And Then There Was Tookie

Commentary: And Then There Was Tookie
By MARC SAPIR

A small but vocal minority twists logic into a pretzel in its clamor for the death of Tookie Williams on Dec. 12. In contrast, the opposition to the execution stands upon a hierarchy of values and logic that digs deep into the positive side of America and repudiates the murderous side of our history. At the abolitionist base are folks, many of them religious, who believe that taking life, except in self-defense, is egregiously abhorrent. Because this view underpins the declared moral principles of civilization, when a cop kills someone who turns out to not have a weapon, the police plea is often that the officer thought the suspect was armed. That becomes the only acceptable public justification.

Beyond religious values opposing the death penalty, stand those who believe that killing by the State can only create or worsen a culture of violence, for the act of execution suggests that murder in circumstances other than self-defense can have a clear and useful social purpose. Which godlike figures get to determine those approved circumstances? Of course, it’s the politicians whom the public largely despises and mistrusts. Go figure. Included among death penalty opponents are people who recognize, as Michael Moore pointed out in Bowling for Columbine, that the murder rate in the U.S. is 10-200 times that in the many nations that have outlawed the death penalty. What? Executions preventing murder? The facts don’t jibe.

Up in the third tier of the opposition stand folks like Democratic Governor Warner of Virginia and former Republican Governor Ryan of Illinois...

Currently at the pinnacle of this pyramid is the Tookie Williams story....

In order to twist the retributive justice theme into some logical framework one writer argued that Tookie has been faking his transformation. Try to write a book and see what kind of effort that takes. It isn’t hard for me to appreciate the social value of a man who has published 9 books read by thousands of young people, hundreds of whom, as a result, then shunned gangs and violence. The movement to end the gang violence throughout California owes much to Tookie Williams. Folks who would negate that fact and not want him to be around to continue to help us reduce violence among youth pretend that the world divides easily into us—the God-fearing saved—and them—the condemned, like Tookie. But that thinking, often based upon puritanical teachings, doesn’t fit with their Bible either. In the origin myth God could have killed Satan, but whomever wrote the story knew that without having Satan around to define evil there would be no way to contrast what is righteous. Satan was cast down to Hell and Earth (In the current storyline San Quentin is a good stand in for Hell).

Without Tookie, the gang war-lord responsible for much violence and conflict, there is no Tookie whose reconciliation theme proves to youth that we are all capable of being positive socially useful beings. It doesn’t really matter if Tookie Williams has been “reformed” in some abstract world of the self-righteous. His work stands for itself, and for all of us. Arnold: Killing Stan Williams would be, like invading Iraq, another act of collective self destruction for our nation and culture. Collectively we get what we work for, so we’d better save this man’s life if we intend to end gang violence.


~ Marc Sapir is an East Bay physician, writer and co-convenor of the April, 2005 UC Berkeley Teach-In on Torture. ~

http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=12-09-05&storyID=22930

December 9, 2005
Wife of Robbery Victim Calls for Support of Stanley Tookie Williams Peace Initiatives

Linda Owens, the widow of Albert Owens, who was slain during a convenience store robbery, issued a statement today in support of Stanley Tookie Williams’ efforts to bring an end to gang violence and his call for peace between gangs.

In a statement sent to attorneys for Williams for public release, Ms. Owens said: "I, Linda Owens want to build upon Mr. Williams' peace initiative. I invite Mr. Williams to join me in sending a message to all communities that we should all unite in peace. This position of peace would honor my husband's memory and Mr. Williams work."

<snip>

Bruce S, Gordon, NAACP President and CEO, said, “Linda Owens’ statement “ is a message of hope. I praise and thank Mrs. Owens for sharing her thoughts. We all can learn from her example."

http://www.naacp.org/news/2005/2005-12-09.html

Death Sentences and Executions in 2004

During 2004, at least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries. At least 7,395 people were sentenced to death in 64 countries. These figures include only cases known to Amnesty International; the true figures were certainly higher.

Executions are known to have been carried out in the following countries in 2004:

AFGHANISTAN, BANGLADESH, BELARUS, CHINA, EGYPT, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, JAPAN, JORDAN, KOREA (NORTH), KUWAIT, LEBANON, PAKISTAN, SAUDI ARABIA, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, SUDAN, SYRIA, TAIWAN, TAJIKISTAN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UZBEKISTAN, VIET NAM, YEMEN

Death sentences are known to have been imposed in the following countries and territories in 2004:

AFGHANISTAN, ALGERIA, BAHAMAS, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, BELARUS, BELIZE, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM, BURUNDI, CAMEROON, CHAD, CHINA, CONGO (Democratic Republic), EGYPT, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, GUATEMALA, GUYANA, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JAMAICA, JAPAN, JORDAN, KENYA, KOREA (NORTH), KOREA (SOUTH), KUWAIT, KYRGYZSTAN, LAOS, LEBANON, LIBYA, MALAYSIA, MOROCCO, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PHILIPPINES, QATAR, RWANDA, SAUDI ARABIA, SENEGAL, SIERRA LEONE, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, SRI LANKA, SUDAN, SYRIA, TAIWAN, TAJIKISTAN, TANZANIA, THAILAND, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, UGANDA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UZBEKISTAN, VIET NAM, YEMEN, ZIMBABWE

As in previous years, the vast majority of executions worldwide were carried out in a tiny handful of countries. In 2004, 97 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Viet Nam and the USA. In China, limited and incomplete records available to Amnesty International at the end of the year indicated that at least 3,400 people were executed, but the true figure was believed to be much higher. In March 2004 a delegate at the National People's Congress said that "nearly 10,000" people are executed per year in China. Iran executed at least 159 people, and Viet Nam at least 64. There were 59 executions in the USA, down from 65 in 2003.

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-sentences-eng