5 Down, 1 To Go!!!

Semesters of law school, that is. Today I took my last exam of the semester. I studied 3.5 days for this exam & it took me precisely 27 minutes to complete! Seems ridiculous doesn't it? Of course, I suppose that I only finished that quickly because I did study so much...but still, it is a lot of studying! And now, well frankly I don't know what to do with myself! I sat down at this computer with a purpose, but I forgot what that was, so I checked all the blogs, facebook, my emails, and now I am here typing about nothing! Oh well!

In other News, Arnold has denied clemency to Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Unless the US Supreme Court steps in (which they will not) Williams is set to be executed by lethal injection at 12:01am Tuesday Dec. 13th 2005 (PST). Williams is a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee (multiple times), so he is of course a prime candidate for execution. Honestly, despite my liberal leanings, I am not as anti-death penalty as you would expect. In my opinion, the death penalty just doesn't work and should be abolished for that reason (too many mistakes in our system, too costly, not a deterrent, etc); but I am not morally opposed to it - as long as people are on notice that committing a certain crime could cost them their lives, I have no moral objection. I know there is the whole hypocrisy argument (if killing is wrong, why is it okay that the state does it?), and my response is: notice & due process. Unfortunately, our system has not reached a level of full due process, and thus executions in this country are not just. But really, in the Williams case, your stance on the death penalty is irrelevant. When Williams asked Arnold for clemency, he was asking "Am I deserving of mercy?" Not whether he was innocent or guilty, not whether he had been given due process, and certainly not whether the death penalty is right or wrong. Now, my question to Arnold is: Who would deserve mercy?

It is true that Williams has done terrible things in his life, but he has also done amazing things. I'm not saying let him out, but let him live in prison. He can't do any harm, and he might do some more good. And, if all of Williams' efforts didn't earn him one ounce of mercy, what does that say to other inmates? Why bother making any attempt to rehabilitate themselves if it won't change anything? If winning a nobel peace prize doesn't get you anywhere, why bother behaving or doing any good at all? It hardly seems worth it, does it?

Finally, all other arguments aside, even the Terminator should be afraid in California tonight. Williams, through Jesse Jackson, has asked his supporters to refrain from violence. But, after the Governor's de-valuation of the peaceful efforts of Williams, and in the state that has brought us the most powerful riots of the century, do we honestly expect a quiet night in California? Get your camcorders ready...