…Should he accept this challenge the film star, who was elected a politician on the promise of making a difference, has an opportunity to deliver on his pledge; should he fail California will have taken a further step towards permanently forfeiting its place among the 12 civilised states of the union that do not have the death penalty.

For the third time since he became governor a year ago, Schwarzenegger will consider a request for clemency from a prisoner facing execution.

The last time clemency was granted to a murderer in California was by that other Hollywood Republican Governor Ronald Reagan in 1967. But this is a case like no other: it has a gangster-turned-educator, a 51-year-old man who has already served 24 years in prison; it involves a flawed trial and a questionable conviction; the man behind bars has been nominated for Nobel prizes and is the subject of a Hollywood movie; and he also recently received a commendation from President Bush.

That the case of Stanley “Tookie” Williams has come to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk is the result of one of the first acts of the US supreme court under Chief Justice John Roberts. In mid-October, the court refused to consider an appeal from Williams against his death sentence for the 1981 murder of a convenience store worker. He was also convicted of the murders of three other people.
guardian.co.uk

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