Clemency Denied for Williams

[CrimsonTide4]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A convicted killer who co-founded the Crips street gang and later became a Nobel Peace Prize nominee has been cleared for execution by a federal appeals court.

Stanley Williams could be executed by injection as early as next year unless the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reconsiders its decision, the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes or the governor grants him clemency.

Williams and a high school friend, Raymond Washington, created the notorious Crips gang in Los Angeles in 1971. Hundreds of spinoffs and copycat gangs have since emerged across the nation.

Washington was killed in a gang fight in 1979. Williams, "Big Took" to his fellow gang members, continued his violent ways and transformed the Crips into a national enterprise.

Williams, now 48, was convicted of killing four people in 1979. While appealing his death sentence, he has spent time writing children's books and coordinating an international peace effort for youths - all from his 9-by-4-foot cell at San Quentin State Prison.

The work has landed him Nobel Peace Prize nominations the last two years, but his efforts haven't swayed prosecutors and police groups who believe he should remain behind bars.

"He's created one of the biggest criminal networks that the world has ever seen. I will be glad to see him executed," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa J. Brault. "I don't think writing a few children's books negates what he has done."

Williams was sentenced to death in 1981 for fatally shooting a convenience store worker. He was also convicted of killing two Los Angeles motel owners and their daughter during a robbery a few days later.

Williams claims he is innocent. He said in his appeal that jailhouse informants lied when they testified that he confessed to the murders.

Despite its decision Tuesday, the appeals court seemed sympathetic to Williams' plight.

"Although Williams' good works and accomplishments since incarceration may make him a worthy candidate for the exercise of gubernatorial discretion, they are not matters that we in the federal judiciary are at liberty to take into consideration," Judge Procter Hug Jr. wrote.

A spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis said it's too soon to know whether the governor will intervene.

Barbara Becnel, a journalist who has helped Williams with his publishing career and maintains a Web site for the condemned inmate, was shaken by the court's ruling.

"That's incredibly bad news," she said.

The inmate's Internet Project for Street Peace links at-risk California and South African youths through e-mail and chat rooms. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 - a move that drew sharp criticism from police groups - but he did not win.

Williams was nominated again this year for the prize. The winner has not yet been announced.


What Do you think?

[DSTilmatic_1913]

I am not sure what to say on this one. I have sort of mixed views. If he is truly responsible for these crimes the he should definitely be held accountable but I am not sure if the death penalty is the proper punishment (though the family members of the victims may disagree) The fact that he has now dedicated his life to the betterment of society through literature should probably be considered a little more. Maybe those who were negatively influenced by his past can be re-directed down the right path through his literary works. I don't know....just a thought. As a Nobel Peace Prize nominee maybe he can now be a productive citizen. And maybe I am being a little to soft...

Also, they should consider DNA testing. Recently, it has set free one or two people who were wrongfully accused of a violent crime.

[nikki1920]

He could have done all that good while he was a free man.

But it does make you think. hmmm....

[dsmmi12]

Executing hime is not going to end the Crips criminal empire either. Sure he may have started it. But his death will not bring it to an end. If he did kill the people he is accused of killing then , yes he does need to serve time for his crimes.

However, the government needs to look at the reasons why gangs in urban city settings start in the first place and what are they doing to perpetuate this.

I am not holding government accountable for all wrong that people do ....however I am saying that many times they come in after the fact trying to slap a band-aid on a surgical wound.


Besides the fact that I dont totally agree with the death penalty anyway.

[CrimsonTide4]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051025...sticeexecution

Judge has set a December Execution Date

[raregem1913]

I agree, execution isn't going to stop the gang war. If anything, it might cause them to rebel seeing how this is one of their "founders".

I see them terrific 12's dominating this post!!! *hugz*

[Proverbs31]

Wow, we were just discussing the death penalty in my Civil Liberties class this morning. Honestly, at times I have mixed views. But morally, I think its wrong. You're telling society that murder is wrong, yet you go on and kill another person by lethal injection or whatever method is used. JMO

[Phasad1913]

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/death_penalty

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Calling death row inmate Stanley Tookie Williams a "secret weapon" for helping black men stay out of gangs, the head of the NAACP traveled across California on Tuesday to rally support for clemency for the convicted killer. Bruce Gordon, president and chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said executing Williams on Dec. 13 would be a mistake
...

I guess I'm in the mood to talk about this type of stuff tonite.

What do you all think about Tookie? Should he live or die?

For those of you who don't know, Stanley Tookie Williams is one of, if not the, founder of the CRIPS gang in Cali. Swartzenegger has the option to grant him clemency and stop his execution on the 13th or let him fry.

[ladygreek]

Yanno, I am conflicted about this, because I am conflicted about what I feel about the death penalty. But on the other hand, I can't forget about the death and destruction he has directly or indirectly caused in our community.

