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      • 181. In Wrath Remember Mercy
      • 182. Choosing the Right Shepherd
      • 183. The Lord's Requirements
      • 184. Your Ear Lobe. Thumb, and Big Toe
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  • 1185. What is Your "Attitude" tiward Scripture?
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The Redemption of Tookie Williams

Stanley Tookie Williams, the cofounder of the Crips gang (1969), was convicted of killing four people (1979). All appeals have been exhausted. He is scheduled to be executed on December 13, 2005. The only thing that can prevent the courted-ordered execution is a stay of execution by the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Some are pleading with the governor to reduce Tookie’s sentence to life in prison. They say Tookie has been redeemed. He has repudiated any affiliation with any gang. He has written nine children’s books to persuade children not to participate in gangs. He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature five times and for the Nobel Peace Prize four times. He has been redeemed; he should be given mercy.

Some are opposed to the governor granting clemency in this case. They argue that justice demands that he pay for killing four innocent people. They point out that all it takes to be nominated for one of the Nobel prizes is for a single individual to fill out an application. To prove the point, Bill Handel, a Los Angeles talk show host, had somebody nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Evidently, Tookie’s books have not sold very many copies (one report said only a few hundred) and there is no evidence that he has had any impact on keeping people out of gangs. Steve Lopez, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, interviewed a member of the Crips gang who is in jail. That gang members said that the young people do not even know who Tookie Williams is. There is no redemption, only a PR campaign. He should be given justice.

When the governor makes his decision, should he base it on justice or mercy?

In my opinion, this decision should be made based on justice. In the first place, I believe the Bible teaches capital punishment. After The Flood, God decreed, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man” (Gen. 9:6 NKJV). That mandate has not been suspended. The New Testament teaches that God has given government the sword, an instrument of death, and “If you do evil, be afraid; for he (the governor) does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Rom. 13:4 NKJV).

In the second place, I believe the Bible teaches redemption, but it does not teach that redemption eliminates the consequence of a crime. Paul says, “For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying (Acts 25:11 NKJV). Should convicted thieves be released from prison if they get saved? Besides, people receive mercy, when they acknowledge they need it. In his memoir, Blue Rage, Black Redemption, Tookie Williams says, “I will never apologize for crimes I did not commit.” He does not qualify for redemption. Based on repeated judicial decisions that he is guilty, he should be given justice.

                                  © G. Michael Cocoris, 12/8/2005
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