The case for Tookie

Stanley Williams is one of the co-founders of the Crips gang, which began in L.A. He was sentenced to death after being convicted of killing a convenience store clerk. Since being in prison, he has changed his ways, becoming an anti-gang activist, publishing anti-gang children's books, and even being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Currently, Governor Schwarzenegger is considering granting 'Tookie,' as he is called, clemency; Tookie is set to die Tuesday. You may notice, Schwarzenegger would be the first California governor to grant clemency to a death row inmate since Ronald Reagan. You may also notice something else: Republicans are more often the ones to favor capital punishment, and for this they are seen as cold and heartless, and Democrats are more often against capital punishment, being seen as benevolent and merciful. (Or maybe it's just that those who oppose capital punishment are usually liberal.) But in any case, Schwarzenegger is a Republican, and so was Reagan, and they have little company among a long line of Democratic California governors.
Anyway, even if you feel that the death penalty is justified, don't you think it might be worth while to let Tookie live? (Personally, mostly as a religious belief, I am largely against capital punishment, though perhaps not completely decided.)
I would like to encourage my few but very appreciated readers to contribute their thoughts; please leave comments on the issue in response to this post. I'd like to know what you think.