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I wouldn't be surprised if Schwarzenegger's refusal to overturn the decision of the courts was based, at least in part, on the arrogant presumption of his Hollywood pals that they just "know better" than all the judges who have reviewed the case over the years. Side note to the high-profile Hollywood Liberal crowd: No reasonable person wants to hear simplistic solutions to complex problems dreamed up by poseurs and phonies who are overpaid to mouth lines written by others. We can get the same ideas from children for free, and in crayon.

Few on the Left seemed to consider the rights of Williams' victims. Not only did they not lose their right to justice when he murdered them, but their relatives, at least, are owed some sort of closure. Was their 24-year wait for reckoning made any better by Williams' books and the celebrities who fawned on him? Has Williams -- or his groupies -- ever even bothered to apologise to them for the destruction of their lives for no good reason? Where was the anti-death-penalty Left with their high-sounding idealistic speeches when the Owens family asked why Albert was killed? And what about Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Yang and Yee-Chen Lin? When Robert Yang asked why his parents and sister were shot, where was the Left? Nominating their murderer for the Nobel peace prize, that's where.

In part, society depends upon a pact. We don't seek personal justice or retribution for wrongs, but agree to turn that over to the criminal justice system. If you are the victim of an illegal act, the justice system is supposed to pursue your aggressor, even if you are already dead. It doesn't always work perfectly, but -- on the whole -- it does work. Punishing criminals helps to protect us from repeat offenders and other potential criminals. When the law is carried out and justice served upon lawbreakers, others who would choose to violate the law may be stopped by fear of punishment.

Sure, perhaps Stanley "Tookie" Williams did some good for society by writing books and speaking out against gang life. That in no way precluded society's need for him to pay for his crimes. His final -- in fact, only -- act of redemption, therefore, was to attest to the integrity of the social pact by his death. By visiting justice upon Williams in accordance with the law, the legal system proves to other violence-prone criminals as well as law-abiding citizens that, even if they turn slowly and squeak too much, the wheels of justice do turn.

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Joe Mariani is a computer consultant born and raised in New Jersey. He now lives in Pennsylvania, where the gun laws are less restrictive and taxes are lower. Joe always thought of himself as politically neutral until he saw how far left the left had really gone after 9/11. His essays and links to articles are available at http://www.guardianwatchblog.com/

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

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