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

[nofurylike]

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

I strongly urge DUers to

Posted by H2O Man on Tue Nov-29-05 11:47 AM

take the time to contact the governor and ask him to spare this man's life. There are a number of reasons, all of which are valid, for people doing this. It can be rooted in opposition to the death penalty; concerns about the racial overtones of the case; as well as the possibility that the man is innocent of the charges.

It seems that some DUers insist upon trying to derail the thread, and get it mired in an hostile debate about gang violence, and the hatred and fear that have infected America's soul. One person responded to the request that this thread be allowed to stay focused on saving his life, by saying DU is about debate, and that there should be room for differences of opinion. There is room for such differences: threads debating the value of capital punishment; the role of racism in the legal system; the frequency of innocent people being convicted; the dangers of gangs; and the pain of being victimized by violent thugs -- these are all potentially good.

But DU should also be about respecting others' opinions. It should include having personal boundries, where you don't feel free to try to insult other peoples' values. It should include respecting other peoples' efforts to organize fellow DUers in an effort they feel is important.

There is plenty of room for differences of opinion on DU. There is good reason for mutual respect for even those who disagree on things you feel strongly about.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5464497#5474206

Previous thread:

12/2 *** URGENT*** 11 Days to STOP the EXECUTION!! PLEASE ACT!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5500542&mesg_id=5500542
(A vast amount of info throughout the thread)

Please consider contributing to the debate in this related
thread:
DEBATE: Stanley "Tookie" Williams: Redemption or Revenge?:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5509115

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 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, at the age of seventeen, 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.

Desmond Tutu, Mario Cuomo, Alfre Woodard, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Jesse Jackson, Bianca Jagger, Snoop Dogg (a fellow former Crip), Anjelica Huston, Tom Hayden, 100+ Nobel Laureates, peace & justice activists, the religious community, the anti-death penalty community, community activists, anti-gang activists and precious children and youths wanting to avoid/leave gang life, support Stanley Williams and urge the governor ro grant him clemency.


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!!!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I saw Mr. Wiliams on Tavis Smiley

and I was impressed. He is the best advocate for not going into gangs that anyone could ask for-he was there-he was a founder, for heaven's sake-and now he realizes it is wrong. He should be allowed to continue his work. Thanks for the links.

[Sapphire Blue]

3. A clip of the interview is available @

http://www.tavistalks.com/TTcom/TSradio/Williams112805.html

It was an excellent interview!

[nofurylike]

9. that was ann excellent interview, wasn't it? thank you for your thoughts

on this, ayeshahaqqiqa.

i agree that Stan really is the best possible advocate, including because he's already shown how devoted and affective he is.

yes! please, Governor, allow him to continue!


peace!

[Sapphire Blue]

2. Once again, nofurylike, I thank you for your efforts on behalf...

... of this particular cause, and for your efforts against the barbaric death penalty.

Thank you for keeping this going!!!

[nofurylike]

8. thank you for first calling my attention to this happening! and for your

amazing wealth of knowledge and information!!

that is also to say, thank YOU for your outstanding efforts!!!


please keep on!
i will too!


Peace
and Solidarity!

[Sapphire Blue]

4. Sparing the Crips Founder: The Fight to Save Stantley "Tookie" Williams

Sparing the Crips Founder: The Fight to Save Stantley "Tookie" Williams
by Matt Gonzalez Friday, Dec. 02, 2005 at 3:20 PM

(excerpt)

But founding a street gang and being on death row are not the only things for which Williams is known. Increasingly, he is known for his activities since going to prison in 1981. In 1996, after nearly 7 straight years in solitary confinement -- spent largely in self-reflection -- Williams repudiated the gang life by issuing a public apology and began working to find ways to improve himself. And although he continues to deny any involvement in the 1979 murders that sent him to prison, Williams has acknowledged the devastating consequences that his foundation of the Crips has caused for so many others. Williams has published impressive written works, including nine children’s books written with Barbara Becnel, which address crime, gang issues, and how to build self-esteem. No one has made a credible claim that Williams’ “conversion” is not genuine.

