12/2 ** URGENT**11 Days to STOP the EXECUTION! Clemency=Life w/out Parole

[nofurylike]

STAN TOOKIE WILLIAMS' CLEMENCY WOULD BE LIFE
W/O PAROLE, NOT FREEDOM!!!


Related thread:

Why Is It That Commuting Tookie's Death Penalty Is Being
Referred To As "Clemency?"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5498403


Previous thread:

12/1 *** URGENT*** 12 Days to STOP the EXECUTION!! PLEASE ACT!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5493020
(A vast amount of info throughout the thread)

Please consider contributing to the debate in this related
thread:

Debate: Stan Tookie Williams' Clemency (Life w/o Parole) v Execution:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5500642

Please support the effort to save Stanley 'Tookie' Williams at
http://www.savetookie.org

Please sign the petition for clemency @
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html

Another petition @
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

To learn more about Tookie and his work on behalf of children
and families across the world, visit http://www.tookie.com

Please also call, email, and FAX Gov. Schwarzenegger:

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

FAX: [phone]

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

THE STANLEY 'TOOKIE' WILLIAMS CASE

Stanley 'Tookie' Williams' execution is scheduled for Dec. 13, one minute after midnight.

Tookie's conviction was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

Tookie's conviction was filled w/racist tactics & based on
questionable circumstantial evidence & ‘witness’ testimony.
This casts serious doubt on whether Stan ‘Tookie’ Williams was
given a fair trial. It also questions whether he is guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt..

The prosecutor in the case was allowed to dismiss ALL of
the black jurors.

This prosecutor made numerous racist remarks during the
trial.

Police files were deliberately left in a paid informant's jail
cell to help prepare the informant w/details so that he could
testify that Tookie 'confessed' to him.

Fingerprints found at the scene were not his, bloody
footprints found at the scene were not his, etc.

At the time he started it, the Crips numbered around thirty members, when he was convicted, still less than a thousand.

Tookie's work over the past decade has saved tens of thousands of kids from gang life. He can do far more good living than his death could ever accomplish.

Nobel Laureates, peace & justice activists, the religious community, the anti-death penalty community, community activists, anti-gang activists, celebrities, and everyone else, including & especially our precious children & youths wanting to avoid/leave gang life, support Tookie and urge the governor ro grant him clemency.

(Thank you Sapphire Blue, ET Awful and others for the above facts)

Laura Flanders (AAR) Nov. 26 interview w/Barbara Becnel,
Stan ‘Tookie’ Williams’ advocate:
http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=display...

DOAR Supports Tookie Williams Clemency Hearing (VIDEO):
http://www.doar.com /


Please contact Gov. Schwarzenegger for clemency!

Thank you!!!

[nofurylike]

1. Please listen to an interview :

Listen to an incredible interview @ http://odeo.com/audio/460407/view

Breakdown FM: Crips, Gang Life, Redemption & Tookie.. Can We Have Peace in the Hood?

In this interview Aqeela talks about the economy of the hood and how there are a number of new laws put in place under ‘Operation Nutcracker’ designed to cripple and undermine the legitimate efforts being made by reformed gang members to gain an economic foothold. He talked about how gang members who get released from prison after serving a 10-15 year bid are suddenly hit with a 70-80 thousand bill from the government for child support. Anyone who owes more than 5gs in child support is limited in where and when they can travel.

-snip-

Aqeela talks about the types of terrorism that has been going on in South Central by the police, including unresolved murders and drive bys designed to break the gang truce and spark war between various sets.

-snip-

Aqeela goes into depth about the gang scene in LA and the type of influence Tookie Williams is perceived to have. He explained that Tookie only became known to younger Crip gang members after the movie ‘Redemption’ starring Jamie Foxx. He noted that the movie falsely depicts Tookie has being a shot caller to Crips on the streets of LA when that in fact is not the case. Aqueela explains that there is no central leadership amongst the LA gangs and that Crips kill Crips and Bloods kill Bloods and that in some of the larger sets you have warring divisions. He also broke down the type of organizational structure that has existed in gangs back east and in Chicago versus what goes on in Cali. He said it’s very much the wild wild West.

He noted that within prison you tend to find old line organizations like the Consolidated Crips. He concludes that Tookie is not only reformed, but that he’s spent many of his 25 years of incarceration in solitary confinement before he reformed. Tookie has very little to do with the Crips and the type of legacy that exists that they have left behind on the streets today. He has noted that Tookie’s turn around has been an inspiration because it’s been publicized and his reflected in books.

Please listen to the interview @ http://odeo.com/audio/460407/view

[Paradise]

2. kick! n/t

[nofurylike]

38. thank you Paradise! eom

[nofurylike]

3. Please read this important piece by H20 Man

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5482561&mesg_id=5489563

"The future depends on what we do today." -Gandhi

In the 1958 book "The Human Condition," author Hannah Arendt notes that, "The freedom contained in Jesus' teaching of forgiveness is the freedom from vengence, which encloses both doer and sufferer in the relentless automatism of the action process, which by itself need never come to an end." (page 241) Is it possible that we can apply this thought to the case at hand? Could we even take it a step farther, and look at some of the hatred being expressed by a few DUers towards Mr. Williams, which includes their continued hostility towards the efforts of those on DU looking to save Tookie's life?

