wouldn't be surprised, either, if you rooted for cold-blooded killers too when they're were killing people you don't like. And I suppose you would have been in the crowd cheering loudly when Christ was nailed to the cross. You probably would've been the last one to leave, overjoyed that "justice was administered". "Kill 'em all! An eye for an eye!" I can hear you shouting in the crowd. Mercy is precisely what cold-blooded killers lack. They show no mercy. You have that in common.
Its interesting that Good old Tom Kerr reffers to sarcasim as the lowest form of humour, yet his article(letter to the governor) is riddled with it. Yet when I use it its harrassment, when he uses it to further his cause its alright. Additionaly the antidote about christ is priceless. The idea of christ going into a bodega and murdering four hardworking immigrants is hollow, tookie is not a victim.
The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them.
Lois McMaster Bujold
In closing this man is a hypocrite
Thomas,
Perhaps when you write to a professional writer with a comment you should attempt a few things:
1) Capital Letters
2) Punctuation
3) A coherent and mature response.
It seems to me that you wrote this guy intending to insult him rather than talk with him. The whole point of that letter is to start discussion of a topic that's very relevant to today's society. If anyone is an "ass" in this situation, it would be you.
We live in a country that believes in change, but can't accept change in those who sin. We live in a country that condemns killing, but in turn uses death against murderers. We live in a country where people seek vengence instead of peace, violence instead of rehabilitation, sentence instead of understanding. We live in a country that imprisons people, complains about crime, but is uninterested in any steps toward prevention.
Tookie Williams maybe responsible for the deaths of many people, which I do not condone, but don't his efforts to redeem himself make him a model for other people who have committed crimes? To show them that yes, this is possible. That yes you can change. That yes you can find ways to work through the sins of your past by helping others? Even if you're never getting out? Should we put someone to death like that when he can be used as a catalyst for change, as a symbol for something that worked in our incredibly deficient prison system?
Also, Tom Kerr did not condemn sarcasm as a technique. In fact, it's quite a useful one that he employs artfully. You, however, did not use it in an artful matter. I think you missed the point of his response. In fact, I think you missed the point of the entire letter. You're more content to shoot off some meaningless one liner than to actually think about the issue.
I think that's really sad. I think it's sad that there are a lot of people just like you, cheering in the masses without a clue about what you're cheering for. No one is pretending Tookie is innocent or free of crime. That's not the issue.
Where is the real benefit of killing him? If you can answer that intelligently, maybe we'll have a real discussion.
Perhaps when you write to a professional writer with a comment you should attempt a few things:
1) Capital Letters
2) Punctuation
3) A coherent and mature response.
It seems to me that you wrote this guy intending to insult him rather than talk with him. The whole point of that letter is to start discussion of a topic that's very relevant to today's society. If anyone is an "ass" in this situation, it would be you.
We live in a country that believes in change, but can't accept change in those who sin. We live in a country that condemns killing, but in turn uses death against murderers. We live in a country where people seek vengence instead of peace, violence instead of rehabilitation, sentence instead of understanding. We live in a country that imprisons people, complains about crime, but is uninterested in any steps toward prevention.
Tookie Williams maybe responsible for the deaths of many people, which I do not condone, but don't his efforts to redeem himself make him a model for other people who have committed crimes? To show them that yes, this is possible. That yes you can change. That yes you can find ways to work through the sins of your past by helping others? Even if you're never getting out? Should we put someone to death like that when he can be used as a catalyst for change, as a symbol for something that worked in our incredibly deficient prison system?
Also, Tom Kerr did not condemn sarcasm as a technique. In fact, it's quite a useful one that he employs artfully. You, however, did not use it in an artful matter. I think you missed the point of his response. In fact, I think you missed the point of the entire letter. You're more content to shoot off some meaningless one liner than to actually think about the issue.
I think that's really sad. I think it's sad that there are a lot of people just like you, cheering in the masses without a clue about what you're cheering for. No one is pretending Tookie is innocent or free of crime. That's not the issue.
Where is the real benefit of killing him? If you can answer that intelligently, maybe we'll have a real discussion.
