Tookie's consequence

I've been thinking about Stanley "Tookie" Williams the last few days, and feeling sorry for him. It's not because I think he's innocent, although I wouldn't rule it out based on the extremely limited knowledge of his case I have gleaned from the news. It's not that I think capital punishment is a bad idea either. I do believe that the death penalty makes criminals think twice before committing a crime that might result in the death penalty. Of course, past dictators in other countries have made a similar case for killing family members of criminals convicted of crimes far more petty than murder. I also would not choose to take a job as judge, lawyer, governor, or executioner, partly because I would not want the burden of the possibility that I sent or helped send an innocent man to death. But what really bothers me about Mr. Williams' case is that the man on whom his fate now rests is himself desperate to save his job and his pride.

So, if Mr. Williams is guilty, why do I care what penalty he receives? And really, what is the chance that he is innocent? And why shouldn't I expect that the experts already involved have reached a satisfactory conclusion of guilt or innocence, as far as any human is capable?
Let's start with this last question first - because apparently they are frequently incapable of judging correctly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment says that 119 death row convicts in 25 US states have been exonerated by new evidence since 1973).
Next, there's certainly a chance of his innocence, however remote, and I would not rule it out based only on his history of criminal activity. Infamy in general does not imply guilt in a particular case.
But most importantly of all, to me, I care, regardless of his guilt or innocence, because it's offensive to me that the sanctity of a human life has probably been reduced to a personal political decision. I would like to think that any normal person would make the right moral decision in their own judgement, regardless of that decision's impact on their political career. I don't trust Schwarzeneger, or any career politician for that matter, to have that perspective. There is some consolation in a report I heard yesterday that survey results indicate that this decision will have almost no impact on Schwarzeneger's re-election. Hopefully he heard it too.