'Governator' shows muscle in Tookie Williams decision

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger scored a lot of points in my book on Monday when he displayed a Mr. Universe-size backbone by refusing to block the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams.
Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips street gang, died by lethal injection at San Quentin Prison early Tuesday morning for murdering four people during two robberies in 1979.
As Williams approached his execution date, his case drew national attention, setting off a nation-wide debate over the possibility of redemption on death row. Williams, who had been nominated for a Noble Peace Prize three times, said that he didn’t deserve to die because he’d made amends for his crimes by co-authoring children’s books about the dangers of street gangs. What a joke, right?
Williams’ personal example of "don’t admit guilt, even when the evidence is overwhelming, and play every card to avoid responsibility" is something that I think kids can do without. There are plenty of other good role models out there who aren’t convicted murderers.
Let’s not forget that a jury of his peers condemned Williams in 1981 for gunning down convenience store clerk Albert Owens, 26, at a 7-Eleven and killing a family of three at a Los Angeles motel they owned. I guess co-writing a few children’s books makes that all better.
What did Williams expect to happen? If you help start a huge street gang that eventually becomes responsible for at least 10,000 deaths, you should expect to fry. What did he expect? A thumbs up?
And before you say that I’m heartless, ask if his victim’s families have forgiven him. Ask if they think he’s a good person. Ask if they think he should have been granted clemency.
Like it or hate it, everyone is judged by the worst thing they do. It’s just how it works. If Mother Teresa had killed someone, she wouldn’t have been known for helping orphans. She’d be known as the nun that killed people.
Personally, I think that Williams’ execution came 20 years too late. I say carry out the sentence within three years. There are three things that make any punishment effective: The punishment has to be swift, severe and certain. The death penalty fits the severity bill, but it’s almost never swift or certain.
Think about it. For the entire time Williams was in prison, he was clothed and fed by the taxpayers. In other words, the families of those he killed paid to keep him alive. How is that justice?
I’ve argued for limits on the appeals process for a long time. I think death row inmates should get one appeal at the state level, one at the federal level, and then only the Supreme Court as the final appeal, that is, if the Supreme Court is willing to hear the case.
All of these appeals should take less than a year each. If the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case, the sentence should be carried out a few days later. A death sentence carried out 25 years after the crime isn’t justice, It’s pathetic.
In the end, Gov. Schwarzenegger showed some good, old common sense when he suggested that Williams’ supposed change of heart was not genuine, saying that Williams had not owned up to his crimes or shown any real remorse for the countless killings committed by the Crips.
"Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption," Schwarzenegger wrote.
Let’s face it. People die every day. Better men than Williams. Maybe now we can forget about this criminal who tried to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes to keep from getting what he deserved.