Stanley Tookie Williams Execution Causes States to Reconsider Death Penalty

Thousands filled the Bethel AME Church in south central Los Angeles on Tuesday to mourn Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Mr. Williams was executed by lethal injection last week by the state of California after Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency to him.

Mr. Williams was convicted of four murders committed in 1979, and sentenced to death. He was also co-founder of the Crips, a deadly and powerful Los Angeles-based street gang responsible for hundreds of murders.

About five years after incarceration, Mr. Williams underwent a religious conversion and, as a result, authored many books and programs to promote peace and to fight gangs and gang violence. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize and four times for the Nobel Literature Prize.

The case of Stanley Tookie Williams has forced new public reflection on the purpose of the death penalty:

-- Is the purpose of the death penalty to remove from society someone who would cause more harm?
-- Is the purpose to remove from society someone who is incapable of rehabilitation?
-- Is the purpose to deter others from committing murder?
-- Is the purpose to punish the criminal?
-- Is the purpose to take retribution on behalf of the victim?

In 2004, the US ranked 4th in the world in executions, behind only China, Iran and Vietnam, and well ahead of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Singapore, Yemen and Egypt.

US executions since 1976 total 1004, with 335 performed by only the state of Texas. Thirty-six states now permit capital punishment, but the Williams case has caused many to reconsider it. Since Mr. Williams was executed last week, two states have actively moved toward abolishing the death penalty.

Passions in the US about capital punishment are sharply divided, and equally strong among both supporters and protesters of the death penalty.

Arguing for capital punishment, the Clark County, Indiana Prosecuting Attorney writes that "...It cheapens the life of an innocent murder victim to say that society has no right to keep the murderer from ever killing again. In my view, society has not only the right, but the duty to act in self defense to protect the innocent."

And yet Catholic Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, writes "...the death penalty diminishes all of us, increases disrespect for human life, and offers the tragic illusion that we can teach that killing is wrong by killing."

At my quick-reading new article, Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty, I list arguments and viewpoints for and against the death penalty and briefly recount the history of capital punishment in the US since 1900. My article also includes interesting statistics and info about the death penalty around the world as well as in the US.

Our state and federal taxes have been used to fund the taking of 1,004 human lives since 1976. It's a profound decision to terminate a human life. Please take the time to revisit your views on this vital issue.
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-- Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty
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