The Terminator Has Spoken

Despite the fact that I still cannot believe that the frickin' "Terminator" has the power of life and death over real people, I must say that I am very much ambivalent about Stanley Tookie (real middle name - not a nickname) Williams. Though I am against the death penalty, that is the current, f'd up, law of the land in the State of California. I'm not even sure I believe that Tookie is guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted and there are opinions to the contrary that he was an actual co-founder of the Crips (I've heard they existed a couple years before he started a branch in his neighborhood). But, this man's hands aren't blood free. He may not have killed the white and Asian folks he was convicted of killing but I have a hard time believing he never killed anybody - probably some black "nobodies".

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has denied clemency for convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, who co-founded the Crips street gang.

Schwarzenegger announced the decision Monday shortly after a federal appeals court refused to block Williams' scheduled Tuesday execution.

Granted I'm a semi-snob and just not a big fan of thugs - no matter how nice they are, something about this man still bothers me. I've heard him frequently, as of late, on both NPR and KPFA and something about him doesn't sit well with me. I understand that he's written children's books which have actually influenced some potential gang members into going on the right path. I've seen the Jamie Foxx movie, Redemption, about his life. But I am just not feeling this man.

If he is genuine, he has to resolve within himself (and I guess he already has) that sometimes the universe takes many lifetimes to bring karma and sometimes it happens in the same lifetime. He could have, like many of his gang banging counterparts, been killed on the street decades ago by the bullet of a foe. Instead, he was convicted - falsely or not - of crimes which put him in jail and allowed him all of these years to turn his life around. That is a blessing in itself as many people do not get a second chance. But, if he believes in God's forgiveness and heaven, as he claims to, he will get a blessing - shortly after midnight - when he gets that lethal injection. Much to the chagrin of those who want to see him dead strictly for vengeful purposes, he wins either way.