Paying the Consequences

First off, it doesn't surprise me that the media gives national front page headline attention to the so-called plight of Crips founder Tookie Williams scheduled execution, though more so the call from big name Hollywood stars using their fame as a platform to try to stay the execution of a cold-blooded killer is even more disturbing.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20380

The media doesn't seem to make any effort to conceal in any way their bias in this case, expending much ink in putting forth all the arguments for sparing this convicted killer's life. They go as far as to even state, when referring to the four murders he was convicted of (and lost appeals on-all the way to the Supreme Court) as 'alleged'. He may have been 'alleged' to have killed these people before and during his trial, but in the end, after all the convictions and loss of appeals, I would venture to say that the appropriate way to state it would be 'sentenced to death for the four murders he committed'.

When the media (barely) mentions the victims, it is shameful in what they fail to say, leaving it to simply four people, three of them at a motel, who were a husband, wife, and their daughter. It seems to me that they could have spared a few words to at least let readers know what was involved in the committing of these murders. Here is a brief description of the events he was convicted of:

"Tookie Williams founded the Crips in 1971, eight years before he and three other men went on a murder-and-robbery spree that netted approximately $250 and left four people dead. The murders were notably gratuitous. Albert Owens – the clerk in Whittier, California – lay prostrate on the floor of a back room as Williams shot him twice in the back. Williams told one of the three men who went along on the job he killed Owens because he didn’t want any witnesses to identify him and “because he was white and he was killing all white people.” He then robbed the Brookhaven Motel, in the process murdering an elderly Chinese couple and their daughter (whom he referred to as “Buddhaheads”). Tookie killed all his victims with a 12-gauge shotgun, which he held inches from their quivering bodies before pulling the trigger to inflict maximum damage."

He is also an obvious racist, or does that only count if you are speaking against his race?

The author of the following article asks if Tookie's time is up. The answer is a resounding Yes!

http://www.nationalreview.com/dunphy/dunphy200511280809