Amadeus Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 California's Supreme Court has refused to grant a stay of execution for former gang leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Convicted of four murders, Williams, 51, will be executed on Tuesday unless Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger grants clemency or a federal appeal succeeds. Mr Schwarzenegger said earlier he was agonising over the clemency request. Williams, co-founder of the notorious Los Angeles Crips gang, denies the murders. He has received backing from a number of high-profile supporters. His supporters range from Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx and rap star Snoop Dogg (himself a former Crips member) to Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. During his 24 years in jail, Williams has won praise for his anti-gang books, earning Nobel Peace Prize nominations for his teachings. BBC So it's all down to the Gouvernator now - I'm sure a former actor with a preference for playing violent roles is just the right man to decide if someone should live or die... I just hope he's a bit smarter than his president, who once said in an interview: "(In) every case I have reviewed I have been comfortable with the innocence or guilt of the person that I've looked at. I do not believe we've put a guilty … I mean innocent person to death in the state of Texas." (GWB, National Public Radio, 6/22/2000) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhumsaa Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 I don;t agree with the death penalty but I agree even less with the idea that if you have celebrity mates you should be allowed to get away with the punishment for your crimes that similiar cases receive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Messiah Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Why not have a "Who wants to be a Prisonaire?" Where well known celebs get to execute prisoners if the can't answer 12 questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScope Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 The film was quite good, worth a watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dontlookbehindyou Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Why not have a "Who wants to be a Prisonaire?" Where well known celebs get to execute prisoners if the can't answer 12 questions. Lmfao cruel but funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted December 13, 2005 Author Share Posted December 13, 2005 Well, it seems the Terminator has made up his mind: Schwarzenegger refuses clemency for Williams Schwarzenegger refused to block the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams, rejecting the notion that the founder of the murderous Crips gang had atoned for his crimes and found redemption on death row. Stanley Tookie Williams is scheduled for execution just after midnight on Tuesday (3:01 EDT/0801 GMT) I always thought, prison was about rehabilitation - if five Nobel Peace Prize and four literature prize nominations aren't enough, then what is? My respect for Mr Schwarzenaustrian has sunk to bottom level... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posters Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 He is now an ex-Tookie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 He is now an ex-Tookie Executed this morning. Apparently supporters of his were in the public gallery and shouted 'the State of California has just executed an innocent man' just after he was put to sleep. That was the first time any thing like that had happened. Governator refused clemency because Williams had never admitted the crimes (well ofcourse, if he claims he was innocent!) and because of the short space of time between each murder. Surely if someone hasn't admitted the crime then that's even more of a reason to review the case and at least postpone state-murder? America still seem to think that murdering the murderer will bring justice to the family of the murdered, stop further murders and keep the streets safe. The USA is the most insane country on Earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Most likely it was his refusal to admit to his crimes that swayed the decision. Either they executed an innocent man (and the body of evidence is overwhelming and comprehensive that he was guilty) or he's lying. I suspect if he'd admitted to his crimes and apologised to the families of his victims, they might not have commuted his sentence to imprisonment, but I'm sure they'd have found enough legal procedures to slow things down that he would have died from natural causes in his own time. I've read a book about him and a book by him, both fascinating reads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Most likely it was his refusal to admit to his crimes that swayed the decision. Either they executed an innocent man (and the body of evidence is overwhelming and comprehensive that he was guilty) or he's lying. I suspect if he'd admitted to his crimes and apologised to the families of his victims, they might not have commuted his sentence to imprisonment, but I'm sure they'd have found enough legal procedures to slow things down that he would have died from natural causes in his own time. I've read a book about him and a book by him, both fascinating reads. Fair enough, given his history it's quite likely he was guilty but there was some doubt about his case. I also don't like the idea of someone spending almost 25 years in jail and then being executed. 