Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

So now here we are, on the eve of the execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams.  Just recently, we passed a dubious milestone... our 1,000th execution since the death penalty's reinstatement in 1976. As I read the account of that, I couldn't help but wonder how many of those 1,000 people were actually innocent? We've seen that DNA evidence has exonerated a number of people convicted of various crimes. In more than a few cases though, that DNA evidence came too late to save somebody who had been wrongly convicted.  How many went to their deaths when a key piece of evidence could have set the record straight and set them free?  Undoubtedly, supporters of capital punishment will argue that our system is imperfect but we're right more times than not and the system is the best that we can do. But is it? Is this really the best we can do? Are we, as a society, comfortable and accepting of a system of justice that is pretty sure they're executing the right person when they flip the switch?

I think what Tookie Williams has done while in prison is nothing short of amazing and inspirational.  He's gone from unrepentant street thug to ambassador for peace.  His critics say that everything he's done is a sham, that his Nobel Peace Prize nominations are nothing but a PR stunt.  They say that at the end of the day, he's still killed 4 people, ruined the lives of those families forever and must now pay the ultimate price for his crimes. Tookie's supporters claim that the trial was a fraud, that there was misconduct from every quarter during his prosecution.  I don't know one way or the other.  I'm not here to argue guilt or innocence and I'm not here to discuss trial conduct.  I just feel the need to write because this case has brought the thoughts and questions I had about capital punishment to a boil in my mind.

My ultra-conservative father recently opened a conversation by saying, "Tookie must die." I'm guessing that knowing my conservative view on some issues, he expected me to agree with a hearty "hell yeah." But I found that I couldn't agree with him.  In fact, I found his cavalier attitude towards the death of another human being completely repugnant.  "Tookie" Williams, is going to die tomorrow and I find myself asking, is this right? Is this just? Will our society benefit from killing Tookie Williams?  Is our society better for putting to death the thousands of people currently sitting on death row?  What I've come to understand, what I've come to believe is that no, we as a people and as a society are only lessened, only diminished when we kill our own.

If Williams is executed, I truly believe that we've completely abandoned the notion of rehabilitation.  We parole people based on the belief that they've paid their debt to society, that they have been rehabilitated and are fit to rejoin the world.  The astronomically high rate of recidivism suggests that that belief is flawed.  With all that he has done, with all that he has accomplished, if Tookie Williams doesn't fit the definition of "rehabilitation," I don't know who does.  What Tookie was convicted of, the life he led as a younger man are both heinous and reprehensible.  I don't believe that he should ever step foot outside of a prison again, but neither do I believe that he should be put to death.

There are thousands of people without the notoriety of Tookie Williams currently sitting on death row, waiting for their time to come.  And I have to wonder what good it does this society and we as people, to put these people down like animals at a pound?  How are we bettering our world?  Vengeance?  Closure?  We decry the countries in the Middle East that still perform public beheadings.  But how are we any better?  That we use a lethal injection instead of a sword doesn't make us one bit better or less barbaric.  Killing people is still killing people no matter the method.  

I still believe in law and order.  I still believe in punishing those that break the laws of our land.  But our methods of punishment have to change.  Our system of justice is deeply flawed, but yes it is all that we have.  And I would still rather have our system of justice than any other, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't speak out when there are injustices.  Putting Tookie Williams to death would be an injustice for so many reasons.  

Tookie's life should be spared.  He should be allowed to continue the work he's dedicated his life to for the last 25 years.  Work that he's done on behalf of this society and on behalf of us all.  And I hope with all that I am that one day, we'll see his goal come to fruition... peace.