In his 1964 book "Gandhi on Non-Violence," Thomas Merton writes, "It is no accident that Hitler believed firmly in the unforgivableness of sin.This is indeed fundamental to the whole mentality of Nazism, and its avidity for final solutions and its concern that all uncertainties be eliminated. Hitler's world was built on the central dogma of the irreversibility of evil ...." (page 12)

Merton continues with an examination of St. Thomas Aquinas's views on evil. He viewed evil as real, and recognized that it was necessary to confront it. But he knew it could be overcome, even healed, and built upon. Aquinas noted that there were characteristics common to those who could not forgive, which make them remarkably similar to the sinners they hate. In "Summa Theologica," he notes "the mood of Nemesis" that "rejoices in the belief that others justly suffer and grieves when good comes to the unworthy." That sounds strangely similar to some of the ugly things one DUer has recently posted on this thread.

In Haudenosaunee (or Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) culture, there is a position on the Grand Council of Chiefs that is known as "the chief of chiefs." This man serves as Tadodaho. In the actual history of the Iroquois, the first Tadodaho was a brutal man, a cruel man who boiled and ate the victims of his rage. The prophet known as the PeaceMaker eventually was able to comb the hatred from his mind. Just as Merton and Aquinas taught, an evil person could become healed, and could offer good to society.

A few years ago, my good friend Rubin Carter told an audience at the State University in Binghamton, NY, that everyone who hates their brother is a murderer. He was paraphrasing 1 John, 3:15. It's the quote that Merton selected to begin his book with. Small world.

We need to move beyond hatred. Bitterness consumes the vessel that contains it, the Hurricane told that audience in Binghamton. Reading this thread, and a couple of the hateful messages, shows how true that is. I appreciate how hard it can be to get by the pain that violent criminals inflict on the families and friends of their victims. But we need to take a little time to decide what direction we want our country to move in: the Hitler/Nazi direction, where the government decides what people should be killed? Or the Gandhi/Merton direction, where we attempt to heal societies' wounds, and transform peoples' lives?

Please call the governor. Thank you.

http://h2oman.blogspot.com

***

Thank you, H20 Man!

[ET Awful]

4. It's worth pointing out who the "Rubin Carter" referenced is.

That is Rubin "Hurricane" Carter who was held in prison for decades before finally being released. In his case, as with Williams case, there were numerous problems of suppressed evidence, obvious racial bias, etc.

[nofurylike]

42. thank you for making that connection for us, ET Awful! eom

[Sapphire Blue]

27. Please read this beautifully eloquent post (#3)!!!!!

[nofurylike]

43. thank you for saying it, Sapphire Blue! it is "beautifully eloquent!" eom

[nofurylike]

5. Please listen to Bruce S. Gordon, President & CEO, NAACP

http://www.savetookie.org/brucegordon_audio.html

NAACP Press Release:

November 27, 2005
NAACP Steps Up Efforts to Save Stanley Tookie Williams
California Gov. Schwarzenegger is asked to grant clemency to former gang leader who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Bruce S. Gordon, President & CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said today that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on December 13. Williams, who maintains his innocence, has been nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize and four times for the Nobel Prize for Literature for his series of acclaimed children’s books.

Gordon said: “The NAACP asks Gov. Schwarzenegger to act with courage and exercise the power of his office to grant clemency to Stanley Williams.”

Gordon said the NAACP will lead a multi-city two-week crusade to convince Schwarzenegger that Williams should live to continue his work in helping young people make positive choices and avoid the gang life that he once lived. Williams, a co-founder of the Crips gang, has won international and national recognition for the 10 books he wrote urging youths to stay away from gangs.

-snip-

Gordon said: “I am convinced that our community is best served if Stan is alive and contributing to the guidance of our youth. He is a one-of-a-kind human asset who needs to exercise his unique ability to touch the lives of young people.”

-snip-

***

peace and solidarity!

[goclark]

16. Please email this thread to all your friends!

[nofurylike]

44. that is a great suggestion, goclark! will do! thank you!

peace and solidarity!

[Sapphire Blue]

24. Another article on the NAACP's efforts on behalf of Stan Tookie Williams..

NAACP Steps Up Efforts to Save Stanley Tookie Williams; California Gov. Schwarzenegger is Asked to Grant Clemency to Former Gang Leader Who Has Been Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
11/27/2005 4:02:00 PM

BALTIMORE, Nov. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Bruce S. Gordon, president & CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said today that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Dec. 13. Williams, who maintains his innocence, has been nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize and four times for the Nobel Prize for Literature for his series of acclaimed children's books.

Gordon said: "There is no doubt in my mind that Stanley Williams merits clemency. The NAACP asks Gov. Schwarzenegger to act with courage and exercise the power of his office to grant clemency to Stanley Williams."

Gordon said the NAACP will lead a multi-city two-week crusade to convince Schwarzenegger that Williams should live to continue his work in helping young people make positive choices and avoid the gang life that he once lived. Williams, a co-founder of the Crips gang, has won international and national recognition for the 10 books he wrote urging youths to stay away from gangs.

<snip>

On Saturday, Gordon met privately with Williams for two-and-a half hours at the San Quentin prison death house where he has lived since 1981. During the meeting, Gordon said Williams committed to working with the NAACP to reach young people who might be influenced to join gangs. Gordon, who became president of the NAACP in August, said reaching out to young people is a key priority in his administration. "He is our new partner," he said. "He's our secret weapon in the fight to help young African Americans reject gangs. Williams will have a powerful impact not just in Los Angeles, not just in California, but throughout our nation."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=57169

I also plead with Gov. Schwarzenegger "to act with courage and exercise the power of his office to grant clemency to Stanley Williams."

Please join me in contacting Gov. Schwarzenegger in support of clemency.

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

FAX: [phone]

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Thank you!

[hiaasenrocks]

6. Please read this link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5500980

[nofurylike]

7. "I've changed my mind on the 'Tookie' debate." Important perspective.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5498449

Though I've still no brief whatsoever for murderers, I think (just being pragmatic) that American society would benefit from keeping him alive and letting him continue his work.

