He issued a
press release today which says:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement today following his decision not to grant clemency to convicted murder Stanley Williams:
"Clemency cases are always difficult and this one is no exception. After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency. The facts do not justify overturning the jury's verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case."
Update [2005-12-12 15:56:23 by juls]:This was the safe course of action for Schwarzenegger. Over two-thirds of Californians support the death penalty and the evidency was overwhelmingly in the state's favor. Arnold had a lot to lose politically if he granted clemancy. In fact, one conservative blogger and strategist
wrote yesterday:
But one thing is for certain: Schwarzenegger is running for re-election as an independent next year. It's just that he'll do it with a small "i" rather than a capital "I". Unless he grants clemency to Williams, of course. At which point, the whole world explodes....
Arnold could have burnished his maverick stature in the state by granting clemancy, but chose the safer route. It is horrible to think of a man's life as a political calculation, but at least in this case it seems to have dominated the decision. Clearly, Schwarzenegger was not agonizing over the guilt or innocence of Williams, that was not what was being questioned in this case. He took the whole weekend and issued a release that makes no reference to the redemption arguments, and usefulness of keeping Williams alive. There would be no real way to word a release saying, sorry, he just didn't make the redemption cut. Black and white is much easier
Update [2005-12-12 15:59:15 by juls]: Here is
CNN on the denial. The AP
says
Update [2005-12-12 16:8:57 by juls]: Here is the
first reaction I can find from the CA Republicans, written by the former chair of the CA Republican Party, Jon Fleichman:
It's just been announced - "Tookie" Williams, who brutally murdered several people, and was sentenced to die....will be executed tomorrow morning at 12:01 a.m. Governor Schwarzenegger has denied a request to grant clemency.
While this may have been a deeply-thought out moral decision for the Governor, it also happens to be a decision that will sit well with the vast majority of California voters. Especially with Republicans
Update [2005-12-12 16:46:54 by juls]: The governor's website now has a
6 page statement (pdf) to go along with the press release. It is very interesting reading. The theme seems to be that the governor was unable to seperate the plea for clemency based upon redeption, when guilt was so clear. This was complicated by the fact that Williams never admitted the crime.
NPR's site is still down, but there was an
excellent piece this morning. It went through the historical perspective of granting clemency. Governors used to grant clemency for a much greater variety of reasons that currently occur. It was much more socially acceptable to commute sentences based on factors other than guilt or innocence.