by Kelvin Wade
Vallejo
juries convicted Henry Don Williams of the first degree murder of Fairfield
Councilman Matt Garcia. The jury also found true an enhancement that William
used a handgun during the crime. When he’s
sentenced on July 19th,
he faces 50 years to life in prison. Another jury found Williams’ accomplice
Gene Combs guilty of second degree murder. Combs faces 15 years to life.
Most
of the reaction I’ve seen from people I’ve talked to or read online has been
that they’re satisfied that justice has been served. People are praying for
Matt’s family. But at the same time they want Williams to pay the ultimate
price.
We’re
fed up. A few weeks ago we saw Melissa Huckaby plead guilty to kidnapping and
murdering 8-year-old Sandra Cantu in Tracy. Her plea deal landed her in prison
for life without parole instead of on death row.
Last month saw the remains of missing nurse
Phuong Le found in Napa County.
The common thread through these horrific
crimes is that the public is crying out for justice. Many have been outraged
that Huckaby struck a deal instead of being sentenced to death. Likewise, those
following the heartbreaking story of Phuong Le want her killer brought to
justice and be sentenced to death. And in my mind, laying in wait and
recklessly killing Matt Garcia in a mistaken identity over $50 means you’ve
forfeited your right to live.
But the cruel fact is California doesn’t
have capital punishment. It’s a sham and a twisted joke on the victims’
families in this state. The last person we executed, Clarence Ray Allen, was on
January 17, 2006. We’ve had a moratorium ever since but it’s not like we were
setting any speed records executing criminals before then.
Remember Charles Ng, who along with Leonard
Lake, murdered 11 people? What about David Carpenter, the Trailside Killer? How
about Richard Ramirez, the devil worshipping Nightstalker, who was convicted of
killing 13 people in 1989? What about Richard Allen Davis, the lifelong
criminal who murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas? Of course, people remember Scott
Peterson who killed his pregnant wife, Laci in 2002.
The thing these dirtbags have in common is
that they’re still on death row. In fact there are 685 people on death row in
California. David Carpenter is 80 years old. The number one cause of death on
death row is natural causes.
Clarence Ray Allen, the last man we
executed had been sentenced to die on November 22, 1982. That’s disgraceful.
Twenty four years on death row?
What’s the use of adding more people to
death row when we know they’ll never be executed?
From 1978 to 2004, California executed 10
inmates, while 38 died of other causes. Three were killed by other inmates, 12
committed suicide and the others died of natural causes. How is this capital
punishment?
Ironically, if Polly Klaas’ murderer Richard
Allen Davis had been sentenced to life without parole, he’d be dead already.
Why? Because not only did he rape and murder a child but his case was
responsible for the passage of California’s Three Strikes Law. Inmates hate
him. Even on death row a few years ago while being escorted to a doctors
appointment, another inmate managed to punch him out.
To add insult to injury, death row inmates
get private cells. They have television and CD players and more access to
telephones than general population inmates. In one sickening case recently
reported by the LA Times, a convicted murderer actually requested the death
penalty instead of life without parole because he knew life on the row would be
more comfortable for him and the chances of actual execution was remote.
So while I want Matt’s killer to pay the ultimate price, sending him to death row in this state is too good for him.
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