opinion

A governor’s choice

by Silvio Sirias

Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Chapter 2

If you should chance to bend the rod of justice, do not let it be with the weight of a bribe, but with that of pity.

Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote de la Mancha, Part II, Chapter XLII 

Is Williams' redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger 

I unchained my mind, and I did so through prayers and extensive study. I had to seriously question whether I was a human or a beast. In choosing not to be a beast, I discovered my humanity. 

Stanley “Tookie” Williams

El poeta es un pequeño dios.

Vicente Huidobro 

Stanley “Tookie” Williams was a fellow writer. 

Sadly, Tookie’s decision to pen his thoughts may have sealed his fate. The co-founder and former member of the Crips was the author of Life in Prison and Tookie Speaks Out --- the latter a series of eight books for children that warns them about the dangers of gang life. (There were numerous testimonies on Tookie’s behalf saying that Tookie Speaks Out had saved lives, steering young people away from gang membership. Proponents of Tookie’s execution countered that such claims cannot be measured because they are based on biased perceptions.)

In explaining his decision to forego clemency, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held that the dedication to Life in Prison was a clear indication that Tookie Williams’ redemption was neither “complete nor sincere.”

Furthermore, the governor’s official statement read: Specifically, the book is dedicated to “Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths who have to endured the hellish oppression of living behind bars.” The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts, and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders.

To choose an author’s dedication as the basis upon which to uphold his death sentence makes me, as a writer, shudder. 

It’s also ironic that Governor Schwarzenegger --- who has interpreted numerous characters born out of a writer’s imagination --- would believe that by glancing at the opening words of a book he can see straight into an author’s soul.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

As a novelist, one of my greatest joys is to breathe life into my characters. Writers, as the Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro sagely stated, are small gods.

And although I’m privileged to create people, albeit fictional, as part of my profession, they often surprise me. In several instances I’ve seen them acquire a free will that leads them to behave in ways I never could’ve foreseen. Therefore, it’s impossible for me, in spite of being their maker, to look into their souls with complete insight. How, then, could I presume to perfectly understand what motivated them to commit a terrible act? Moreover, how could I bear witness as to whether they have truly repented, or not? I may have a good idea of what is going on in their minds, but I can never be completely sure.

That’s why I know that it’s impossible for any one person to gaze into the heart of another with full understanding.

Yet Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger believes he has this power.

On Tuesday, December 13, 2005, shortly after midnight, Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ heart stopped beating as a result of a lethal injection. At that hour he met his maker, who --- and of this I’m absolutely sure --- is the only being capable of determining whether Tookie had genuinely repented, or not. 

The death penalty has been outlawed in eighty-nine nations (including Panamá and Nicaragua, the two countries where I've resided most recently). When I look at the list of those that still practice capital punishment, I’m embarrassed to see the name of the United States, my homeland, among them. If we are to call ourselves “Leaders of the Free World,” then I believe that we are also obliged to be the earth’s most merciful people.

In the case of California, my home state, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger acted against the advice Don Quixote offered Sancho Panza when the squire was appointed governor of the Island of Barataria: “… mercy is more precious and resplendent in our sight than justice.” 

I cannot comprehend why the Governor of California would chose to apply the full rigor of the law over the saving grace of clemency --- especially in light of circumstances that left such a harsh judgment open to doubt. For me to understand what motivated Governor Schwarzenegger to allow a fellow human being to die, I would need to be able to look straight into his soul.

And only God can do that.

Silvio Sirias is the author of the novel Bernardo and the Virgin (Northwestern University Press --- Latino Voices Series). He resides in Panama. For more information you can visit his website at www.silviosirias.com