On December 13 Stanley "Tookie" William, one of the founding members of the
LA street gang called the "CRIPS" was executed for shooting a man in the face at point blank range. He had been convicted in 1979 and served 26 year on death row prior to his execution. All of Tookie appeals for his sentence be changed from death row to Life in Prison where rejected by Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, he also rejected a request from the defense for a stay of execution based on a last-minute claim of innocence, citing new accounts from witnesses.
Personally I don't think it did the world any good to kill Tookie because he was a rare case of reformation, because after all what is the main purpose of going to jail, is it not to reform and punish? If so he was punished by being in jail for 26 years.
English: Arnold Schwarzenegger in July 2003
List of criminal gangs in Los Angeles, California
24th St CripHe was also reformed, even to the point where he was nominated for a Nobel peace price for the children books he wrote bashing something he once believed in "Gangs". Killing him didn't send a good message to those in prison, they killed Tookie who was a model inmate who clearly had reformed what would they do to me? There is no point in reforming I'm going to die either way.
On the other hand, it could be argued that Tookie killed himself, because he refused to apologies for what he did. The Governor claimed that if he had been remorseful for what he had done in the past, his clemency would have been granted. So I guess in other words you can say, stupid pride is what killed Tookie.