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Families of Williams' victims urge governor not to forget them [Tookie]
AP ^ | 12/7/5 | KIM CURTIS

Posted on 12/07/2005 3:35:04 PM PST by SmithL

One victim was a young convenience store clerk and military veteran who moved back to California to fight for custody of his daughters. The other three were family members who owned a motel they were hoping to sell because the neighborhood had grown too rough.

For all four, plans to change their lives were cut short by the sawed-off shotgun of Crips co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams during a pair of 1979 robberies in Los Angeles County that have put him on death row.

Their stories are part of the pitch prosecutors have made to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to deny clemency and let Williams die by lethal injection on Tuesday, but most of the news coverage has focused on the criminal, not the crime.

Family members say too much attention is being paid to Williams and too little is focused on their loved ones who got no second chances, no opportunities to turn their lives around.

With the help of prosecutors and victims' rights advocates, they plan to urge the governor Thursday to consider their loss — store clerk Albert Owens, 26 and motel owners Yen-I Yang, 76 and Tsai-Shai Yang, 63, and their daughter Ye-Chen Lin, 43, who left behind shattered families and changed lives.

Williams claims he's innocent and his supporters say he is more valuable alive than dead as he works behind bars to keep young people away from gangs. They want Schwarzenegger to reduce Williams' death sentence to life in prison without parole.

Williams, 51, co-founded the Crips gang in Los Angeles with a high school buddy when he was 17. He has since renounced his gangster past, spoken to community groups by phone from San Quentin State Prison and co-written a series of children's books warning them about the dangers of a criminal life.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: murderer; stanleywilliams; tookie
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Tookie Delenda Est!
1 posted on 12/07/2005 3:35:04 PM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL

When do they smoke a tookie?


2 posted on 12/07/2005 3:38:19 PM PST by samadams2000 (Nothing fills the void of a passing hurricane better than government)
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To: SmithL

Exactly. The victims are always forgotten in these things.


3 posted on 12/07/2005 3:38:58 PM PST by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)
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To: SmithL

Tookie es muerto.


4 posted on 12/07/2005 3:39:02 PM PST by L98Fiero
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To: SmithL

That's the way the tookie crumbles.


5 posted on 12/07/2005 3:42:03 PM PST by gotribe (Hillary: Accessory to Rape)
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To: SmithL

"Families of Williams' victims urge governor not to forget them [Tookie]"

He should also not forget the actual victims. How do you stand at the foot of a grave and tell the occupant you've decided to let the person off who put them there?


6 posted on 12/07/2005 3:42:11 PM PST by Spok (Est omnis de civilitate.)
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To: Spok

"Their stories are part of the pitch prosecutors have made to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger"

Such a way with words when it comes to the victims


7 posted on 12/07/2005 3:44:07 PM PST by italianquaker (Democrats and media can't win elections at least they can win their phony polls.)
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To: SmithL
Thank you for your correspondence regarding Stanley Williams.

There is a court order currently in place that calls for Mr. Williams to be executed by the State of California on December 13, 2005, and Mr. Williams has, through his attorneys, expressed his desire for the Governor to grant him clemency in this matter.

Capital punishment is an issue about which many people hold strong and impassioned views, and Governor Schwarzenegger appreciates you taking the time to express yours with regard to Mr. Williams. Your correspondence will be given due consideration during the clemency process.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

ANDREA LYNN HOCH Legal Affairs Secretary

This was my response from the governor's office.

8 posted on 12/07/2005 3:46:47 PM PST by afnamvet
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: SmithL

I've got a bad feeling that Arnold is going to let Tookie off. Why else bother to have clemency hearings except to give himself cover: "I listened carefully to both sides and weighed all conflicting views, and then I did what Maria wanted me to."


10 posted on 12/07/2005 3:47:49 PM PST by Argus
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To: SmithL
I have always thought justice should be swift and sure.
If a criminal wants to have an appeal, he should first under go all possible means to prove he did not do the crime by using all types of truth serums.
This would lower the amount of innocents in prison and might clear up other crimes.
This would also save the vast amount of money paid to lawyers who make a career out of filing endless appeals for these scum.
11 posted on 12/07/2005 3:48:08 PM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran (Giving power and money to Congress is like giving liquor and car keys to teenage boys. - P.J. O'Rour)
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To: bill1952

Tuck Fookie


12 posted on 12/07/2005 3:48:16 PM PST by RVN Airplane Driver (Most Americans are so spoiled with freedom they have no idea what it takes to earn and keep it.)
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To: samadams2000

Dec 13. Early - 12:01 am


13 posted on 12/07/2005 3:49:27 PM PST by doug from upland (The troops will come home when the mission is complete)
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To: SmithL

If Tookie thinks execution is his biggest worry right now he needs to think again. Its after the execution. The drugs themselves will be painless....his afterlife....well...that is a different matter.


14 posted on 12/07/2005 3:49:52 PM PST by fizziwig
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran

I was just reading about an infamous murder that took place 100 years ago this month in the Adirondacks. It was the basis of a famous book and movie. But the murderer was executed one year after his conviction!

Great idea!


15 posted on 12/07/2005 3:52:10 PM PST by BunnySlippers
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To: SmithL
Tookie wrote 2 books, one sold 330 copies and the other sold TWO copies.
16 posted on 12/07/2005 3:54:41 PM PST by msnimje (Everyday there is a new example of the Democrats "Culture of Dementia")
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To: bill1952

OMG, what is that picture? (You should warn people!)


17 posted on 12/07/2005 3:55:01 PM PST by Howlin
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To: SmithL

"...their loved ones who got no second chances, no opportunities to turn their lives around."

Somehow I suspect there was no "turning their lives around" required for the victims. And if there was, jail and a death sentence hanging over their heads wouldn't have been required.


18 posted on 12/07/2005 3:55:18 PM PST by Felis_irritable
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To: afnamvet

Merriam-Websters gives the first definition of clemency as: disposition to be merciful and especially to moderate the severity of punishment due

Since Williams refuses to admit he committed these crimes, clemency is impossible. Clemency and mercy are both undeserved and unearned. But Willimas' supporters are saying, in effect, that Williams has earned clemency with his "good works".


19 posted on 12/07/2005 3:55:29 PM PST by savedbygrace (SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST (I'M YELLING ON PURPOSE))
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To: Argus

If he does, he will have to change his party affiliation the next day because he will lose the support of most republicans.


20 posted on 12/07/2005 3:56:10 PM PST by msnimje (Everyday there is a new example of the Democrats "Culture of Dementia")
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