Death penalty for murderer not unjust
By Annie Rose Ramos
On Dec. 13, 2005, at 12:35 a.m., Stanley "Tookie" Williams died at the hands of the authorities carrying out his sentence.
Williams, in 1971, played a role in the formation of the Los Angeles Crips gang. In 1981, he was convicted of four murders and had been on death row ever since. The judicial system saw the death sentence as a proper punishment, but I cannot help but feel remorse and a pang of sympathy for a man who has paid the ultimate price for the crimes he committed.
I have always agreed with the death penalty and also the necessity to separate my own emotions from the decisions determined under our justice system. Even the Catholic Church sees the punishment's value, as stated on AmericanCatholic.org: "While the gospel leads the bishops to oppose the death penalty, they also recognize the need society has to protect itself."
But as the family members of the victims watched the slow and methodical execution of this killer, in knowing that Williams would never take another breath, how much justification or satisfaction will they gain?
A life for a life. It is easy to say, "Oh yeah, I am for the death penalty," but as I nervously checked the clock that evening, until exactly midnight, I was counting down the minutes Williams had left to live, wishing that time would stop for his sake. Knowing that one's death is marked on a calendar seems to be taking away that person's right to die with dignity.
Sophomore Chris Clarkson does not believe in the death penalty because murder is illegal.
"By killing the murderer, you are committing the same crime. Why do the same thing to the same person, what does killing the murderer do?" Clarkson said.
The capital punishment controversy is found at all levels of our society. Reverend Jesse Jackson said that by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's refusal to grant Williams clemency on Dec. 8, he "missed the moment to choose life over death, redemption over revenge."
Is it our place to take a life? It may have been planned and neat but Williams was killed. Did we as a society have the to right to deem it acceptable to take a life?
A life for a life? My conclusion consists of a lack of resolution, an incomplete and undecided decision. It was always my intention to separate church from state in political decisions, but being a Catholic is a part of who I am. The Bible says, "I swear I take no pleasure in the death of a wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion, that he may live." Unfortunately, some people have no respect for life and this warrants a severe punishment.
It was reported that while in prison, Williams actually wrote a children's book discouraging gang involvement. But regardless of Williams' behavior in prison, the fact is that he took the lives of human beings and started a gang that killed many other innocent victims. Williams truly deserved to die and receive an eternal judgment in the afterlife that I believe follows.
Annie Rose Ramos is a sophomore English major.