Greatest good for the greatest number, and all that.

Redstone

***

Thank you, Redstone


peace!

[Sapphire Blue]

10. Thank you, Redstone!

[hiaasenrocks]

8. Information about this case and the appeals that

have already taken place:

PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND APPELLATE REVIEW
To date, Stanley Williams’ case has received extensive legal scrutiny in both state and federal court. Since his conviction in 1981, Williams has pursued multiple appeals and habeas corpus petitions. In each and every instance, in both state and federal court, his conviction has been affirmed as appropriate and just.

• On April 18, 1980, the trial court granted Williams’ motion to substitute his hand-picked attorney, Joseph Ingber, as attorney of record in place of Gerald Lenoir.
• On January 21, 1981, the jury trial commenced and on March 13, 1981, the jury returned guilty verdicts of four counts of first degree murder and two counts of robbery. The jury also found the special circumstance allegations of robbery-murder and multiple murder to be true. Lastly, the jury found true the special allegations that defendant Williams personally used a shotgun and that a principal was armed with a firearm.
• On March 17, 1981, both parties having rested without presenting evidence at the penalty phase, argument was presented on behalf of the People and defendant Williams as to whether the penalty should be death or life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Following arguments and instructions of law by the Court on this issue, the jury, on March 18, 1981, returned a verdict of death as to each of the charged first-degree murders.
• On April 15, 1981, defendant Williams’ motions for a new trial and for modification of the verdict and findings imposing the death penalty were heard by the Court and denied. The trial court then sentenced Williams to death on counts 1, 2, 3 and 7.
• On April 11, 1988, on automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court, in the cases of People v. Stanley Williams, Crim. No. 21977, and In re Stanley Williams, Crim. No. 23806, consolidated under Case No. S004365, and published at (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1127, the imposition of the death penalty was affirmed and defendant Williams’ first habeas petition was denied following an evidentiary hearing.
• On January 18, 1989, the California Supreme Court denied defendant Williams’ second state habeas petition in Case No. S008526.
• On that same date, January 18, 1988, defendant Williams filed his first federal habeas petition in the United States District Court in Case No. CV89-00327SVW. The district court held that petition in abeyance while defendant Williams returned to the California Supreme Court with his unexhausted claims.
• On April 11, 1994, following another evidentiary hearing, the California Supreme Court denied defendant Williams’ third state habeas petition in Case No. S011868, published at (1994) 7 Cal.4th 572.
• On June 21, 1995, the California Supreme Court denied defendant Williams’ fourth state habeas petition in Case No. S039285.
• On December 21, 1988, defendant Williams returned to federal court and, following an evidentiary hearing, the United States District Court denied defendant Williams’ amended habeas petition in Case No. CV89-00327-SVW, and published its order at (1998) 41 F.Supp.2d 1043.
• On December 17, 1999, defendant Williams’ subsequent Rule 60(b) motion to reopen the judgment was denied, and the order was published at (1999) 1999 WL 1320903.
• On September 10, 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied defendant Williams’ direct appeal and Rule 6 (b) motion in Case Nos. 99-99018 and 00-99001, published at (2002)306 F.3d 665.
• On September 9, 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals amended the opinion and denied defendant Williams’ petition for rehearing and suggestion for rehearing en banc, published at (2004) 384 F.3d 567.
• On February 2, 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied defendant Williams’ subsequent petition for rehearing and suggestion for rehearing en banc, published at (2005) 396 F.3d 1059.
• Finally, on October 11, 2005, the United States Supreme Court denied defendant Williams’ petition for writ of certiorari in Case No. 04-10500. As this historical accounting proves, Williams has benefited from a detailed and exhaustive review of all of his legal claims and each court has affirmed the guilty verdicts and affirmed the death sentence. In doing so, our courts, both state and federal, have given appropriate and serious consideration to Williams, consideration which Williams so violently denied each of his victims.

http://www.lacountyda.org/pdf/swilliams.pdf

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5500980

[Fescue4u]

19. Yes, thats all true, but he wrote a book

So lets give him a pass.

The other two people executed this week didnt write any childrens books, so thats why we ignored them.

[Wind Dancer]

20. I posted this in one of the other threads.

Violence begets violence.

I am ashamed - "NC executes nation's 1,000th inmate since 1976."
There are many in my state who still endorse this practice, both Dems and Pukes. Let me speak for the those of us against legalized killing, we knew clemency was never an option for this man.

My opposition to the death penalty does not in any way diminish the victim's tragedy.

Hopefully, California will not follow this example. Too many people have been treated unjustly in our legal system since its birth. Racial prejudice has played a part and we would be foolish to ignore that history.
----------------------------------------------------------------

There are currently more than 3,500 people on death row -- more than at any time in U.S. history.

Since 1976, more than 580 people have been executed in the United States. Over 50% of those have been killed since 1992.

More than three-quarters of all executions since 1976 took place in Southern states. The reality is that lynching still exists -- it's just legal now.

Texas Gov. George Bush has personally signed death warrants for 100 executions and counting.

President Clinton's 1994 crime bill added 58 more crimes that are punishable by death. And his "Anti-Terrorism" bill limits the number of federal appeals for death row prisoners to just one within one year of conviction.

Both parties have created a "get tough" climate which can only mean more executions. It's time to take a stand against this barbaric practice.

http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/fiveRs.html

[nofurylike]

48. "opposition to the death penalty does not in any way diminish the victim"

true.

thank you for this excellent, thought-provoking, informative and deeply (necessarily) disturbing post, FrustratedDemInNC.

both parties :cry:

yes, yes yes yes we MUST take a stand against this!!!

onwards


peace and solidarity!

