Prometheus 6

awwww...., he just wants to be loved, appreciated, and respected by the same demographic that loves clarence thomas and pays baldilocks...,

don't hate on a kneegrow so profoundly dedicated to multidisciplinary mastery of the coonshow arts...,

I'm not sure what point Mr. Cobb tries to make here.

He seems to be saying that once a black man is convicted, we oughta just go ahead and string him up because there's really no hope his life will be worth anything.

(And that "Googling clemency" thing? I think I've just been insulted.)

I, too, am not sure what point Cobb intended to make. Tookie Williams is an admitted felon and has probably been involved in murder but, hell, I knew a white guy who admitted to the FBI that he killed 25 people.

When he killed a 26th by shooting the victim in front of two eyewitnesses after making the guy dig his own grave in Sonoma County (California) the FBI interceded in the case and got him off with less than three years of time in the joint.

Tookie Williams should not be put to death.  

sounds like Sammy the Bull Gravano...Our society loves killers - I honestly don't see what the big deal is...Capone, Luciano, Dutch Shultz, Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Billy the Kid, George Custer, Andrew Jackson, George Washington...the only issue is whom you kill and on what terms - as long as you kill the right folks on the right basis, it's all good. keep it moving.

...multidisciplinary mastery of the coonshow arts...

SNORK!...Ow! It hurts when it comes out your nose...

The guy's name was Joe "The Animal" Barboza. When I knew him his handle, courtesy of the FBI's secret witness program, was Joe Bentley.

Hmm. Let me spell it out to you. Clueless white liberals buy into the story that Tookie shouldn't die because.

1. The ghetto is such a horrible place and he founded the crips for 'self-protection'.

2. Black men are so ignorant that we should recognize them for becoming somewhat reformed, educated or otherwise perfected inside the prison system.

3. Having escaped the evils of the ghetto and becoming internationally famous, he deserves whatever this thing called clemency is.. so long as he doesn't come near us.

P6, I thought you had some intellectuals over here. I hope I don't have to spell things out on a regular basis.

Since I am not white and not a liberal perhaps I can make a stab at interprteting Cobb's bullet points: Tookie Williams (or any other person accused of and convicted of heinous crimes such as murder) should be gassed  because  there are times when black intellectuals have to prove that they are as tough as white neo-conservative intellectuals (the same folks who brought you the American War in Iraq) and one of the best ways to show that toughness is to support the execution of black criminals. By supporting the execution of black criminals,black intellectuals will show their betters, white neo-conservatives, that they are ready to assume a leadership role in the Brave New World being carved by globalization. We would gain even more points if we supported charging the condemned criminal for his or her execution since every tub in this new world must stand on its own bottom.

P6, I thought you had some intellectuals over here.

We do. That's why you get dogged out every so often...you insist on spewing rhetoric all over the nice clean rationality. 

Thank you, Mr. Cobb.

There was a reason I wrote, "I'm not sure what point Mr. Cobb tries to make here." I had considered writing, "Cobb is talking pure nonsense here," but decided to pretend otherwise. Your latest entry prevents me from perpetuating this gentle fiction.

Clueless white liberals...

(My ears are burning. Somebody say my name?)

...buy into the story that Tookie shouldn't die because:

1. The ghetto is such a horrible place and he founded the crips for 'self-protection'.

If anybody made this argument, I haven't seen it. I'm not sure how founding the Crips would qualify as a mitigating factor in Mr. Williams' crime. In fact, I don't see its relevance at all.

2. Black men are so ignorant that we should recognize them for becoming somewhat reformed, educated or otherwise perfected inside the prison system.

Allright, let's turn that around: "Black men are so dangerous that once they've gone bad, it's more humane just to kill 'em. Just like an animal that gets a taste for human blood, there's no way to save 'em."

That doesn't work very well either, does it?

This isn't a question of race. All us "clueless white liberals" made the same arguments in the case of Karla Faye Tucker.

For the record, she was white.

3. Having escaped the evils of the ghetto and becoming internationally famous, he deserves whatever this thing called clemency is.. so long as he doesn't come near us.

I'm a little surprised you'd present such a false choice: Kill him or let him move in next door.

The argument here isn't that Mr. Williams is innocent. The argument isn't made that he bears no responsibility for his crime. The argument is only over whether our society is well served by his execution.

Next time, I guess I'll know better than to offer you the benefit of the doubt.

One more piece of unfinished business:

whatever this thing called clemency is..

"Clemency" can, in fact, mean many different things. It can mean immediate release from prison. It can mean a commutation of a death sentence to a specified number of years' imprisonment. It can mean commutation from a death sentence to life in prison.

After reading the article that P6 linked earlier, I found that the reporter failed to say what Mr. Williams' supporters were asking the governor to do. I Googled to find the answer: the Washington Post reports that they're asking for a commutation to a life sentence.

Further, I emailed the reporter who neglected to answer the question. He wrote back prompty and admitted that he didn't know. He said that's a decision to be made by the governor.

You're welcome.

what a smug cuss that cobb has become...these amateurish frameworks are simply beneath P6...back to my nap.

I don't have to be serious here. Especially when I'm blogrolled 7th from the bottom.

The Conservatives get the cheap seats. What can I say...

I ain't mad at ya.