tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post113457551018598645..comments2023-11-03T04:39:50.760-05:00Comments on Galley Slaves: TookieJonathan V. Lasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17426165197358366129noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134669249084324782005-12-15T12:54:00.000-05:002005-12-15T12:54:00.000-05:00For anyone who's interested, LA District Attorney ...For anyone who's interested, LA District Attorney Steve Cooley's response to Stanley William's petition for executive clemency shows that the state had a strong case. It's publicly avalaible:<BR/><BR/>http://da.co.la.ca.us/pdf/swilliams.pdf<BR/><BR/>As for myself, I'll call the recently deceased by his given name and surname. The nickname makes him sound cuddly, and reformed or not (only God knows), he wasn't that.bob joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03547517190417481675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134615244737898792005-12-14T21:54:00.000-05:002005-12-14T21:54:00.000-05:00I pointed out the quote from Schwarzenegger, but i...I pointed out the quote from Schwarzenegger, but in theory I agree with Jonathan. As the Talmud puts it: "Repentance commutes sentences in the Heavenly Court, not in the earthly court."Jay D. Homnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714671338316275833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134595877539558112005-12-14T16:31:00.000-05:002005-12-14T16:31:00.000-05:00Took, Took, Tookie, goodbye.Took, Took, Tookie, goodbye.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134588711754198522005-12-14T14:31:00.000-05:002005-12-14T14:31:00.000-05:00Jonathan:I'm very leary of the Church's new push o...Jonathan:<BR/><BR/>I'm very leary of the Church's new push on the death penalty. I tend to suspect Catholic pronouncements on the death penalty that seem brand new and against the Tradition. Jesus had a perfect "teaching moment" on the cross when one of the two criminals stated "we deserve what is done to us but he is innocent." He didn't say anything about the death penalty, he chose to note that even in death the "good" thief would be with him in heaven. Jesus had every opportunity to oppose the death penalty, like he opposed divorce long established, he did not. In so far as the Church teaches the death penalty should be dealt only in heinous cases, after due process and a chance at repentence in the hereafter it ought to be heeded. This new, "no death penalty" position strikes me as a piety of a dessicated Europe and not a living Faith.<BR/><BR/>When you remove the death penalty you make crime more likely, remove respect for the law for most victim's families and subject prison guards and law enforcement to greater risk. Moreover, when you do it the way Europe has done it, by intimidation and simply stating that any polity making such laws will be thrown out of the EU, you lose public legitimacy in general. If the multiple murder whose next victim is my wife or child and does not face even the possibility of death why would I not kill him myself? <BR/><BR/> As a "soft, weak and foolish" Catholic (first poster)it strikes me that the continued use of the death penalty is a recognition of man's fallen nature, and its removal a refusal to understand the nature of man and the evil of murder on the victim, the family and the society.<BR/><BR/>Finally, in that story Arnold is listed as an Austrian citizen. What's up with that? Shouldn't Californians insist that their Governor not be subject to a foreign power? Tookie should have complained a foreign national was given the clemency right.<BR/><BR/>JJVAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134587344279486192005-12-14T14:09:00.000-05:002005-12-14T14:09:00.000-05:00Look, you don't even have to go overseas for misgu...Look, you don't even have to go overseas for misguided attempts to cover this story. On Tuesday, the WSJ described Tootie as penitent in its' pade 1 news summary column. Penitent, of course, means expressing remourse for one's misdeads or sins. Since Tootkie claimed his innocence, he certainly couldn't be penitent. A journalistic disgrace, no matter your opinion on the death penalty. In fact, I would suggest this as an example of agenda journalism, and it discourages any sober discussion of the death penalty due to the flagrant dishonesty in characterizing the convict.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134580348302886192005-12-14T12:12:00.000-05:002005-12-14T12:12:00.000-05:00Well done analysis of the AP article by Galley Sla...Well done analysis of the AP article by Galley Slaves, and well stated reasoning by Bottum. As an anti-death penalty conservative and a Catholic, I often find myself making the same case as Bottum.el blogerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13136548276243834865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134578443241511602005-12-14T11:40:00.000-05:002005-12-14T11:40:00.000-05:00Here's a line from Schwarzenegger's (extraordinari...Here's a line from Schwarzenegger's (extraordinarily well-written) statement that supports the Darkness At Noon premise: "Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption. In this case, the one thing that would be the clearest indication of complete remorse and full redemption is the one thing Williams will not do."<BR/><BR/>Here's a url for the statement:<BR/>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20051212-1436-ca-williamsexecution-statement.html<BR/><BR/>And one for my article:<BR/>http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9143Jay D. Homnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714671338316275833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871003.post-1134577431811242142005-12-14T11:23:00.000-05:002005-12-14T11:23:00.000-05:00Bottum's article is a useful reminder to me of why...Bottum's article is a useful reminder to me of why I'm not a Christian. They are soft, weak and foolish. <BR/><BR/>When it comes to punishing violent criminals you cannot achieve a just result without an element of vengeance. Tempering that vengeance is the key. We don't draw and quarter people, nor do we hack off their limbs and let them bleed out. Lethal injection is a breezy summer day compared to the pain and terror inflicted on the murdered by their murderers. George Will has said it best when he wrote that vengeance distinguishes punishment from therapy.<BR/><BR/>Life imprisonment? The murderer is still capable of enjoying life; reading a book, smiling, joking, ruminating, exercising, savoring a meal or a smoke, all of the everyday pleasures that he has deprived his victims of for eternity. That is a cosmic injustice that cannot be allowed to stand. <BR/><BR/>Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord? Get in line pal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com