Is reform possible?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10085975/page/2/
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/13218281.htm
I still remember hearing about the shooting death of Mujib Dudley. I played basketball with him a few times. He was a good pick-up player who was frustrated he was not a good high school player. When his dreams of a college or NBA career were stymied he found other interests.
He turned his back on two loving familes...one, his Mother and siblings, the other Clarence and the people at 35th Street. If you know Clarence Eason you know it is difficult to find a better or more compassionate man. He is always there to provide help and support to those he knows.
Mujib claimed he was trying to be a Blood (or Crip, I don't remember which...I think I have it right, if not, just reverse the names) for that sense of "family". I am not sure why a family that carries knives and guns is better one that carries Bibles, but there it is.
Depending on who you ask he was shot as a "warning" to the real gang members or in a case of mistaken identity or...well, there were a couple other explanations I heard. All I remember is the pain in Clarence's face, the catch in his voice when he talked about this young man shot dead in a gang-related drive by.
That is the influence Tookie Williams has had on my life. I had never heard of him until less than a week ago. Now his execution is approaching for murders.
The problem is many people say he has changed. Contradicting the axiom that "There are no guilty people in prison" his crimes are acknowledged and well known.
His supporters say he has changed. They point to the books he has written, the nominations (although in an important point not to be overlooked, always by his circle of friends) for the Nobel Peace Prize, and many people say he has changed.
Call me cynical, but the endorsement of Snoop Dogg does not exactly move me a long way.
The endorsement of many other people does however. Hearing people whom his work has helped, per their own words. Some prison officials.
THe first link was to a counter-claim by other prison officials. And to be honest, some of what they said really makes me think.
For instance, gangs have a well-known "no tell" policy which Tookie continues to follow. And therein lies the rub.
If he is really out of the gangs why would he protect them? By the same token, what compelling reason is there for him to "roll over" on his former friends? What does that accomplish?
I see points both ways and I am not totally resolved on them.
It seems the good work he has done might justify clemency, if not an outright pardon then perhaps commuting his sentence to life in prison without parole or something. Or have the thousands of Mujibs who have died counteract his post-imprisonment change of heart?
I wish I could find a copy of the out-of-print book Must the Young Die Too? While it has little direct bearing on the current situation, the thoughts in it have great value.
It was written by a man raised in a Christian home who had gone astray, gotten into the military, gotten drunk, and perhaps murdered a person or two. He stated in the book he was writing it as an example to young people of what pitfalls there were in life. He spoke openly of his fear of dying but stated that if he had done the things he was accused of doing he should die, that his change of heart did not exonerate him of his crimes nor justify the cessation of punishment. He was, in fact, executed, and to this day that book haunts me. Should he have been executed? Should he have been pardoned?
Crime and punishment are not easy things to deal with. Responsibility for life and death decisions...even for imrpisonment for several years...those are not easy decisions to make. We have one shot at life, and spending portions of it imprisoned is a horrific waste, yet sometimes necessary.
I am sad I have been able to find less than a dozen articles on Tookie. I really don;t know if I hope he will be given clemency or if I think the execution should go through. I wonder what Mrs. Dudley and thousands like her think? I wonder what the parents of the kids he is helping with his current writings think? I wonder if he has really changed?
This world is often a confusing place where the answers are not always clear. This is one of those times.
And ultimately I tend to think I come down on the side of mercy. I hope Schwarzenegger grants at least commuting the sentence to life in prison at the very least. A person demonstrably trying to make the world a better place has some decency in them, and there is enough harshness in this world to support a little bit of kindness, even if the rationale behind it might be suspect.