Still Awaiting Word on the Tookster

The clemency hearing for Stanley Tookie Williams was two days ago, and we're still awaiting word from the governor as to whether he will commute Tookie's sentence or allow the execution to go forward. As predicted, tensions are rising:

Four Los Angeles City Council members called for calm Friday as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger considers whether to grant clemency to Crips co-founder and death row inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams.

With less than four days to go before Williams' scheduled Tuesday execution, sporadic-yet-credible threats of civil unrest have prompted the council members and representatives from the city and county human relations commissions to ask religious leaders to emphasize a message of peace during weekend services.

"We picked up information that led us to believe that there were some planned and intentioned acts of violence that could occur in the wake of the decision or the execution planned for Stan "Tookie" Williams," Robin Toma, executive director of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, said during a news conference at City Hall.

Toma declined to list the affected communities or elaborate on the threats.

Councilman Bernard Parks said he spoke earlier today about potential civil unrest with Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger of the South Bureau.

Parks said Paysinger assured him the LAPD would remain "vigilant" this weekend, but there was no immediate need to put the city on tactical alert.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if certain elements in the pro-Tookie crowd tried to extort a commutation from the governor with threats of riots. The threat of civil unrest, however, cannot be a factor in the governor's decision.

Although the city is not on tactical alert now, I wouldn't be surprised if there's already a plan for the governor's office to give a heads-up to the LAPD prior to the announcement, especially if it isn't going to go well for Tookie. If you find out that the city is on tactical alert before the announcement, then you can probably figure that the governor is going to deny clemency. The police got caught with their pants down in 1992 and they won't let that happen again.

One thing (among many) that has been bugging me about the press coverage of the pro-Tookie crowd is the constant repetition by clergy and others that Tookie has been "redeemed". In most religious traditions that I'm aware of, redemption can only come after confession, and to this date, neither Tookie nor his supporters have confessed to the crimes with which Tookie was convicted. They are still proclaiming his innocence, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and are trotting out the race card at every opportunity. That, to me, is not a sign of redemption.

And, as another gift to Republicans, some prominent Dems have signed on to the pro-Tookie crowd:

Some surprisingly high-profile Democrats have signed a petition to pressure California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant clemency to serial killing-Crips-founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who is set to die in San Quentin's death house next Tuesday.

According to FrontPageMagazine.com, Tookie's supporters include former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and "Baghdad" Jim McDermott.

The don't want us killing terrorists in Iraq, but they don't mind gangbangers killing innocent people back here at home.