<snip>

I oppose the death penalty on moral grounds. But even for those who believe that it is justified, redemption must play some role. Executing Tookie Williams today has virtually nothing to do with punishing the Tookie Williams of 1979, even if it were shown that he committed the murders for which he has been sentenced. Would anyone suggest that one man should be killed for the crimes of another? Then what should a society do when that man has so transformed himself that he no longer resembles the one we want to punish?

<snip>

Amazingly, the prosecutor in Williams’ case, Robert Martin, has twice been publicly castigated by the California Supreme Court for using peremptory jury challenges in a racially discriminatory manner in violation of the well-settled doctrine of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). Martin’s conduct was so egregious that the second time the California Supreme Court censured him, Justice Stanley Mosk wrote in an opinion concurring with the majority: "Only a few months earlier, this court attempted to teach this same prosecutor that invidious discrimination was unacceptable when we reversed a judgment of death because of similar improper conduct on his part. He failed — or refused — to learn his lesson. The result is another reversal — and another costly burden on the administration of justice."

In Williams’ case, prosecutor Martin appears to have again engaged in the same discriminatory conduct. He struck all three prospective African-American jurors from the panel without giving any explanation. Unfortunately, Williams’ trial attorney, inexplicably, failed to object to this apparent racially motivated action. As a result, Williams was convicted and sentenced to death by an all white jury, and the courts have been reluctant to discuss whether William’s attorney’s errors rise to a finding of “ineffective counsel.” Surprisingly, the Federal Courts also concluded Williams failed to make the showing necessary to warrant a further inquiry concerning the elimination of all prospective African-American jurors from the panel. While it is true that the striking of a single black juror alone would not rise to the Batson case level, striking every black juror as in Williams’ case would certainly sound alarms -- particularly in a case where the defendant is black and where the prosecutor has a documented history of this brand of improper conduct.

Continued @ http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/12/1787322.php

[nofurylike]

10. that is an excellent article! crucially important info, SB! thank you! eom

[nofurylike]

5. "Educators for Tookie Plan to Deliver Their Message"

More than 200 educators have signed on to a letter urging California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant clemency to death row prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams. A delegation of signors will deliver the "Educators for Tookie" letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger's office in Sacramento on Wednesday, December 7, the day before Stanley Tookie Williams' clemency hearing. The delegation will include Professor Philip Gasper who initiated this effort and has nominated Stanley Tookie Williams for the Nobel Peace Prize. Our plan is to hold a press conference on the steps of the State Capitol Building at 12 noon then deliver the letter to the Governor's office.

Excerpt from the letter:

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:
As educators from around California, the United States and the world, we are writing to you to add our voices to the tens of thousands of others urging you to grant clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams, due to be executed by the State of California on December 13.

Mr. Williams, a former gang leader from Los Angeles, has been on San Quentin’s death row for twenty-four years. During his years in prison, however, Mr. Williams has undergone a remarkable transformation. After several years in solitary confinement, he publicly renounced his gang connections and apologized for the pain
and harm that his past actions had caused. Since that time, Mr. Williams has dedicated himself to combating the influence of street gangs and offering an alternative to at-risk youth. As a result of his extraordinary work, Mr. Williams has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times since 2001.

From the confines of his tiny nine-by-four-foot cell, Williams has written nine books for children, attempting to de-romanticize gangs, crime and prison. One of them, Life in Prison, has received two national book honors, including an award from the American Library Association. It has been used in schools, libraries, juvenile correctional facilities and prisons throughout the United States and, indeed, around the world. Mr. Williams has also recorded anti-gang public service announcements for radio that have aired on stations across the United States.

More than 70,000 people have sent emails to Mr. Williams’ web site, expressing appreciation for his work, with many saying they have opted not to join gangs or have withdrawn from gang membership as a result of reading his books or hearing his voice.

