Posted on 12/03/2005 7:01:37 PM PST by bloggodocio
LOS ANGELES — The fight to save death row inmate Stanley “Tookie” Smith turned confrontational last week after his supporters clashed with a right-wing shock-jock on the streets of Crenshaw.
Radio personality, John Ziegler, a talk radio host with KFI 640 AM, got into a shoving match with community leaders and activists who were protesting that station’s alleged “racism and bigotry” and had gathered outside the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse in Leimert Park to announce a formal complaint to the Federal Communication Commission.
Ziegler, actually comes on at 7 p.m. weekdays after infamous KFI 640 AM hosts John and Ken of the John and Ken Show. They have designated the hour of 5 p.m. as the “Tookie Must Die/Kill Tookie” hour Monday through Friday until and if Williams, a co-founder of the notorious Los Angeles Crips gang, is executed in San Quentin on Dec. 13.
The station has also listed the phone numbers and e-mail addresses of Williams’ supporters who have subsequently received hate messages and violent threats.
To jeers and shouts of “racist,” Ziegler, who had ridiculed the death of attorney Johnny Cochrane by claiming he was going straight to hell for defending O.J. Simpson, tried to ask a question after the press conference had formally ended and was surrounded by angry Williams’ supporters.
“I didn’t come down here to provoke anyone,” he claimed when asked point blank.
“I came down here to find out why they were calling me a racist. What I’m doing on the show is not racist. In the Tookie Williams case, we’re informing the public as to the facts.
“Even his supporters have acknowledged that he wasn’t tried by an all-white jury, as has been claimed. And even if it was, that does not inherently mean that he didn’t get a fair trial.”
He added: “The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the most liberal court in the land, a court that despises the death penalty, a court that sees racism everywhere, has upheld his conviction and said it is only clemency from the governor that can save this man. That tells you that he got a fair trial.”
Earlier, Jasmyne Cannick of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, had lambasted the station, which is owned by Texas-based Clear Channel Communications.
“It is clear that John and Ken and host John Ziegler are trying to play on the emotions of blacks in Los Angeles as it relates to the Williams execution,” she said.
“The core and manner of the on-air remarks, which were extremely distasteful towards Williams and his plight, were extraordinarily disturbing and offensive. I urge the FCC to examine these incidents and take any and all actions consistent with their rules and regulations.”
Her comments were echoed by Lita Herron, a spokeswoman for a Victim Mothers Support group.
“This smacks of the party mentality that went on when American whites were lynching blacks,” she fumed.
“We feel that Stanley Williams has a right as any other citizen to a fair trial, a fair sentence and a fair justice. Not indecency or salaciousness so a radio personality can achieve ratings. We’re outraged at KFI and we want the community and world to know that we object to this kind of behavior.”
At press time, neither KFI nor Clear Channel had returned calls for comment.
Williams, who was found guilty of murdering four people in two separate robberies in 1979, has become a cause celebré after renouncing his violent past and penning a series of books aimed at dissuading youths from gangs and the drug culture. His work and message of redemption have led to multiple nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has scheduled a private hearing on Dec. 8 with Williams’ lawyers, Los Angeles County prosecutors and other interested parties. The governor has the authority to commute a death sentence to life in prison without the possibilty of parole, but is not obligated to hold a hearing.
Schwarzenegger has denied his first two clemency appeals, stating that an inmate’s model behavior was not enough to sway him to grant mercy.
And it is my guess that he will let Tookie's execution proceed..
My take is that Tookie was high on drugs during his thrill kill spree. That he's a damn racist killer. Some in the black community are defending this demon who killed one white and three Chinese who according to testimony he called Buddha heads after the crime. PLEASE NOTICE Tookie killed no black people. It's racist of blacks to defend this scumbag.
Any white who killed four blacks would have no one bellyaching about his appointment with the gas chamber. Tookie will be executed far too humanly compared to how he did his innocent victims.
Yep but it's not over yet. I wish that Republicans would support him more because he's mostly on our side. I think he's got guts and like him a lot.
Too bad "the base" too often expects perfection right down the line.
>> McClintock will get much more support from the base this time.
So...he'll nail his bid for Lt. Gov.
Or have I missed his announcement that he's shooting for the Governor's chair?
Don't read me wrong, here' I'd LOVE to see him slam Arnie in the gubernatorial primary, and I think "The Governator" has pissed on enough legs in this State that he's become "The Overnator" in many peoples' books, but my understanding is that our lovely CAGOP (spoken: "RINO Coalition") "leadership" have already closed the books on the "Who's Who" of GOP Gubernatorial Candidates in the upcoming festivities, so if Tom makes a run at it, he won't be doing it under party auspices, nor will he be getting any party money.
Am I on-page, or not?
>> Those bozos lack common sense and common decency.
Yeah, but they DO know a good JOKE when they hear it.
If Arnold pardons Tookie, he is terminated.
Those were the three Asians Tookie shotgunned to death after he robbed them. I forget the specifics of the other person he robbed and shotgunned to death. They did a piece on the evidence against Tookie last night on a local L.A. station, KNBC, I think.
Tookie may have written children's books while in prison, but he sure as heck didn't get where he is by good deeds. I'm happy Tookie has turned his life around before he must account to the law for the great evil he has done. Has the act of Tookie turning his life around in prison recompensed, the victims and society for the murders he committed? Sorry Tookie, life is not that cheap in California - yet. If we get a true Hollywood liberal Democrat in the Gov's. office it may well become just that cheap. I can think of some liberla Dems in Hollywood, who, if they were Governor, would make Gov. Arnold look like the Terminator.
Well said.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
That would be my bet too. I do hope that I'm wrong and Tookie the Crip get's his just reward.
Arnold must be taking governor lessons from Jessie Ventura...
:) me too!
You are probably right. He may not be ready to challenge Arnold.
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