[hiaasenrocks]

21. Some of the posts

around here are unbelievable. The amount of disinformation is astounding. And they are using that to thwart justice. :puke:

[goclark]

76. Absolutely Right hiaasenrocks!

It seems to some to be the easy way out to just say,"fry him" as if that will make a real difference to anyone in the end.

It will not make the victims come back to life, it will only make a double crime, this one being a crime that a supposedly rational society, leader of the "FREE" world government, would stoop to.

My,my, what have we come to!
Amerika is stuck on stupid and blind to real solutions in the justice system.

[hiaasenrocks]

23. Another thing he has that other death row inmates don't

is the celeb attention.

I think that's why so many people have become Tookie groupies.

[Fescue4u]

25. Tookie has ran an effective PR campaign

If he is successful, killers will start hiring PR firms, as well as law firms to escape justice.

[Sapphire Blue]

9. Life, death and Stanley “Tookie” Williams

This, from someone who starts out by stating that he hates gang members, and condems the violence they have wrought in our inner cities...

Life, death and Stanley “Tookie” Williams
by Roland S. Martin, Chicago Defender
December 2, 2005

(excerpt)

So if Williams is allowed to keep breathing, can the life of one kid be altered by hearing his voice and deciding not to join a gang? Is it worth Stanley living to keep one mother from having to bury her child, and one father being able to see his son graduate from high school?

Is Stanley's life really worth potentially the life of another?

Yes it is. If he dies, we bury one. If he lives, we may not have to bury 1,000.

As the Bible says, even in evil, good can come about.

http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=3089

[Sapphire Blue]

41. kick

:kick:

[Sapphire Blue]

11. Why I support clemency for Stan Tookie Williams...

I am aware of his past involvement in co-founding the Crips, I am aware of his life of violence; I am also aware of his efforts for more than a decade to keep others out of the horrible life to which he succumbed. After his conviction and several years on death row, and after much soul searching, this man overcame incredible odds, and turned his life around. In doing so, he has also turned the lives of tens of thousands of young people around with the anti-gang work he has done for more than a decade.

I understand that many are angry about what this man has done in his past, that many believe that he is guilty of the murders of which he was convicted, and want to see him punished. If he receives clemency, he will remain in prison... life w/o parole... he will be punished. His execution will serve to provide vengeance (whether deserved or not), rather than punishment. It will also serve to the teach children that he is helping that there is no hope, no redemption, and that they don't matter.

Why do I plead for clemency for a convicted murderer? Why do I plead for the life of the man who co-founded the Crips? I have over 150,000 reasons:

Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx has officially endorsed a Stan 'Tookie' Williams clemency campaign spearheaded by over 150,000 youth who claim the Nobel Peace Prize Nominee (set to be executed on Foxx's 38th birthday next month: Dec 13) has saved their lives with his nine anti-drug books and personal anti-gang mentoring over the past decade.

http://www.eurweb.com/story.cfm?id=23360

Our children are too precious to discard. I care about our children.

[Sapphire Blue]

12. Part of the System: Barbaric Customs

Part of the System: Barbaric Customs

JENNIFER REDMOND, SAN DIEGO
November 30, 2005

How refreshing to hear such a reasonable voice as that of Keith Taylor, writing about the upcoming execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. I agree that it is shameful, and I agree that it is probably unavoidable, given today's political climate. Our current penal "system" barely recognizes the long-ago aim of rehabilitation anymore; the death penalty being the ultimate example of ensuring that a person no longer commits crimes. Capital "punishment" is not about deterrence (if someone somewhere has the statistics to prove it deters crime, they are hiding them) or about retribution, since one person's murder can never justify another's. An execution by the state is about revenge, about taking an eye for an eye. More importantly, when a government takes the life of a person with deliberation and intent, we all suffer. Not just those who prepare the prisoner and administer the injection, but those of us who condone it. And if our elected officials -- in this case California's Governor -- condone it, then we all do, by extension.

How can we wonder then that our soldiers, generals and intelligence agents and government officials have so little respect for human life that torture and abuse of prisoners of war are consistently considered defensible? As long as we continue to practice barbaric customs such as capital punishment, we will remain a nation unable to distinguish right from wrong, or take a moral stand on anything of significance.

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/pp.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvH&b=1230183

[goclark]

17. Barbaric Custom to the Core

It represents all that we should NOT be about, especially liberal Democrats.

[nofurylike]

66. "all that we should NOT be about, especially liberal Democrats." yes! eom

[nofurylike]

54. these are great pieces, Sapphire Blue! thank you! eom

[Texasgal]

13. I have a favor to ask:

Can you please post the names or Tookie's victims? They seem to be lost in this whole shuffle... thank you.

[Sapphire Blue]

14. The victims that he was convicted of killing:

Williams was convicted in 1981 for the murders of Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Yang and Ye-Chen Lin at a Los Angeles motel, and of store clerk Albert Owens at a 7-Eleven in Whittier, Calif.

He is and has been working for more than a decade to keep others from committing the violence of which he has been convicted. He will continue this work if granted clemency (life w/o parole). He can help to prevent further violence, further killing.

We could see a lessening of violence in our country... another mother may not have to bury her child... another daughter may not have to bury her parents.

[goclark]

15. Excellent thread kick and recommend please!! nt

[nofurylike]

55. goclark, you are great. thank you so!! eom

[goclark]

78. Bullies of Amerika are Stuck on Stupid!

Just don't see how any LIberal Democrat that seeks TRUTH could possibly stoop to wanting to do the quick fix.


That is the reason we are in Iraq right now.

