Protest, don't create heroes

Dallas Morning News | Jacquielynn Floyd:

“I have philosophical and practical reservations about capital punishment, chiefly because it is arbitrary and irrevocable. ... On an emotional level, though, I can't imagine feeling sympathy – much less admiration – for people who have committed these crimes. Yet the admiration shines through in a statement by actor Mike Farrell, president of the anti-death penalty group Death Penalty Focus, in which he called Mr. Williams 'a force for good in our society and an example of hope for our misdirected youth.'”

Ms. Floyd's reservations about the death penalty are reasonable. It is arbitrary and irrevocable. The former can be addressed only imperfectly. The latter is impossible to correct. Mistakes are final.

Ms. Floyd's inability to sympathize with criminals sentenced to death is understandable. She has never had a drug problem, never shoplifted or burglarized homes, never robbed anyone or served time in jail. She has never been in need of redemption. So, Stanley Tookie Williams' life holds nothing for her to relate to. But for kids in trouble, Stanley Tookie Williams' life might look very familiar. Their current lives might mirror his own time on the streets and trouble with the law. His redemption holds out promise that they, too, can redeem their lives, hopefully before they end up on death row like Tookie Williams. People are entitled to question whether, in fact, Tookie Williams' redemption was genuine. But people should not question whether, in principle, a sinner's redemption can be a "force for good" and an "example of hope." It can.