Arnold Lies, Tookie Dies

Williams' quest for clemency represented the only time in recent California history when a criminal on Death Row's identity as an individual superceded their identity as a murderer. Williams' work to stop gang violence, as a role model for inner-city youth, and as a peacemaker in some of America's most violent neighborhoods are what made his case so compelling. They're also what makes the Governor's decision to execute him such an outrage.

Californians have consistently shown a belief in rehabilitating prisoners, and the Governor took advantage of that belief when he tried to tell voters he felt the same way. Schwarzenegger used centrist rhetoric and a willingness to grant prisoners parole to convince people he'd be different than former Governor Gray Davis, who followed a notoriously harsh, 'tough-on-crime' agenda.

In fact, when he gave his State of the State address last January, Schwarzenegger emphasized reform of the horrific conditions at the state's youth prisons and changing the Department of Corrections' violent culture as priorities. He convinced a lot of people that he really believed in working to heal the communities across California destroyed by crime and incarceration, and would do so by making rehabilitation, not just punishment, a goal.

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