Bully Amerikans, alias GW and Crowd, believe that this is the wild, wild west and we should kill all the Indians.

Hello! This is the 21st Century!

[Peter Frank]

18. K & R Where's Judge Roy Moore when you need him...

I'd like to see him send his Ten Comandments monument to Sacramento, after highlighting the Sixth Commandment. It doesn't say, "Thou shalt not murder" -- it says "Thou shalt not kill."

[nofurylike]

56. yes! isn't it something how they get all hot about the 10, but that one

escapes their grasp?
well, not just that one, of course.

thank you, Peter Frank!


peace and solidarity!

[Peter Frank]

22. Kick...

:kick:

[Sapphire Blue]

26. Nobel Laureates Urge Clemency for Stanley 'Tookie' Williams

Nobel Laureates Urge Clemency for Stanley 'Tookie' Williams

LOS ANGELES -- In a letter released Wednesday, a group of Nobel laureates joined activists in urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant clemency to Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who is set to be executed Dec. 13.

In the letter, Nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Betty Williams and Jody Williams and nearly 120 other people call on the governor to commute Williams' "sentence of death to life in prison."

<snip>

"Through his work, gang truces have been mediated and long-standing wounds have been healed. Lives have been saved," the letter to the governor says. "... That an inmate on San Quentin's death row has earned five nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and four for the Nobel Prize for Literature requires consideration."

The group is calling on Schwarzenegger "to affirm the human capacity for personal transformation and reinforce the meaning of hope for young people everywhere."

Continued @ http://www.nbc4.tv/news/5394294/detail.html

[nofurylike]

57. "Through his work.... Lives have been saved" excellent, SB! thank you!!

[Sapphire Blue]

28. Tookie Williams, Shame and Clemency: Arnold Schwarzenegger's Curious Power

Tookie Williams, Shame and Clemency: Arnold Schwarzenegger's Curious Power

While in prison, Williams has written a number of children's books focusing on the perils of gang life; he has written an acclaimed memoir, Blue Rage, Black Redemption; has been nominated multiple times for the Nobel Prize for both Peace and Literature; and has, by some irony that, we may hope, will come to the attention of government officials next month, won a Presidential Call to Service award from George W. Bush in 2005 for his volunteer efforts to help wayward youth.

The prosecutor in Williams' trial eliminated three potential African- American jurors, resulting in a nearly all-white jury. The California Supreme Court had twice censured the same prosecutor for discriminatory practices. During the trial, the same prosecutor made several racist comparisons of Williams to an 'animal' stalking in the 'jungle'.

One can't help but feel impotent, even ashamed, in offering casual reflections on the death penalty, when it truly is a life-and-death matter for others. At the same time, I am not prepared to lead an insurrection to spring Tookie Williams from his cell, and to simply recite the facts about his case doesn't seem like much of a service. These facts would be largely borrowed from countless other sites where they are already easily accessible. So what's left is 'consciousness raising': a mixture of facts, persuasion, and communicable outrage.

But let us begin with the requisite stab at difference-making. By all means, protest. Sign petitions. Help to nominate Williams, again, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Write to governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ([e-mail]), or call him in Sacramento (916-445-4821), and implore him to grant clemency. If you get through, you may wish to comment on the injustice of a world in which a vapid body-builder has, largely by marrying up, been catapulted into a position in which he, with full force of law, is to decide whether another human being lives or dies. If you join the campaign to nominate Williams for the Nobel, you might point out that he is surely no less suitable a candidate than Kim Jong Il or Henry Kissinger. These men assuredly have blood on their hands, and have not done much of anything in the way of repentance. The same cannot be said of Stan Williams. (Among those who are permitted to make Peace Prize nominations are "University rectors; professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology; directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes." If you fall into one of these categories and are willing to co- sponsor the nomination, please send details to Phil Gasper, Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame de Namur University, [e-mail].)

http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/11/1786776.php

[Sapphire Blue]

53. Kick

[nofurylike]

58. that's outstanding!! thank you so much for that, Sapphire Blue!

-snip-
Write to governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ([e-mail] ), or call him in Sacramento (916-445-4821), and implore him to grant clemency. If you get through, you may wish to comment on the injustice of a world in which a vapid body-builder has, largely by marrying up, been catapulted into a position in which he, with full force of law, is to decide whether another human being lives or dies. If you join the campaign to nominate Williams for the Nobel, you might point out that he is surely no less suitable a candidate than Kim Jong Il or Henry Kissinger. These men assuredly have blood on their hands, and have not done much of anything in the way of repentance. The same cannot be said of Stan Williams.
-snip-

***

a great article


peace and solidarity!

[BIG Sean]

29. Great! He turned his life around.....So what?

I can not for the life of me why so many people are making a HERO out of this street thug! He is a murderer who turned his life around AFTER HE WAS sentenced to death!

What about the men and women that have guard him in prison? If he gets life without parole, and he kills one of them, then what? More life?

What of all the kids that are now DEAD because of his actions? Don't make the mistake in believing that he "only killed" four people.

Put him to death so that he can not murder again.

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. you realize the blood bath taht will occur if he is made a martyr

to teh crips, don't you? Surely you don't

[BIG Sean]

34. So let him off out of fear???.....No way!

You have got to be kidding me.

Gee, I hope the Crips dont get mad at us for putting them in Jail when they sell drugs and rape people, and I hope they don't get made when we put them to death for Murder.

Nope, we can't be pissing off the gang bangers. LOL

[ET Awful]

49. You don't actually know a thing about the guy do you?

Not a single negative mark on his record of any kind for over ten years. . . meaning nothing. Meaning that the guards don't see him as any kind of threat.

Go educate yourself.

