Former movie star turned governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has, it would seem, been at least a little swayed by that campaign publicised by Snoop Dogg and other celebrities to save the life of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams. As previously reported, the rapper has appealed to Schwarzenegger, and appeared at a recent rally to campaign for a stay of execution for Williams, the former leader of notorious LA gang the Crips, convicted on four counts of murder back in 1981. He is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection on 13 Dec.
Schwarzenegger appears now to have responded to the appeals, as he has met with Williams' legal team to discuss clemency, with a further meeting to come on 8 Dec. Williams' attorneys are expected to stress what has been stressed thus far in the high profile campaign to save him; not that he is innocent, or that he deserves clemency, but that the continuing work he does in dissuading young people from involvement in gang culture is invaluable, ie, he's more useful alive than dead. The lawyers' petition states: "This is a petition which seeks to spare the life of one man who has lifted himself up from the furthest depths, and whose redemption is a beacon of hope to others." Schwarzenegger has already refused two petitions for clemency during his time in office, however, and granting a stay of execution in this case would not necessarily be the best move for Schwarzenegger politically, given the pro-death sentence bias amongst the republicans that elected him, and his falling popularity rating amongst that constituency.
Whether Snoop Dogg himself has met with the governor himself regarding this issue is not entirely clear - some news sources suggest that he has. Either way, with stars such as Elliott Gould, Danny Glover, Laurence Fishburne, Ted Danson, Mike Farrell, Russell Crowe, Richard Dreyfuss, Gabriel Byrne and Bianca Jagger adding their voice to the campaign alongside political and religious figures such as former governor of New York Mario Cuomo, former state senator Tom Hayden, Jesse Jackson and Desmond Tutu, the case is guaranteed to continue to generate a lot of publicity. Whether the political winds shift in Williams' favour remains to be seen.