Death Penalty Double Standard: Tookie vs. Allen

Readers will no doubt recall the hysteria from the mainstream media and anti-death penalty forces on the left over the execution of Stanley’s "Tookie" Williams last month.

Countless articles were written bemoaning Tookie’s loss and news anchors spoke glowingly of his supposed contributions to ending gang violence. That Tookie himself was the founder of the notorious "Crips" gang, responsible for so much murder and mayhem over the years, didn’t seem to enter into the equation. Neither did the four people he murdered in cold blood.

Now California’s next execution is scheduled for Tuesday, January 17, with multiple murderer Clarence Ray Allen doing the honors. As Allen’s execution approaches, one has to wonder when all the hoopla will commence? We're all waiting for the liberal glitterati to come out and show their support.

Actor Mike Farrell, folksinger Joan Baez, and professional race-baiter Jesse Jackson all took time out of their busy schedules to attend the vigil that took place outside San Quentin Prison on the night of Tookie’s execution, but now they’re strangely silent. As of yet, no outcry from San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirikarimi and Public Defender Jeff Adachi, both on hand for the Tookie vigil, have been heard. The rent-a-mob that sent many an outraged e-mail to Governor Schwarzenegger and that populated Tookie’s vigil are also nowhere to be found.

If one is so ardently opposed to the death penalty, then shouldn’t that apply to all inmates? The problem is, Allen is white and as such doesn’t fit the liberal narrative of the perpetually oppressed black man. They’re only interested in criminals that allow them to push their racially divided view of the country and Allen doesn’t fit the bill.

Some concern has been expressed over Allen’s ripe old age of 75, with a smattering of sympathetic articles, but nothing like the chorus of moaning that attended Tookie’s execution. The age objection is similarly amoral, suggesting that if one simply gets old or writes a book they no longer have to pay for their crimes.

One thing’s for sure, Allen will meet his maker with nary a whimper from the anti-death penalty crowd in the media and beyond.