They killed the unappealing old white guy last night.
He was not a nice man, except apparently sometimes. He killed his son's girlfriend because she witnessed his commission of a robbery; later, he ordered the death of another witness which resulted in the collateral damage of two other deaths.
He was as deserving of death as anyone on death row, I suppose. He, like Tookie Williams, never owned up to the deaths he caused; as a result, he never expressed remorse, either.
The difference is, the "protest" surrounding his death was limited to the hard core of death penalty protesters. They held a vigil. They may have tried to approach and comfort the family and friends who were not allowed or who chose not to witness the execution. They show up for every execution. Because what they protest is the penalty itself, not the penalty as applied to handsome or personable or talented people.
I don't know why the juxtaposition of these two cases bothers me so much. It's like a sore tooth.