CRIPS CO-FOUNDER WILLIAMS ASKS GOVERNOR TO SPARE HIS LIFE

Stanley "Tookie" Williams, co-founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles is asking Governor Schwarzenegger to spare his life. Now, why on earth would anyone want to spare the life of this murderous gang founder? He murdered four people in 1979, a convenience store clerk and two motel owners and their daughter.

His clemency petition says, "We seek clemency for the man Stanley Williams has become, for the good work he has done and for the good work he will continue to do. We seek an act of grace..." I'm sure the four people he killed in cold-blood were seeking an act of grace too, but Tookie obviously wasn't in a "graceful" mood at the time. Oh, and of course he didn't receive a fair trial - but that's par for the course on death row ain't it?

Tookie (that sounds like one of Frodo's traveling companions doesn't it?) has some big names working on his behalf - all the usual suspects: Jessie Jackson, Bianca Jagger, Snoop Dog, and of course Louis Farrakhan.

Apparently Tookie has become quite the "Ghandi" on death row. Funny how facing the needle can suddenly change your perspective. From CBS5.com:

While in prison, he became an advocate of nonviolence and wrote nine gang-prevention books for children. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2001, according to the petition prepared by attorneys Peter Fleming and Jonathan Harris of New York.The petition contends that Williams is "a man with a unique voice who is using that voice to send a message of education, self-discipline and peace to the most disadvantaged of Americans."

Tookie may have done some good works since getting locked up - but they cannot atone for or mitigate his horrible crimes, nor bring back the four souls he murdered. His death cannot make up for his crimes either, nor bring back dead; but at least society will know that he is gone for good and we won't have to waste one more minute on his wretched existance.