25 years would be almost a full life sentence for many people. Hopefully if more people take notice of what he's written in his books then future people will be reluctant to join gangs and maybe some lives will be saved. On the other hand a violent death (like leathal injection) is the kind of deathn that many gang members may find exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhumsaa Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I thought lethal injection was one of the most humane? far better than the electric chair for example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted December 13, 2005 Author Share Posted December 13, 2005 I thought lethal injection was one of the most humane? far better than the electric chair for example I think the "experts" are still arguing over that - I guess no-one can say for sure, as you can't ask the recipients afterwards. I doubt that any death penalty is humane, though... From Reuters earlier this year: LONDON - American researchers have called for a halt to lethal injection, the most common method of capital punishment in the United States, because it is not always a humane and painless way to die. Some executed prisoners may have suffered unnecessarily because they had not been sedated properly, they said. The current way inmates are given lethal injections does not even meet veterinary standards for putting down animals, they added. and from another case: ...Prompted by a handful of similar lawsuits and a recent nationwide study regarding the chemicals used in lethal injection, Johnston's lawyers contend that the second drug in Missouri's three-chemical sequence may render Johnston completely paralyzed but fully conscious and susceptible to pain. They say that the chemical, which has no anesthetic properties, could enshroud Johnston in a "chemical veil" -- leaving him unable to move, cry out or communicate in any way as he slowly suffocates, "consciously [suffering] an excruciating painful and protracted death." The chemical, pancuronium bromide -- known commercially as Pavulon -- is a muscle relaxant commonly used to immobilize patients during surgical procedures. In Missouri and most of the 30-odd states that execute criminals by lethal injection, Pavulon is administered after an initial dose of the short-acting barbiturate sodium pentothal. The two drugs are followed by an injection of potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest. "The worst-case scenario is that you wake after a sub-anesthetic dose of sodium pentothal. [You've already received] a paralyzing dose of Pavulon -- and experience the torment of suffocation and conscious paralysis -- and then the agony of the burning potassium chloride," says Mark Heath, an anesthesiologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. "There are abundant examples of people who wake up in the middle of surgery feeling everything -- having the full experience of pain and terror, but [because of the Pavulon] are unable to communicate in any way that they're awake." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhumsaa Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I suppose those in favour would argue that those people don;t deserve humane... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted December 17, 2005 Author Share Posted December 17, 2005 It seems that Arnie's hard-line approach didn't go down too well back home: Red card for Arnie Furious politicians from Arnold Schwarzenegger's home city have turned on him over his refusal to stop the execution of a reformed gangster. Councillors in the Austrian city of Graz yesterday voted to remove the California governor's name from the local football stadium. The move comes after the Terminator star denied clemency to convicted murderer Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, 51, the co-founder of Los Angeles' notorious Crips gang. Graz deputy mayor Walter Ferk said: said: 'It is annoying that we are being criticised because of Schwarzenegger's actions in California. It is not exactly admirable for us to be connected with the death penalty. Therefore, I am in favour of renaming the stadium.' So, the local poiticians have agreed to rename the mentioned "Arnold Schwarzenegger Football Stadium", which is situated in Austria's second-biggest city, and will now give it the name of the highest paying sponsor instead.. Rightly so, me thinks... His decision was pretty much against the general opinion towards the death penalty in Austria, and probably most of Europe. Some people were calling for his Austrian citizenship to be revoked (he currently has both, the Austrian and the US one), but the plans were quickly smashed - give it a few more executions, and even that will be a possibility... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 Americans - especially Californians - haven't quite got used to the idea that what you see on the silver screen (including actor's characterizations) isn't real! Therefore Arnie, who is probably going to lose the next election anyway, would have been guaranteed to lose it if he'd shown any compassion in this case. Ultimately, that means his public image and his political future means more to him than a man's life. Regardless of whether the execution itself was right or wrong, the 'governator' revealed his small-minded and inadequate character, and he deserves the condemnation of his home town because his association with it brings them no credit at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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