my two cents on tookie

I’ve started and deleted posts on this subject several times.  People who know me would tell you that I don’t talk when I don’t have anything to say, and this was one of those cases.  By the same token, indecision is not something I’m known for, but this circumstance has had me vacillating between my own differing points of view.

On one hand, I don’t believe in capital punishment, especially with African-American males being the primary target of the United States’ judicial system, but also because of the intentional and unintentional “mistakes” made by that same system that have landed innocent men and women on death row.

There is also the question of the inherent morality of the death penalty, whether or not God (whichever one you worship) has given man the right to take life as punishment for a crime.  This argument is so difficult to make, either for or against, because life is so precious (or at least should be).  Are we even allowed to kill in self-defense, and if so, what does that mean?  Is war against another country justified when viewed in that light?  

All these questions spinning in my mind, and the answers stayed just beyond my grasp.  Finally, today when the ruling from governor Schwarzenegger was announced, I had a moment of clarity, and the answer was amazingly simple.

Mr. Williams maintains his innocence in the murders for which he has been convicted.  Given the socio-political climate at the time of his arrest and trial, he very well may be telling the truth.  He also admits to being one of the founders of one of the largest criminal organizations in the history of the United States.  While most people would compare the activities of the crips to that of the mafia-style organizations that were once-prevalent in New York and Chicago, the impact on the African-American community is actually closer to the genocide seen in Africa and Eastern Europe, and Mr. Williams is akin to having been a warlord.  The most common victim of this pandemic of crime and violence has been the African-American male, who is more likely to die or become incarcerated by the age of 30 than graduate from college.  Even those who have managed to escape this near-death sentence have been terribly traumatized by having grown up watching loved ones die or become enslaved by drugs and/or crime.  Entire generations of families have been decimated by Mr. Williams’ creation.

Granted, Mr. Williams has sought redemption by writing and speaking out against the dangers of gangs.  Many people who speak out in his defense say that his death would send the wrong message to those he’s trying to steer away from life in the streets – that there is no such thing as redemption if you’re living the life of a gang member.  The arguments are persuasive; the list of people who expound them is impressive.

But there is another question I don’t have the answer to – the question that the celebrities and politicians on both sides should be answering instead of “should Tookie die?”:  what would happen to all the children who are still at risk from the monster that Mr. Williams helped to create if the same energy being spent on saving his life was directed at saving theirs?  In the time governor Schwarzenegger spent considering Mr. Williams’ case, could he have contemplated helping the families of victims of gang violence?  While the head of the NAACP was giving a statement on Mr. Williams’ case, could he have been making a statement on how the NAACP had developed a plan to help cure drug addiction in Compton?

All this effort expended for one man.  When we refuse to lift a finger for those he has placed in harm’s way.

All in all, I don’t wish death on Mr. Williams.  In fact, I hope that somehow he is spared.  But if he is not I won’t cry at his passing; I’ll cry because it seems that, in the end, his life was more important than the lives of those who will have to struggle against his legacy.