Tookie Williams will be put to death shortly after midnight tonight. This is the official denial of clemency from Governor Schwarzenegger's office.

I haven't been following the case very closely, but if we're going to have a death penalty, we need to apply it in the case of people who commit multiple homicides, brag about it, and on top of it all, inspire other people to sensless violence which is what his life had been all about at the time. In any case, there is no one on this Earth who can prove a sincere repentance after they have been sentenced to death. Putting Tookie Williams to death will send a much stronger message to teens thinking of joining murderous gangs than encouraging them to read his books while he gets three hots and a cot for the rest of his life with the occasional visit from celebrities.

All that being said, it's depressing that we need to discuss these things at all. To paraphrase Golda Meir (badly), I don't hate Tookie Williams and others like him, but I do hate what they make us have to do to them.