So on one hand I want him to pay the ultimate price, but on the other hand it may be more beneficial to the communityfor him to serve the rest of his life in prison, if he truly is helping to turn things around.

[Phasad1913]

That is exactly the way I feel. I'm sorry, but LOOK at all the destruction that gang has caused. He is responsible for that. Nevermind about the 4 other lives he was charged with taking, I am upset about the crips. I also feel, however, that the death penalty is a very difficult topic and I don't feel like going too deep into my views on that right now.

[bobbyearl93]

Originally posted by Phasad1913
That is exactly the way I feel. I'm sorry, but LOOK at all the destruction that gang has caused. He is responsible for that. ..

Williams is not responsible of all the destruction that gang has caused. Each member of that gang made a choice (regardless of their surroundings). Now, I understand the idea growing up in a place where everyone you know (family and friends) are involved in a gang. Nevertheless, you still have choices, because there were many that group up in those neighborhoods and didn't join gangs. So anybody who joined the crips, made that decision because they chose to. NOT BECAUSE TOOKIE MADE THEM. I am not saying that he isn't responsbile for his own actions, but he is not responsible for someone else's. Besides I think he has done more than any other man can possibly do from behind bars to stop gang violence.

[Honeykiss1974]

While I do not believe in the death penalty, California does so therefore he should serve whatever sentence he received for murdering those 4 people.

Granted, this man ceated a nationwide legacy of violence and destruction, however maybe he will be remembered for the good he tried to do during his last years of life.

[emeraldAKA99]

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
While I do not believe in the death penalty, California does so therefore he should serve whatever sentence he received for murdering those 4 people.

Granted, this man ceated a nationwide legacy of violence and destruction, however maybe he will be remembered for the good he tried to do during his last years of life.

I agree. I think he should be executed because that is the sentence his crime carries. Period. Even if he had nothing to do with the Crips, he would still, based on those four murders alone, deserve the death penalty because that is the applicable law and penalty where he was convicted.

I too am glad that he has rehabilitated. He owed that to himself, so that he might leave this world in peace and with a decent legacy. Moreover, so that he may be blessed with Grace and Mercy. That is reward enough, in itself.

[Phasad1913]

Originally posted by bobbyearl93
Williams is not responsible of all the destruction that gang has caused. Each member of that gang made a choice (regardless of their surroundings). Now, I understand the idea growing up in a place where everyone you know (family and friends) are involved in a gang. Nevertheless, you still have choices, because there were many that group up in those neighborhoods and didn't join gangs. So anybody who joined the crips, made that decision because they chose to. NOT BECAUSE TOOKIE MADE THEM. I am not saying that he isn't responsbile for his own actions, but he is not responsible for someone else's. Besides I think he has done more than any other man can possibly do from behind bars to stop gang violence.

He is responsible due to his involvement with the creation of that notorious gang. Without his creating it, those kids may have had other influences that would have steered them in a different direction in life. That goes for Tookie as well as any and all other creators of these gangs we have to deal with today.

[LionOfJudah]

I have read these posts and I would like to pose a questions to the people who posted here and to those who have just read the posts. There are some dangerous and "unorthodox" actions in all of our BGLOs that could cause harm to members, perspective members, and in turn the community (i.e. hazing, binge drinking, unprotected sex, etc.). Now with that said, would you feel comfortable with your founders being put on trial and held accountable for the actions of some of the members of the organizations. I am sure we all know that it was not the intention of the founders of our orgs to have these types of activities be associated with our "great gatherings of men and women". Let's say just for sake of argument that one of my Founders was put on trial. In my case, A L Taylor, the founder that had the vision of my great fraternity (the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. 1914), was put on trial and ridiculed for the actions of a chapter that injured a young man during his pledge process. During this ridicule he is attacked and his life threatened for these actions.
It is painfully obvious that Mr. Williams is not being put to death/"murdered" for his connections with those 4 murders he was accused of because the evidence in those cases are circumstantial AT BEST. I do want you all to understand that perspective has a lot to do with this issue. We don't see ourselves (BGLOs) as gangs but there are those who look at us that way. Keep in mind that these gangs (Crips, Bloods, Brotherhood, Latin Kings, and Vice Lords) have been surrogate families for a lot of the members... because of the shortcomings of our community. Let's not even delve into the shortcomings of our government because it is ultimately our responsibility to raise our children and our brother's children. Why do we not attack the disease and not the symptom. Gangs and gang violence are not the disease, they are the symptom of neglect on our part. Just something to think about when you are giving opinions on this mans life. A life not given to him by any of us and a life not lived by any of us.

Again my opinion. Open for suggestion, I am saying this is the only way to look at this issue...this is just my take...

Humbly submitted,

LoJ