Isn't there some other role aside from these two?
Consider the plight of the victims. Someone very close to them is taken away, they are devastated, and they feel a horrible emptiness inside.
And then some satanic person comes over and whispers in their ear that the only way they can fill that void, the only way they can become whole again, is to take the life of the person who did this to them. Then, and only then, can they restore their serenity and get on with their lives.
That is a terrible lie. It is the same lie that is told by those who make war saying that it is the only way to bring peace. Violence breeds violence, and the only way to win that game is not to play. There is no solace in death. There is no peace in revenge. There is only the endless cycle of more and more of the same.
Tookie found that out, and when he did, he spent the rest of his life trying to heal the wounds that he had helped to open.
May he rest in peace. And may the victims of all violent acts, including the violence of racism, and the violence of sexism, and the violence of class oppression, find peace by supporting life as Tookie did in his final years.
Original: Victims and Executioners