A Plea for a Man's Life

[Helcat]

This morning I received an email from my Entertainment Attorney,
concerning a man on California's Death Row by the name of
Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who is being denied an appeal, and
will be executed this holiday season if no one intervenes.
(please note, my attorney does not represent him legally in this matter,
but rather is a long time friend of this man, having represented him
on a made-for-tv-movie about his life, starring Jamie Foxx...)

I won't bore those uninterested in the details of this man's plight, but ask
that if anyone is so inclined, please visit the following websites, and sign
the petition to spare his life. (I appologize in advance if anyone is put-off
by this request, but I felt it worth exploring...)

for details about Tookie's case

to sign the online petition

[Tantalyr]

This case, involving the conviction on four counts of murder of one of the original founders of the notorious Crips street gang, presents the interesting, though not unprecedented question:

Should a convicted murderer, condemned to die by a jury, receive clemency or have the death sentence commuted, simply due to "good works" performed by the murderer after imprisonment?

The same issue arose some years ago in Texas. A woman convicted of (indeed, having actually bragged about) the grisly pickaxe murder of an elderly man, claimed to have "found **********" while on Death Row and, thus, should have her death sentence commuted. To no avail.


Edit: So what's wrong with the word "pick*axe" to have the censor pick it up?

[Tokoz]

God knows. God can judge.

If we could find some other way than putting people on death row to make them finally see the error of their ways, more power to it. Glad he came to terms with that before he dies.

[Illi]

Thanks for the heads up, Helcat. I don't normally agree with or sign these types of things, but in this case, I have.

On an unrelated note, the part of your post that caught me offguard, Helcat, was the useage of the term "Entertainment Attorney". [:|] I'll refrain from asking why you have, need, want one, and what you actually do.[:P]

[Helcat]

Illi ~

(I'm a writer IRL... this attorney negotiated my option deal
on a recent script that went out. He's a great guy, and also
represented Mr. Williams when the movie of his life was
produced.) And I agree about not usually getting behind
every grassroots effort to grant clemency, but this case
is quite different. Stanley Williams has been nominated
for the Nobel Peace prize several times over. The man
they want to execute died years ago...

And thank you for signing the petition. It means a lot.

[Stizostedion]

what a joke. do you know how easily one can be nominated for the peace prize?!?
just simple hollywood liberal nonsense. if i were faced with being put to death...i'd change too. i'd become a writer, a circus clown, a priest, whatever. this slug got what he deserved.