-snip-

***

To download a (1-page pdf) copy of the "Educators for Tookie" letter, visit http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/downloads/TookieEducatorsLtr.pdf.

To sign the letter, send the following information to [e-mail]: Name, Title, Name of institution (for identification purposes only), Home address, City, state and zip, E-mail address.


peace!

[Sapphire Blue]

6. More than 200 educators! This speaks volumes!!!

[nofurylike]

11. it really does!! the site has a form for other educators to sign on. eom

[Peter Frank]

7. K & R... n/t

[nofurylike]

12. if can, will you please see and act on this other URGENT appeal:

URGENT ACTION: PLEASE appeal to Md Gov re: Wesley Baker!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=25315&mesg_id=25315

EXTREMELY URGENT!! PLEASE EMAIL OR FAX TODAY!!!

PLEASE FAX APPEALS TO:
Governor Robert L Ehrlich Jr
Office of the Governor
Fax: [phone]
Salutation: Dear Governor


PLEASE EMAIL GOVERNOR EHRLICH IMMEDIATELY:

http://www.gov.state.md.us/mail /

[Sapphire Blue]

15. *** Please read post #12!

[nofurylike]

17. thank you so much Sapphire Blue!! this man's story is shocking! and

like with Tookie, they made it look like a reasonable court would rescue him from errors, but the court simply was not reasonable!

and it's coming so soon!!!!

i'd swear it's almost as if they all knew we'd be so dedicated to clemency for Tookie, that they decided to schedule seven other executions in the time leading up to the date his is set for!

Mr Baker's case is one of the most glaring, though.

THANK YOU for nudging people to notice!!


peace and solidarity!

[nofurylike]

18. PLEASE, ALL WHO OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY, SEE THAT

THREAD AND ACT!!!!

TIME IS EXTREMELY SHORT!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=25315&mesg_id=25315


thank you!!


peace!

[Peter Frank]

13. #6 of 10...

#6 "Thou shalt not kill." (...not, "Thou shalt not murder.")

We are not supposed to kill anyone -- even unrepentant killers.

In Williams' case, through his repentance, his life has proved to be a great asset to society. How will anyone benefit from his death?

[nofurylike]

16. good points, Peter Frank, thank you! eom

[Sapphire Blue]

14. Dead Man Talking

Dead Man Talking
Interview by Steve Boggan

(excerpt)

“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>

There is evidence that during his pre-trial incarceration, and during the trial itself, Williams was drugged by prison staff. This may have been to counter his violent tendencies in jail, but it had the effect of him being unaware of much of the murder hearing. (The trial judge expressed concern that Williams did not appear to know what was going on.) He insists he is innocent and court papers filed two weeks ago by his defence team highlight some disturbing flaws in his conviction. The 24-year-old ballistics evidence against Williams in the motel murders has been reviewed using modern methods and described by one expert as “junk science at best”.

<snip>

Yet another witness, Samuel Coleman, also a participant in the 7-Eleven robbery, has since alleged that his testimony against Williams was beaten out of him by police.

<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.”

Please read the entire article @ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1885637_1,00.html

[nofurylike]

19. like he says, the prison business is big business. GREAT article!! eom

[nofurylike]

20. "....Countdown to a Legal Lynching"

California Prepares to Execute Tookie Williams - Countdown to a Legal Lynching
October 12, 2005
By Phil Gasper

http://traprockpeace.org/phil_gasper_blog/index.php/2005/11/01/california-prepares-to-execute-tookie-williams-countdown-to-a-legal-lynching/

-snip-

Last February, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals turned down Stan’s request for a new hearing by a vote of 15 to 9. But the minority issued a blistering dissent, condemning the “blatant, race-based jury selection” in Williams’ original trial.

-snip-

The main evidence against Stan was the testimony of jailhouse informants who claimed that he had confessed to them. All of these “witnesses” were facing serious felony charges and had strong motivations to make a deal with the police to reduce their own sentences. In fact, in its 2002 ruling, the Ninth Circuit admitted that these informants had “less-than-clean backgrounds and incentives to lie in order to obtain leniency from the state in either charging or sentencing.”