Here's a little something for you to comprehend . . . over 150,000 youths credit Williams with stopping them from joining gangs. Not because he's scheduled to be killed, but because of his direct efforts through books and such to convince kids to stay out of gangs.

Now if even 5% of those kids would have gone on to kill people in drive-bys or other gang activity, that means that he's saved not only those 150,000 lives, but 750 potential victims.

It's not about pissing off gang members, it's about saving kids from joining gangs, which is exactly what Williams is doing.

I suggest you actually research the case instead of spouting off through pure ignorance.

[nofurylike]

59. excellent! so very well said, ET Awful! thank you! eom

[Fescue4u]

40. So now its "save me" or suffer?

Yea, some role model.

[ET Awful]

50. Not likely to happen, the bloodbath will come as a result of the next

generation of gang bangers who won't benefit from his mission to stop gang violence.

[ET Awful]

51. Nobody's made a hero out of him. Nobody's tried.

What we've done is pointed out obvious facts that you have, in your rush for vengeance (not justice, vengeance), failed to recognize, understand or even acknowledge.

First, there is legitimate doubt as to whether he killed the individuals he's convicted of killing, there was overt racism displayed at trial, physical evidence suppressed, a racially selected jury, etc.

Second, Tookie did NOT invent gangs. Gangs existed way before Tookie, they will exist long after he dies (whatever the cause). The gang known as the Crips today is NOT the gang it was when Tookie went to jail in 1979. (Of course, if you'd quit screeching for blood and actually look into the history of LA gangs, you'd probably know that too).

Third, Tookie has saved over 100,000 kids from following him into the gang lifestyle. He has gone over a decade with no negative marks of any kind on his record. He poses no threat to his guards, contrary to your ill-informed comments down-thread.

He's not asking for release, he's not asking for parole, he's asking to be allowed to continue stopping kids from joining gangs.

Educate yourself.

[nofurylike]

61. "he's asking to be allowed to continue stopping kids from joining gangs"

you express yourself so well, ET Awful

thank you!


peace and solidarity!

[Silverhair]

67. Here is the translation of that:

"he's asking to be allowed to continue stopping kids from joining gangs" = He is trying to save his butt from being executed.

[ET Awful]

68. Yet another person that knows NOTHING about the case.

Perhaps you should actually talk to the people that worked with him to get the books published, etc. Maybe you should actually research it instead of sounding like a Fox News anchor.

[Silverhair]

70. I know enough.

He is guilty of the brutal murders of at least four people, and extremely likely to have murdered others. He bragged about the murders. He has never shown remorse over the murders. He doesn't want to be executed. So he writes a couple of kids books and some people now want to treat him like a saint.

And then we wonder why we have the label "Soft on Crime".

[ET Awful]

71. You just proved by your comments that you don't know anything about

the case.

You know, you sound an awful lot like a former governor of Texas when discussing the death penalty. Did you laugh right along with him when he mocked Karla Fae Tucker?

Here's a little hint for you . . . the people who say he "bragged" were making bargains to get their own sentences reduced.

Save your sanctimonious crap for someone who hasn't actually researched the case.

As to your asinine "soft on crime" remark . . . the reason labels such as that exist is because assholes like Limbaugh invent them to cover stories when child rapists are released from prison on technicalities and go on to do so again.

Contrary to your apparent delusional thought process, nobody wants to "treat him like a saint".

You don't know shit about the case. If you did, you'd know what he's actually done for kids, and you'd listen to the interviews, and do the research.

You obviously haven't done so. Your post screams it out.

As to "I know enough" . . . that sounds EXACTLY like an uninformed Fox News viewer right before bombing the piss out of Iraq.

[Sapphire Blue]

73. Speaking of Texas...

Remember "Tulia Madness"? http://www.pbs.org/now/society/herbert.html

[Silverhair]

74. What does that have to do with Williams?

Nothing.

[ET Awful]

75. Yet more proof you haven't researched the case.

If you had, you'd know of the obvious racism both in the investigation and at trial. You'd also know about suppressed evidence not presented or fully evaluted during the investigation (such as fingerprints at the scene not belonging to Williams, etc.).

But no, you haven't bothered to research that.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions regarding your stance on the case.

Of course, by your standards, most of the civilized world is "soft on crime."

[Silverhair]

79. O J played the race card too.

Everytime a minority is convicted, someboy always screams, "Racism".

The presence of other fingerprints at a crime scene is completely normal and means little. Other prints do NOT exonerate Williams.

The shotgun shell positively matched William's shotgun to the exclusion of all others. The gun was recovered by William's place.

There was a black man on the jury, and he voted guilty and for the death penalty.

There have been many appeals. And you are trying to claim that ALL of them are racist?

He is guilty and in a few days the earth shall be rid of him.

[ET Awful]

80. Nice misinformation you're spreading there.

Did you get that from Fox News? Or is it your contention that Mark Fuhrman didn't have a history of racist remarks?

I like how first you pretend that a case with proven racism in your own state shouldn't be considered as showing that there is racial bias in criminal cases, then try to use another notorious case to say that it's not possible . . .nice convoluted way of thinking.

[Silverhair]

82. Racism in one case in one states DOES NOT prove that racism...

...was used in a different case in a different state with different people. There is no connection between the two.

The racism arguement is ALWAYS used. It gets rather thin.

In any trial, there are many times more jurors rejected than are chosen. So from the very large rejection pool, on could see some black faces and start yelling, "Racism", as you are doing.

You are the one spreading misinformation. You have been well debunked by other posters. I do not need to repost what they have already well documented.

[ET Awful]

91. Yet more proof you haven't read anything

The prosecutor had been censored at least twice by the court in the past for eliminating jurors based on race.

