Has anyone followed the recent execution of "Tookie" Williams?
If you've followed it at all you find out that he killed four individuals in a robbery when he was a member of the "crips" gang which he helped start over 20 years ago. Since his imprisonment, he has been a strong voice in the anti-gang movement, and has actually co-authored a number of children's books on the subject.
If one believes in capital punishment, one quickly begins to think that an execution of such a man may be undeserved because of a seeming "redemption" of his character and behavior. This in-turn made me think that he deserved clemency from the Gov. of California.
The reason that Gov. Schwarzenager gave for not granting clemency to Tookie rested on the fact that Tookie maintained his innocence of the crime of which he was accused until the end, and he never showed "remorse".
I paid attention to my own responses to what was being argued over this case, both emotional and reasonable and the grey matter in between. What I found was that I was quickly moved to feel compassion for Tookie, based on what I felt was a reasonable level of "penence" and good deeds.
But that felt like a canker sore in my mouth. I kept coming back to it. In God's mercy, "penence" and good deeds don't earn anything. We all rest on Jesus wholly, for atonement.
THE QUESTION?
How then do we respond to a situation like this? What is the christian response? What is the loving response?
It may be unavoidable to bring up the theological debate about capital punishment, but if at all possible, I wonder how we might dialog about our responses as people called to the nations, to share love and the good news?
I would love some feedback as I wander through these woods.
Matthew
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