Arnold is making a statement right now about how he has denied clemency to Stan "Tookie" Williams.
CNN last night had a poll: "Should Stan Williams live or die?"
Could anything better represent the callousness of the state-ordered killing?
I oppose the death penalty primarily because it has never been "fairly" applied, but is a lethal renactment of the race and class disparities in this country. It is wrong. It is horrible, and it continues the devaluation of life--particularly the lives of people of color.
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By solely focusing on Williams, the Governor and others are ignoring the fact that the system under which Williams was convicted is so broken and flawed that it calls into question his conviction...
I read some of the letters for clemency that were sent to Arnold, saying things like "I'm not a pansy-ass liberal. I believe in the death penalty. But Williams should be granted clemency because..." Those letters made me really mad (on the one hand) and on the other hand I thought "maybe that's the way it needs to be put to Arnold."
The news media started circulating reports of "threats of gang violence if Williams is executed." I don't believe them. Or rather, I believe that these reports circulated to give Arnold an ultimatum which would push him to prove his machismo by ordering this state-murder.
Tonight we're going to a peregrinacion, a pilgrimage to La Virgen de Guadalupe, to protect LGBTQ communities against hate crimes.
Afterwards some folks plan to go to the vigil at San Quentin.
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I find it interesting that many of those who favor the death penalty are so-called Christians and "pro-Life".
I used to be agnostic on the death penalty - meaning that I thought it was wrong, but if the majority of the people were in favor of it, so be it.
Now I am convinced, like you, that it cannot be fairly applied. Moreover, I feel like institutionalized killing is wrong. Moreover, how can it be that one person can determine whether a person lives or dies? How little have we progressed since the days of gladiator fighting.
However, it saddens me that this case gets all the attention, while others are forgotten or ignored.
Just some thoughts your post sparked in this feeble head of mine.
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