You also just confirmed how convoluted your logic is. You claim that proof of racism in once case doesn't prove it in another while trying to state immediately above that lack of racism in one case proves lack of racism in another. Amazing how convoluted your thought process is.

Your ignorance of the facts knows no bounds does it?

Onto ignore you go, you're a waste of my time.

[Silverhair]

77. And by your own repeated posts of disinformation about the

evidence and trail you have shown yourself to be an apologist for Williams. Your claims regarding the trial have been well debunked by another poster.

For that matter, his notes conspiring to MURDER the deputies and ALL the inmates on the bus were in his own handwriting. You have picked a real sleezebag for a poster boy.

Nominating him for a Nobel prize IS treating him like a Saint, and only shows how political that the Nobels have become.

[ET Awful]

81. So, you're saying black jurors weren't excluded by the prosecution

simply because they were black? You're saying that the bloody foodprint at the scene was his, despite testimony to the contrary? You're saying that despite the fact that the prime witnesses against Tookie, such as Alfred Coward testified to save their own asses from prison (yup, Coward turned on Williams in exchange for immunity from prosecution), that their testimony is reliable?

Once again, educate yourself.

Hell, the only people who didn't have something to gain by testifying against Williams could only say they saw a station wagon outside a 7-Eleven with two black folks standing next to it.

Bah, debating ANY death penalty case with a Texan is completely worthless, you folks love it too much.

As to your attack on Nobel . . . he was nominated because he has saved over 150,000 youths from joining gangs. That's a hell of a lot of lives saved.

But nah, you'd rather stop those efforts and eliminate the programs he started. Ask yourself this question . . . who is an at-risk youth more likely to listen to when being warned about joining gangs? Some whitebread dude in a suit that pretends to know what inner-city life is like, or someone who grew up in their neighborhood, fucked up his life, and is now trying to save them from doing the same?

[Silverhair]

83. Frankly, I don't believe the 150K youths saved number.

I suspect that the methodology that came up with that number would be extremely biased.

[ET Awful]

85. Those are the numbers of youths who have claimed to have been

dissuaded. The number comes form the kids themselves.

Then again . . . as before . . . you'd know that if you'd bothered to research, which you obviously haven't.

[Silverhair]

87. LOL !!!

So you are claiming that 150K youths voluntarily came forward to say that Tookie saved them??? No Way.

Somebody went out with a push poll strongly designed to get positive answers.

[ET Awful]

90. There you go again proving you haven't researched a thing.

As I said, come back when you have.

Or do you always just make up your viewpoint as you go along?

[Silverhair]

84. And you are claiming that ALL the appeals courts were also racist?

You are simply trying to play the race card because all else has failed.

[ET Awful]

88. LOL . . . you haven't read a fucking thing have you?

Race is simply one factor of many.

Tell you what, I'm through discussing anything with you until you educate yourself, it's not worth my time. Let me know once you've actually investigated it.

I know you folks down in Texas don't believe racism exists (even while your neighbors are dragging black folks behind their trucks and your small town police are planting drugs all over the place), but people in other parts of the country know better. Especially when dealing with a prosecutor who had previously been censured for exhibiting racial bias at trial. . . . or did you miss that while you "researched" the case too?

As I said, come back when you've educated yourself, until then . . . bye.

[Sapphire Blue]

86. Speaking of Nobel...

Redemption: A Perspective by Stanley "Tookie" Williams
By Stanley "Tookie" Williams
-Guest Columnist-
Updated Nov 19, 2005, 12:28 pm

(a brief excerpt)

Another controversial transformation was Alfred Nobel, himself, who invented dynamite and, ultimately, created the Nobel Peace Prize. A newspaper mistakenly printed Alfred Nobel’s obituary instead of his dead brother’s: the headline accused Alfred Nobel of earning his wealth through an invention (dynamite) that countless people had used to kill one another. The misprint served as a premonition for Alfred Nobel, allowing him to see how the world would judge him. It provoked his transition.

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2279.shtml

[Peter Frank]

30. K... n/t

[Sapphire Blue]

31. Dead man talking

Dead man talking
INTERVIEW BY STEVE BOGGAN
November 24, 2005
Tookie Williams faces the death penalty on December 13 for murder, a case that has divided America

(excerpt)

Williams is due to be executed by lethal injection on December 13. As co-founder of the Crips, America’s most notorious gang, and murderer of four innocent people, you might expect his passing to go unopposed, save for the usual objections of the anti-death penalty lobby. But you would be wrong.

His execution is causing more than the usual amount of debate in the US, more dissent, more soul-searching. Because the violent, narcissistic thug who was placed behind bars amid much rejoicing 24 years ago is not the same man who will have chemicals pumped into his veins in three weeks’ time. The Stanley Williams who faces death has undergone a dramatic change in personality, a rehabilitation that has seen him develop into an influential writer on the receiving end of five Nobel Peace Prize nominations and four for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

<snip>

“I look back now and what I see is a pattern of self-hate — not just in me, but among all the people I associated with,” he says. “When you grow up fed with a constant diet of stereotypes about criminal black people, on TV, in movies and the media, you slowly begin to believe it. You hate those stereotypes and you hate what you become. And what it leads to is most destructive — violence against other black people who are also filled with self-loathing. It becomes self-perpetuating.”

