If Tookie Should Die, So Should Sonny

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This is my letter to California "Governor" Arnold Schwarzenegger in regards to his denial of clemency for the late Stanley Tookie Williams.

Although Tookie may have made some mistakes early on in life, his humanitarian contributions to this world should never be overlooked or forgotten. It is a deep shame that a man who rose to such redemption has become a victim of "compassionate conservatism", which may be an even deadlier killer than street gangs.

Enjoy -

Dear “Governor” Schwarzenegger,

I am writing this email to your administration in regards to the sentencing of Stanley Tookie Williams. Perhaps you have made a poor example of American justice, and a mockery of the very freedoms which you and your leash holders in Washington constantly recite as worthwhile reasons to engage in the abuses of power the neo-con administration has plagued our once great nation with. Perhaps you feel that you can make these kinds of decisions without second thought because of who your commander in chief is. After all, it was Texas Governor George W. Bush who put Karla Faye Tucker to death at the last minute (in a prime time spot, no less) and made a successful example to the nation of what it means to receive “compassionate conservative” justice. Tucker, in case you didn’t bother to read your history on the president’s career, was accused of chopping up a couple of young people with a pick axe while she was a prostitute in 1983. She served on a death sentence until 1997, delaying it by making appeals to the court. It was often considered to change her sentence from one of death to a life sentence because while incarcerated, she became a born again christian, married a prison chaplain and began a ministry for inmates so that they could see the power of her revelation. Even the prosecuting attorney, a pro-death sentence advocate, remarked that she was a completely different woman. But that didn’t matter to your boss, did it? So why should Tookie Williams matter to you?

You were quoted on CNN as saying "Is Williams' redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise? Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption."

If you really needed to ask this question, perhaps you should be more aware of the lives you decide are unfit for considered existence before throwing the switch.

Williams has been imprisoned since I was three years old. Yes, he started the Crips, who went on to become one of the most notorious gangs not only in LA, but in the world. However, while he was in prison he wrote children’s stories with anti-gang messages, contributed to the film “Redemption: the Stan Tookie Williams Story” (did you see it? It won the Satellite Award from the International Press Academy) and he donated all proceeds from his autobiography to organizations for at-risk youth. By the way, how are your at-risk youth programs coming along out in Cali? I bet their budget is probably equivalent to a tank of gas for your Hummer, but what do I know?

So, “Governor”, if Tookie’s redemption is a hollow promise, why would he lie about his intentions for 26 years? Why go out as a changed man when you could kick, scream, curse and claim ultimate responsibility like Charles Manson or Timothy McVeigh? Why the charade?

As a man who has played roles such as “The Terminator” and a dozen other no nonsense, shoot first action heroes, I would think you would know the difference between a hollow promise and redemption. After all, you yourself are a model of above-the-law justice and merciless vengeance. I’ve seen the way you use live human bodies as shields from gunfire in your films. Indeed, Tookie’s children’s stories must have come across to you as very threatening and a bad example to America’s youth. Unlike “Commando”, or any of your early steroid flicks.

Yes, it seems there is no talking sense into the New Right in America these days, so I have decided to swallow my pride and perception of justice to offer you a suggestion –

You should arrest and execute Sonny Barger.

If Tookie Williams deserved to be executed on inconclusive counts of murder and denied clemency, Barger is more deserving of the needle than anyone else in America. Nearly twenty years before anyone in California had even heard of a Crip, Barger headed up the Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels – who despite claiming they were simply a “motorcycle club” are still worldwide perpetuators of gang rape, murder, racketeering, drug trafficking and money laundering. They take in approximately $1 billion dollars from their illicit businesses a year, according to the FBI.

Barger illustrated the details of much of the nefarious gang’s work while he wrote his autobiography in prison, during his only sentence of ten years. Of course, he didn’t donate any of the multi-million dollar profit from it and his other novels to at-risk youth. He has a beer company and a flashy website and a blockbuster Hollywood film based on his life coming out.

Barger was quoted in his book “Hell’s Angel, The Life and Times of Sonny Barger” as saying to his daughter "Tell the truth, and never lie, except to the authorities. But it's okay to lie to them, because they lie to us." She will also learn that women are not allowed to be Hell's Angels "because they should be at home cooking the dinner." I think Tookie’s advice from behind bars went something more like "Across the nation, young men and women like you are vegetating in juvenile halls and in youth authorities. More and more prisons are being constructed to accommodate your generation...”

I guess they’re more or less the same when it comes to reaching out to the youth, wouldn’t you agree?

Barger has also bragged incessantly about the many dozen or so people he killed, but since he was acquitted of murder in 1972 and got out of death row due to health problems, we’ll let that slide.

Do you see what I am getting at here, “Governor”?

I am confused by your sense of justice and I think much of the American public is as well. You too need atonement for your actions and I think the execution of Sonny Barger will fit the bill nicely. By carrying out this judgement, you may even win back some of the support of the black community in LA, which I hear is quite large. Who knows, by putting down an admitted white supremacist, you may even become the action hero you really, truly are in their eyes…

It would be beneficial for all to show your conservative compassion for Sonny and any other Hell’s Angels leaders you can scour up. They need to feel American Justice just like Tookie and Karla Faye Tucker. Don’t be fooled by all those American flags on Sonny’s website, they are thin veiled disguises for swastikas.

… oh, I apologize. I didn’t mean that out of any disrespect for your people… I guess the Nazi party did make a few good political decisions and my people (the Jews) totally deserved what was coming to them.

But, I digress, this is getting a bit long winded and I’m sure you have better things to do than listen to a concerned citizen’s idea of equal justice. So, rest well “Governor” – and enjoy a six pack of Sonny’s Lean & Mean while you’re at it. It sure is comforting to know that a guy like you is in charge of a state as important as California. I’m sure the gangs are really shaking in their Air Jordans about now, thanks to your even-handed sense of Justice.

Keep up the good work, and God Bless America…

(and the Fatherland!)

Yours truly,

Dave-Leon Czolgosz
Chicago