Customer Service vs Governor Schwarzenegger

I was delighted to hear of Arnie's recent decision to execute Stanley 'Tookie' Williams:

and decided to write to Governor Schwarzenegger to show my support:

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

I am writing to you as a British citizen who is very pleased to hear of your stance on the so-called "Reformed character, humanitarian campaigner & multi-nominated Nobel Prize contender" Stanley Tookie Williams.

His (former) associates, which include such known dissidents as Snoop Dogg, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela (an ex-convict himself, lest we forget) would try to have us believe that Williams was a different person, peaceful and contrite. Which is very easy to do when an armed guard patrols your cell every five minutes!

However, their can be no excuse for murder, unless it is within the confines of the legal system. Williams was a murderer and as the Bible says "Those who live by the sword die by the sword." Sobering words indeed.

In this country, there is no death penalty. Criminals are allowed to roam free, stealing cars, getting drunk and generally behaving like the marauding Nazi army of the 1930's. I feel our legal system can learn much from the Californian model. Certainly, there would be far less "Miscarriage of justice" freeing of prisoners had the death penalty been retained.

In summary, I applaud your decision to execute Williams and hope it sends out a message, both in your country and abroad, that people cannot get away with murder.

I organize a small party of like-minded individuals who seek to have the death penalty reinstated in the UK and would be honoured to receive any support you may be able to give us. If only we had a hundred like you! The catering bill would be astronomical, but money well-spent, I feel.

I await your response eagerly.

Yours, etc.

The governor was clearly busy in the run-up to Christmas, so he had one of the ladies in his office reply:

As the Governor's Legal Affairs Secretary, I have been asked to respond to your email concerning Stanley Williams.

Clemency decisions are always difficult, and the case of Mr. Williams was certainly no exception. Governor Schwarzenegger studied the evidence, reviewed the history, and thoroughly considered the views and arguments presented before making a determination in this matter. A great deal of time and thought went into the Governor's decision, and it was only after careful deliberation that he concluded clemency in Mr. Williams' case was unjustified. The Governor's statement of decision is available at www.governor.ca.gov.

We acknowledge your views and comments in this matter and appreciate you taking the time to share them. On behalf of the Governor, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

ANDREA LYNN HOCH
Legal Affairs Secretary

I was glad to see we were on the same wavelength and spared no time in letting the offices of the Governor know:

Dear Ms Hoch,

Thank you for your prompt response.

It must, as you said, have been a very difficult decision to kill Stanley Williams. Very difficult indeed. The governor had to ignore the overwhelming support Mr Williams had received from various so-called humanitarian organizations (as well as the petition signed by over 170,000 of his own Californian constituents asking for a temporary suspension of executions. There's gratitude for you!).

He also risked condemnation from the majority of people who, for some reason, view injecting a human being with poison in front of an audience as somehow barbaric, obscene or medieval. I applaud his determined stance.

Clemency is something that needs to be earned, not simply given out to people on the basis that they have renounced violence and campaigned for peace. As somebody who has variously been accused of being a neo-Nazi, cocaine user, adulterer and sex pest, he must surely know more about the power of forgiveness than most people. I certainly know how he feels. I once came home from the office party with a photocopy of my secretary's bottom in my breast pocket and have been paying the price ever since.

I often think it's sad that real science has yet to catch up with film science. If only the governor could have gone back in time to when Williams was a child and killed him then. He could even have dressed up like the robot in "The Exterminator" for added effect.

Williams was a burly fellow, much like the governor, at the time of his death. But I'm sure the governor would have been able to snap his (for argument's sake) eight-year-old neck like a twig. This would have saved the lives of his alleged victims as well as a lot of legal and prison costs. For instance, I'm sure removing all the non-Caucasians from the jury at Williams' trial couldn't have come cheap!

Sadly, this is not yet feasible, so we have to maintain the appearance of a fair trial by a jury of one's peers. Although I do feel that the scumbags who recently scraped the paint on my car should have been made to fast forward to the punishment end of the judicial system.

Keep fighting the good fight, Governor Schwarzenegger. "They'll be back"? Not after an armful of Potassium Chloride, they won't!

I await your response eagerly. We are all big fans of your work here. Some of us like your films, too.

Yours etc.

I hope he has a peaceful Christmas. Although with that enormous car he drives, I fear this may be unlikely...