<snip>

“They propagate rehabilitation and reform but when it comes down to it they destroy it by any means necessary. By being alive I can save the lives of people involved in gangs — but who are those people? They are mostly poor black people and if I am killed what message does it send? “It tells people in prison that it isn’t worth trying to change and it tells the young black people in gangs that their lives are not worth saving.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1885637_1,00.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. just sent a short letter pointing out that this can be used

politically, and being what kind of a beast the gropenfuhrer is, who cares as long as he commutes it

[nofurylike]

62. appealing to what matters to him. thank you, nadinbrzezinski! eom

[Sapphire Blue]

35. Please watch the DOAR video @

Video: DOAR Supports Tookie Williams Clemency Hearing

http://www.doar.com/

[Sapphire Blue]

36. From gang leader to children's book author and peace activist

Tookie Williams
From gang leader to children's book author and peace activist

(excerpt)

Behind bars, he renounces his life as a "Crip" and has since then been a committed worker against youth violence, gang wars, and drugs, and for the development of alternatives for street kids.

He approaches the desperate rage and penchant for violence of many young people, especially boys and young men, in a constructive way and weighs in with his whole person and his long experience in the ghetto streets and in prison. And this has an enormous impact.

Since then, tens of thousands of youths and children have written him, telling him how important he has become for them, how much he has inspired them to do something with their lives, and how much they admire his achievements. How he has become a positive role model for them.

<snip>

But what's even more important: Stan Tookie Williams' commitment is a vital impulse for a civil approach to violence. His history, personal chance and initiatives have yielded and will yield more positive results than all correctional institutions in the United States and, by their own example, call for a policy chance that at long last starts to again invest into the education of young people instead of prison expansion.

http://www.transnational.org/pressinf/2005/pi229BR_TookieWilliams.html

[Sapphire Blue]

37. PLEASE listen to this interview w/Barbara Becnel, Stefanie Faucher, others

From Pacifica Radio...

Stanley "Tookie" Williams, and the state of the Death Penalty in California

First Hour - Stanley "Tookie" Williams, and the state of the Death Penalty in California

Stanley "Tookie" Williams is petitioning Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for clemency. He'd scheduled to be put to death by the state December 13th. We'll discuss, Tookie Teach in Week, and the state of the Death Penalty in California. Joining us... Barbara Becnel, Williams' advocate, and author with him of several childrens books Stefanie Faucher, Program Director, Death Penalty Focus, coordinating Tookie Teach-in Week and others...

Download: http://157.22.130.4/data/20051113-Sun0900.mp3

Stream: http://www.kpfa.org/cgi-bin/gen-mpegurl.m3u?server=157.22.130.4&port=80&mount=/data/20051113-Sun0900.mp3

http://www.pacifica.org/programs/sundaysalon/051113.html

[Fescue4u]

39. How CAN he turn his life around, IF HE DIDNT DO THE CRIME?

Thats what I find ridiculous.

We have folks claiming that Tookies turned his life around and is now a wonderful book writer.

At the same time, the same people are saying that he is innocent.

Thats ridiculous. If he's innocent, then he's innocent (which would an amazing accomplishment for a leader of killers)

If he's guilty, then yes he could have turned his life around...except that he refuses to accept guilt, or apoligize to his victims.

TOOKIE GROUPIES: Which is it? He is Innocent, or did he turn his life around?



(I suppose he could do both, went into prison as an innocent gang leader, and then turned his life around by killing a few prison inmates)

[Balbus]

46. Whether he's innocent or guilty he shouldn't be killed.

[nofurylike]

45. please sign the petitions:

Please sign the petition for clemency @
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html

now at 61,992 signatures


Another petition @
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

now at 12,846 signatures

they are hoping to get 100,000 signatures

thank you!


peace and solidarity!

[nofurylike]

47. please call, email and fax the governor!!!

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

FAX: [phone]

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814


thank you!


peace and solidarity!

[Silverhair]

60. I have just emailed him and encouraged him to "Stand Firm".

This murderer, who killed for fun, must pay the ultimate price for his crimes.

It is a shame that the penalty has been delayed for over 25 years. That is why the DP is ineffective as a punishment.

In the 1930's a man took a shot at FDR, missed him and killed the governor. He was captured on the spot. From capture to trial to execution was about 30 days.

[ET Awful]

72. OR . . even better. . . . hell, we could be like China and march them

right out the door and shoot them on the spot right?

Or maybe like Saudi Arabia, we could behead them in public. . . .

Or maybe we could stone them in the town square eh?

Tell me, is "stand firm" anything like "stay the course?"

Oh wow, I just noticed your Texas avatar for the first time . . . I forgot how much you folks LOVE the death penalty down there . . . whether it's for mentally retarded youths or for blacks that were railroaded by good ole' boys planting evidence . . . Texans just LOVE a good execution.

[Sapphire Blue]

52. Please contact Gov. Schwarzenegger in support of clemency:

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

FAX: [phone]

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

[nofurylike]

63. URGENT! PLEASE EMAIL THE GOVERNOR!: [e-mail]

[nofurylike]

64. PLEASE WRITE A LETTER AND FAX THE GOVERNOR: 916-445-4633

[nofurylike]

65. URGENT!!! PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS!!! :

Please sign the petition for clemency @
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html
now 62,193 signatures

Another petition @
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

now 13,720 signatures


thank you!


peace and solidarity!

[Paradise]

69. Only 10 more pleading days left till EXECUTION!!!!!!!!!!

Please ask California's governor for clemency for Mr. Williams, before it's TOO LATE!

Email: [e-mail]

Subject: Please grant clemency to Mr. Stanley Williams! (EOM)

Give the gift of "LIFE"!

It's simple to do, and it's one more item you can check off your holiday-gift-giving list!

[nofurylike]

89. 12/3 ** URGENT**10 Days to STOP the EXECUTION! Clemency=Life w/out Parole

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5509048


THANK YOU ALL!!!

PEACE!!

[Gold Metal Flake]

92. Locking

New thread here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5509048