The Death of a Nation

In a matter of hours, the state of California will murder a murderer.  Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the infamous founder of the street gang “The Crips”, lived a deviant life, culminating with the murders of Albert Owens, Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang and Yu Chin Yang Lin in 1979.   Clearly, Mr. Williams deserves a harsh punishment for his behavior, but it seems to me the state might be letting him off a bit lightly.

Obviously, I oppose the death penalty on moral grounds, but on philosophical grounds as well.  Last night, I watched an old Seinfeld episode, in which Jerry opens with a bit about murder, not about the death penalty, but about the fallacy of the idea of a murder as a means for revenge.  He stated that murder lets your enemy off to easily and made the point it would be more enjoyable to watch your enemy suffer through years of psychological turmoil than to simply kill them, and in killing them release them from their sentence.

In essence, the state of California will release Mr. Williams from his sentence tonight.  Mr. Williams no longer has to wake up with the picture of his victim’s faces etched in his mind.  He no longer has to listen to their cries for help.  The demons that have tortured Mr. Williams every day since 1979 will be released and Mr. Williams will head home to meet his maker.

For the night, California will join the state of Texas as a barbaric government, intent on delivering an archaic form of “justice” that accentuates our violent nature as a nation.  By murdering Mr. Williams, the state of California will not prevent a single murder, nor will they bring closure the families of the victims.  Gang violence and activity will still flourish and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will continue to fall in public opinion polls.  Tonight, the Owens, Yang and William’s family lose, the state of California loses and we as Americans lose.