Well Tookie is dead now, For your sake I hope he really wasn't innocent as he has been stated the whole time while in prison. God oh my God will you have to pay for his innocent blood. Can you live with that. I guess he couldn't so you killed him.
GOD WILL JUDGE I PRAY YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE. Or Yea God said Thou shall not kill. OOPS.
GOD WILL JUDGE I PRAY YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE. Or Yea God said Thou shall not kill. OOPS.
tookie william was innocent and did not desreve to be executed.
A Nobel Prize Winner has called -=officially=- to have President Bush and Toni Blair to be tried for war crimes against humanity.
I don't know what President Bush would do if they ask him to go to the Swiss and appear before the international court, the same courts that condemned many fighting German's in WW II.
I don't know?
Is it ok to invade TWO countries and blow up and kill thousands of people, as long as you can do so from a remote location, and never get blood on your suit and tie?
Preemptively attacking any country that 'MIGHT' be a threat, well - that could lead to a War with Canada - with that wide of a concept, so broad and undefined...
I think the moral of the story is:
It's OK to officially Kill thousands and take their oil.
but,
It's Not ok to kill 7/11 workers and take $122 bucks.
NEXT UP: IRAN
Oooh! They might make nuclear bombs!
INVADE IRAN! INVADE IRAN! INVADE IRAN!
Israel is planning to blow up some nuclear reactors in Iran if the USA doesn't invade iran soon.
So, Should President Bush and Tony Blair be put in prison?
Should they face trial for War Crimes?
I don't know what President Bush would do if they ask him to go to the Swiss and appear before the international court, the same courts that condemned many fighting German's in WW II.
I don't know?
Is it ok to invade TWO countries and blow up and kill thousands of people, as long as you can do so from a remote location, and never get blood on your suit and tie?
Preemptively attacking any country that 'MIGHT' be a threat, well - that could lead to a War with Canada - with that wide of a concept, so broad and undefined...
I think the moral of the story is:
It's OK to officially Kill thousands and take their oil.
but,
It's Not ok to kill 7/11 workers and take $122 bucks.
NEXT UP: IRAN
Oooh! They might make nuclear bombs!
INVADE IRAN! INVADE IRAN! INVADE IRAN!
Israel is planning to blow up some nuclear reactors in Iran if the USA doesn't invade iran soon.
So, Should President Bush and Tony Blair be put in prison?
Should they face trial for War Crimes?
For more information:
http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates...
"The destruction of this freak of nature was a long time coming"......what are you....like 16???? What an ignorant comment to make. Who are you.....who is anyone for that matter, to decide the "destruction" of anybody? Tookie Williams was no saint, but he was not guilty. And the Great State of California went and murrdered him this morning. It's not like he was asking to be let free.....just not killed. But our governor, society and people are too intrested in revenge to consider clemency.
I think the whole Tookie death thing was wrong. The man was getting older anyway they should have just let him die of an old age. And yes he was in a gang as are many people still in the world today. Get over it. So many people are just commenting so rudely, because maybe you or whom ever doesn't even like black people maybe that is why you are so disrespectful to his name. And the so called terminator I think can go to hell for all I care he killed a man, without all the facts being proven. Tookie did realize that because he was in a gang and indeed started one that he was a wrong person and later try to change that by writing the books that he wrote.But what people do not get is that this could have been started by anybody not just him and so many people who get away with murder.. such as maybe a white person and half of you would not comment the same way. That is how i feel about the whole situation and if you have a problem my email is addressed.. Thanks!
Today was a very sad and injust moment in the history of what justice is suppose to stand for. The late Mr. Tookie Stanley Williams life was to be spared. But the question I ask myself is: Who is to decide the fate of a mans life such as this? The answer that I keep coming up with is definately not man. Last night shortly before midnight I softly spoke a prayer for Tookie in his unjust transition from this place. Before my prayer I was so uneasy and upset over this execution, And yet after my prayer my heart felt the same. I sat and thought for a moment "God knows his heart and that is the only thing that is relavent right now." May all the injustice of this nation stop one day, and for the family and friend of Tookie may you find peace in your heart for heartless people such as the terminator for he will one day stand before someone to be so everly judged.
