Pulling the Plug On Tookie Williams: A “Godly Role”

...Through late last week, Compton had 68 gang-related homicides, up from 42 for all of last year. The nearby territory bordering southeast Los Angeles, patrolled by the Century sheriff's station, had 57 gang-related homicides, up from 37 in 2004.

Together, the two areas account for nearly 60% of the county's gang-related homicides,….

… Gang-related homicides are up more than 30% this year in areas under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department,….

… Statewide, gang violence accounts for about 16% of all homicides.

“…What one has to understand is the nature of policing gangs. There are over 100-plus active violent gangs in Los Angeles County, and you have 100 holes in the dike and the problem is you only have so many plugs. If you pull one plug in an area where you've plugged up the violence, will it pour out there again?”

L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca.

“We give foreign aid to other countries so they won't fall apart. How about some domestic aid?”

Wesley D. McBride, president, California Gang Investigators Association.

Megan Garvey, “Deputies Not Keeping Pace With L.A. Gangs,” Los Angeles Times, 12/12/05.

…I'm not sure about Schwarzenegger, but it seems to me that redemption for merciless murderers is a godly role, not an exercise for mortals.

… But there is only one question Schwarzenegger should be asking himself: Is it iron-clad certain that Williams killed those people.

…Williams never has admitted the murders, but there isn't any real doubt that he committed them. The killer's main argument for mercy, as expressed through attorneys, is that he since has become “a messenger of hope, and of the futility and waste of violence.”

George Skelton, “Children’s Books Can’t Make Up for 4 Brutal Murders,” Los Angeles Times, 12/08/05. [emphasis added]

“We try to keep this very professional. I can't see it being done any other way -- you have to treat everyone, especially the inmate, with dignity and respect. This is a very somber event.”

Sgt. Eric Messick, prison spokesman.

I don't want food or water or sympathy from the place that is going to kill me. I don't want anyone present for the sick and perverted spectacle. The thought of that is appalling and inhumane. It is disgusting for a human to sit and watch another human die.'

Tookie Williams, interview, Chronicle, November 2005.

Williams is a bulky man, so there will undoubtedly be slight jostling as he is laid upon the cross-shaped gurney, and his arms and legs are strapped down. …One medic and an assistant then come in and attach a cardiac monitor, plus needles into two veins, usually one in each arm. …From behind the walls of the chamber, out of view of the witnesses, a prison official will press three plungers in succession to send poison through the intravenous lines into Williams' veins. The first plunger will administer 5 grams of sodium pentothal to put him to sleep. The lines will be flushed with saline solution, and the second plunger will inject 50 cc of pancuronium bromide to stop his breathing. The lines will be flushed again, and the third plunger will send in 50cc of potassium chloride to stop his heart. …The entire execution usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes.

Kevin Fagan, “Execution’s strict protocol,” San Francisco Chronicle, 12/12/05.