We at PJA are proud that over 100 California rabbis have signed our letter urging Governor Schwarzenegger to grant clemency to Williams. Read on to find the letter and signatories: 

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: 

We, the undersigned rabbis, urge you to grant clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams, who is scheduled to be executed by the State of California on December 13, 2005. 

Repentance is at the heart of the Jewish idea of justice. Our Rabbis teach us that even the most righteous person cannot attain the stature of a penitent. And while our tradition holds that murder is the worst offense—killing one person is likened to killing a whole world—the tradition also states that one who saves a life is considered as if he has saved an entire world. Stanley Tookie Williams has changed his life in the most obvious ways—he has gone from being a violent gang member to being an anti-gang peace crusader. In and because of this process he has saved many lives. 

Biblical law mandates capital punishment for a number of offenses; however, Talmudic interpretations essentially abolished the death penalty 1,800 years ago. Talmudic rules regarding capital punishment erected procedural obstacles that made it virtually impossible for the death penalty ever to be imposed by the Sanhedrin (the high Jewish court). Judges who try capital cases need to be merciful (assessed by their having raised children); circumstantial evidence is not acceptable and neither is evidence given in exchange for leniency. The perpetrator must have clearly articulated his intent to murder to two witnesses who warned him that his actions are punishable by death. As a result, all of the major movements of Judaism have taken a position either against capital punishment in the United States or in support of a moratorium on executions; some believe that executions are morally abhorrent, while others are opposed to capital punishment precisely because the American system does not adhere to the standards mandated by Jewish tradition. 

Regardless of one’s position on the death penalty, Stanley Tookie Williams’ case warrants special scrutiny. Now fifty-one, Williams has been nominated for the Nobel Prizes for Peace and for Literature numerous times because of the significant impact of his work on youth throughout the world. He has changed and saved lives, and is a living example of the power and potential of t'shuvah, the notion that all of us are capable of turning away from wrongdoing and toward doing good. 

Governor Schwarzenegger, it is obvious that Stanley Tookie Williams continues to contribute to society in positive ways. Killing him now will not only bring an end to his work, but will also set the criminal justice system against the idea that people can redeem themselves. This is exactly the wrong message to send to exactly those children that Williams has been trying to reach. Even if granted clemency, Williams will spend the rest of his life in prison where he will continue to dissuade young men from ending up in the same place. We urge you to use your power to grant Stanley Tookie Williams clemency, to spare his life and our souls.

Rabbi Mona Alfi, Rabbi Camille Shira Angel, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Rabbi Chava Bahle, Rabbi Lewis M. Barth, Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman, Rabbi Haim Beliak, Rabbi Karen Bender, Rabbi Allen Bennett, Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe Bernhard, Rabbi Linda Bertenthal, Rabbi Rick Brody, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Rabbi Kenneth Chasen, Rabbi Steven Chester, Rabbi Micah Citrin, Rabbi Eli Cohen, Rabbi Heidi Cohen, Rabbi Neil Comess- Daniels, Rabbi David J. Cooper, Rabbi Mychal Copeland, Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Rabbi William Cutter, Rabbi Lavey Derby, Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Rabbi Lisa Edwards, Rabbi Denise Eger, Rabbi Stephen J. Einstein, Rabbi Ed Feinstein, Rabbi Morley Feinstein, Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Rabbi Stacey Friedman, Rabbi Robert Gan, Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Jerrold Goldstein, Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Rabbi Don Goor, Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Rabbi Roberto Graetz, Rabbi Alan Henkin, Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, Rabbi Lisa Hochberg-Miller, Rabbi Sarah Hronsky, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Rabbi Burt Jacobson, Rabbi Yoel Kahn, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, Rabbi Jim Kaufman, Rabbi Stuart Kelman, Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Rabbi Zoe Klein, Rabbi Gilbert Kollin, Rabbi Allen Krause, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Rabbi Noa Kushner, Rabbi Gail Labovitz, Rabbi Susan Laemmle, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Joshua Levine-Grater, Rabbi Richard Levy, Rabbi Stan Levy, Rabbi Alan Lew, Rabbi Leah Lewis, Rabbi Shelly Lewis, Rabbi Michael Lezak, Rabbi Susan Lippe, Rabbi Paula Marcus, Rabbi Janet Marder, Rabbi Sheldon Marder, Rabbi Jeffrey A. Marx, Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Rabbi Daniel Mehlman, Rabbi Kenneth Milhander, Rabbi Sydney Mintz, Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh, Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, Rabbi Tracy Nathan, Rabbi Sanford Ragins, Rabbi Lawrence Raphael, Rabbi Joel Rembaum, Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Rabbi Dorothy Richman, Rabbi Sanford E. Rosen D.D., Rabbi John Rosove, Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller, Rabbi Richard Schechter, Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei, Rabbi David Seidenberg, Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, Rabbi Judy Shanks, Rabbi John Sherwood, Rabbi Yair Silverman, Rabbi Suzanne Singer, Rabbi Ruth H. Sohn, Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper, Rabbi Jason Van Leeuwen, Rabbi Kalman Winnick, Rabbi David Wirtschafter, Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan, Rabbi Bridget Wynne, Rabbi, Meryam Zislovich, Rabbi Josh Zweiback