Stan "Tookie" Williams and the role of the penal system;punishment or rehabilitation

Some of you will be familiar with the figure Stan "Tookie" Williams, for those of you who are not here is a brief bio.

Wilson, 51, is currently on death row in the infamous San Quentim state penetentiary in California. He is due to be executed via lethal injection on December 13. He was convicted of the murder of 4 people in 2 seperate robberies in 1981. Amongst the victims of these murders were an entire family, mother, father and daughter, who were gunned down during a motel robbery.

Williams has maintained his innocence throughout the 24 years he has spent in prison. He has also admitted to being a founding member of the Crips street gang in Los Angeles. The Crips, they're the ones who wear blue, have swelled to over 150,000 members worldwide. Their on-running war with the rival Bloods has effectively led to the genocide of an entire generation of young African-American men in the inner cities of the United States. Upon entering prison Williams maintained his violent ways before spending time, 6 years to be exact, in "The Hole".

While there Williams began to reform himself and began working on a series of memoirs and other books, most of them childrens books warning of the dangers of gang culture. Since then he has been a model prisoner, has negotiated gang truces in L.A., New Jersey and Cincinatti, has been nominated for 4 Noble peace prizes, his memoirs were nominated for the Noble prize for literature and he has been presented with the "Presedential call to service award" by George W. Bush, who ironically sanctioned more executions while Governor of Texas than anyone in history. A film starring Oscar winner Jamie Foxx has been made about his life and his high profile supporters include Ffoxx, Desmond Tutu, Harry Belafonte and Snoop Dogg(himself a former Crips member).

Peoples personal feelings on the death penalty will obviously colour their opinions of what should happen to Tookie but the real question remains; Is prison meant to punish or rehabilitate?