-snip-

None of the physical evidence found at the two crime scenes, including fingerprints and a boot print, matched Stan. A witnesses description of a person seen leaving the scene of one of the crimes did not fit him either. A shotgun shell supposedly matched a weapon he had bought several years earlier, but that gun was in the possession of a couple that was also facing serious felony charges. After they claimed that Stan had confessed to them, however, the investigation against them was dropped.

-snip-

Despite the fact that (prosecutor) Martin was later censured twice by the California Supreme Court for his racist practices, which led to death sentences in two of the cases he prosecuted being overturned, and despite the fact that the ACLU, the NAACP, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund and numerous other groups, filed an amicus brief on Stan’s behalf, the Ninth Circuit has twice rejected the claim that his constitutional rights were violated. Now the Supreme Court has upheld these decisions.

-snip-

***

(PLEASE read all of this important article!)

Phil Gasper is Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame de Namur University in California and a member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. He can be reached at [e-mail]


thank you!


peace!

[nofurylike]

21. Phil Gasper adds that it will take "enormous outside pressure" to

stop this execution!

PLEASE EMAIL CALL FAX Governor Schwarzenegger!!!

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

FAX: [phone]

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

and

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION FOR CLEMENCY!!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html

AND THIS OTHER PETITION!!!
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240


thank you!!!


peace!

[Silverhair]

30. He is also under very strong pressure from CA LEOs for execution..

He is going to pay more attention to in-state pressure than to out-of-state.

[nofurylike]

22. PLEASE CALL THE GOVERNOR!!: 916-445-2841

[nofurylike]

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

Email: [e-mail]

[nofurylike]

24. PLEASE WRITE AND FAX THE GOVERNOR!!: 916-445-4633

[nofurylike]

25. PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS FOR CLEMENCY!!!:

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

62,604 signatures, so far

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

15,552 signatures, so far

they are hoping to have 100,000+ signatures to give to the governor when they meet with him on December 8th

thank you!


peace!

[nofurylike]

26. HEADS UP! Bianca Jagger about to come on Laura Flanders Show to

speak of Stan's case!!!

at 9pm

i hope some of you get this message in time!!


peace!

[nofurylike]

27. kick Bianca jagger on Laura FLanders, soon!

http://www.airamericaradio.com/listen

[nofurylike]

28. kick bianca jagger on aar laura flanders!

http://www.airamericaradio.com/listen

[Sapphire Blue]

33. Kick... Thank you for posting this & letting us know!

I'll watch for the archived show.

[nofurylike]

29. i am so sorry there was no more notice of Ms Jagger's interview on

Laura's show! it was amazing! i just broke down crying!!!

i will post a link to the archive, as soon as it's available.

she spoke broadly on the death penalty too!

she said there is to be a huge review of death penalty implementaion, in january, which ought to make the governor more hesitant to proceed with this execution!!!

more soon....

wow folks, the world is really hearing this!!!


peace! solidarity!

[nofurylike]

31. PLEASE call fax and email the governor! thank you! g'night! eom

[nofurylike]

32. see you in the morning! eom

[Paradise]

34. AND THEN THERE WERE 9...

Today would be a good day to have your voice heard, a good day to stop an execution! It's not too late, yet, to:

Email: [e-mail]

Subject: Please grant clemency to Stanley Williams. Thank you. (EOM)

[DanCa]

35. Have you written to Arnie's Bishop

There supposed to be against the death penality.

[nofurylike]

36. 12/4 ** URGENT**FOUR DAYS to APPEAL to GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5514678

THANK YOU ALL!!


peace and solidarity!

[gorbal]

38. signed it, voted on the thread

[Gold Metal Flake]

37. Locking

Per OP request

[proud patriot]

39. locking

please see 12/4 threads