There seem to be two distinct camps arguing over Stanley 'Tookie' Williams' execution early this morning. One side seems to be saying that he was innocent AND a changed man, that he had led an exemplary life inside prison and had spoken out against gang violence. The other side says that he had a price to pay, regardless of how much good he had done.
I decided to go search for Tookie's prison record myself, and I was shocked at what I found. For example: he spent 6 YEARS in solitary confinement because of his gang involvment that CONTINUED AFTER he was incarcerated. I wasn't aware of that until this afternoon. I also wasn't aware of any of the following:
On June 30, 1981, just two months after being sentenced, Williams was involved in a violent fight with another inmate. Williams was observed kneeling over the other inmate and striking him in the head with his closed fists. When Williams was ordered to cease fighting, he ignored the order. Only after repeated orders to stop, did Williams stop his violence.
On January 26, 1982, Williams was ordered to lineup for his return to his cell. Williams refused the order and became hostile. The guard then explained the line-up procedure to Williams. Williams responded by saying "you'll get yours boy, I can do anything now because I know what the gunmen will do…one of these days I'll trick you boy."
On January 28, 1982, Williams had two separate instances where he threw chemical substances at guards. In one of these instances, Williams threw a chemical substance in the eyes and on the face of a guard. As a result of that assault, the guard suffered from chemical burns to these areas and had to be taken to the hospital where he received emergency care.
On January 29, 1982, Williams again attacked a guard by throwing a chemical substance on him.
On February 16, 1984, a guard saw Williams bending over another inmate and striking him with his closed fists. In an effort to stop the attack, the guard blew his whistle and drew his weapon. Williams, however, continued to fight. Only after a guard fired a warning shot, did Williams stop fighting.
On June 8, 1984, Williams was observed participating in inappropriate behavior with a female visitor. When the guard advised the female of the prison policies, Williams became verbally hostile and stated, "you are looking around too much and that's not your job. I have dusted many officers on the street, one more would not make any difference."
On July 4, 1986, Williams stepped between a guard and another inmate and began to beat up the inmate. The guard ordered Williams to stop but Williams continued with the assault. Eventually, after gun officers responded, Williams stopped the attack.
On October 10, 1988, Williams was involved in a fight that led to him being stabbed. Prison officials subsequently learned that this stabbing was done in retaliation for a September 22, 1988, stabbing of another inmate ordered by Crips leader Stanley Williams.
On October 19, 1988, Williams was placed in Administrative Segregation based on his association with the Crips street gang.
On December 24, 1991, Williams was involved in another fight with an inmate. Once again, despite being ordered to stop, Williams continued with the assault. Eventually, gun officers responded by firing a round near Williams. After the shot was fired, guards gained control over Williams.
On July 6, 1993, a large fight broke out in the shower area. Williams was one of the combatants. A guard ordered the inmates to stop, but the fight continued. After a warning shot was fired, the fighting stopped. Subsequently, a stabbing instrument ("shank") made of sharpened plastic was recovered from where the fight had occurred.
Wow. Just wow. That's a lot of stuff...and that's IN ADDITION to the 6 years in solitary.
I know that people can change. I know that I'm not the same person today that I was 10 years ago. I'm also not the same person that I was 5 years ago. But are my changes as drastic as Tookie's? Nah. Besides, does it really matter if he was changed or not? He was found guilty of four muders; he took the lives of four people who hadn't done anything to him. He didn't kill them in an act of gang warfare, he killed them because they had something that he wanted. He even laughed about the way one of them died. That's cold-blooded, to me. And I honestly don't think that someone so cold-blooded could really change, could change so totally that his former self and former ways were eradicated. But, as I said, it doesn't matter. A jury of his peers found him guilty. His defense team had 20 plus years to come up with new evidence that would prove his innocence. They failed to do so. His appeal was rejected by court after court, and even the governor decided, after careful deliberation, that there was no basis for clemency, that the original sentence should stand and that Tookie should finally have to pay the piper.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that the 'Tookie was reformed crowd' and the 'Tookie wasn't a bad guy' camp ought to take a look at all the infractions and disciplinary actions that were taken against him during his prison sentence. Take a look at them take a look at what he did and what he said, and then tell me that he wasn't a 'bad' dude.
I honestly don't think that you can.