First off the governement is responsible for punishing offenders of the law. Williams was convicted for murdering people. And the law says that you cannot murder someone in cold blood. So he must be punished, there must be justification for his sin. And that justification is his execution. If he asked God to forgive him and has accepted Jesus as his way to heaven then you have nothing to be sad about. But if he didn't, it was his choice and while it is sad. The government made the right choice.
You said thou shalt not kill. Good qoute except you misunderstand the context. It is thou shalt not murder. Murder is killing an innocent person. In the confines of war, killing is ok, and under the judgement of the government, execution is not a sin. God also said obey your government.
I think executing Stan"Tookie"Williams still does not serve a point. The reason is because, life itself is a bundle of heat. There is so much happening today, that not even sometimes humanity itself can handle. The man did wrong a long time ago.And now things have changed. Even though what he did was brutal and violent, he still desreves a chance to live.And like the other viewers think, why can he not just live and die of old age?Now i have a ? Who started the Klu Klux Klan? Why wasn't Edgar given the gas chamber or legal injection? He and others brutally killed 3 American citizens, who were just doing there job, but no one ever spoke on their behalf. Hell for all we know, he's still free.see no one can be judged for their behavior only by God.His punishment should not have been to die, only to live and regrets from his mistake.
Written By An Angry U.S. Citizen
Written By An Angry U.S. Citizen
When you consider a government that oppresses cirtain sections of it's society, condemming them to a world of social injustice, police brutality and misinformation, what does one expect the individuals recieving such treatment to think and do. I've heard many people say over the years what african americans should do about their situation in american society, but their way of thinking isn't born out of this same environment, an environment of survival. No golf lessons for your child, no debate camps or trips around the world, not even a father in a lot of cases to talk to. Just people on the outside looking in and being critical of who you are, every move you make and not offering any direction. Yes i believe he was a changed man because he was able to see something other than the surroundings that he was given and realized that there was more to life than he was given to work with, more than the small box his mind had been placed in which to this very day hampers a perticular sector of our society.I believe he had become an angel before he left and still is.
When you consider a government that oppresses cirtain sections of it's society, condemming them to a world of social injustice, police brutality and misinformation, what does one expect the individuals recieving such treatment to think and do. I've heard many people say over the years what african americans should do about their situation in american society, but their way of thinking isn't born out of this same environment, an environment of survival. No golf lessons for your child, no debate camps or trips around the world, not even a father in a lot of cases to talk to. Just people on the outside looking in and being critical of who you are, every move you make and not offering any direction. Yes i believe he was a changed man because he was able to see something other than the surroundings that he was given and realized that there was more to life than he was given to work with, more than the small box his mind had been placed in which to this very day hampers a perticular sector of our society.I believe he had become an angel before he left and still is.
When you consider a government that oppresses cirtain sections of it's society, condemming them to a world of social injustice, police brutality and misinformation, what does one expect the individuals recieving such treatment to think and do. I've heard many people say over the years what african americans should do about their situation in american society, but their way of thinking isn't born out of this same environment, an environment of survival. No golf lessons for your child, no debate camps or trips around the world, not even a father in a lot of cases to talk to. Just people on the outside looking in and being critical of who you are, every move you make and not offering any direction. Yes i believe he was a changed man because he was able to see something other than the surroundings that he was given and realized that there was more to life than he was given to work with, more than the small box his mind had been placed in which to this very day hampers a perticular sector of our society.I believe he had become an angel before he left and still is.
When you consider a government that oppresses cirtain sections of it's society, condemming them to a world of social injustice, police brutality and misinformation, what does one expect the individuals recieving such treatment to think and do. I've heard many people say over the years what african americans should do about their situation in american society, but their way of thinking isn't born out of this same environment, an environment of survival. No golf lessons for your child, no debate camps or trips around the world, not even a father in a lot of cases to talk to. Just people on the outside looking in and being critical of who you are, every move you make and not offering any direction. Yes i believe he was a changed man because he was able to see something other than the surroundings that he was given and realized that there was more to life than he was given to work with, more than the small box his mind had been placed in which to this very day hampers a perticular sector of our society.I believe he had become an angel before he left and still is.
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