Posted on 12/14/2005 5:14:22 AM PST by Former Military Chick
Even before convicted murderer, Crips gang co-founder and anti-gang activist Stanley Tookie Williams was executed early Tuesday, death-penalty opponents had begun looking ahead to their battle's next phase.
Statements issued Monday by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Death Penalty Focus and Amnesty International excoriated Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for denying Williams clemency, but also urged support for a bill to halt California's executions at least until a bipartisan commission reports at 2007's end on the death penalty's fairness.
The Assembly Public Safety Committee is scheduled to hear that bill, AB 1121, on Jan. 10 — exactly one week before California's next scheduled execution.
The bill would not save condemned murderer Clarence Ray Allen, whose 76th birthday comes one day before his lethal injection; AB 1121 cannot get through the Legislature that fast, and even if it did, it would require the governor's signature.
Still, death-penalty foes hope to maintain the unprecedented momentum created by the run-up to Williams' execution as a means of building support for the moratorium. AB 1121 co-author Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, told Williams' supporters outside San Quentin state prison's gates Monday night that Schwarzenegger "can redeem himself" by signing her bill.
About 40 protesters rallied Tuesday afternoon on the steps of the state office building at Van Ness Avenue and McAllister Street in San Francisco. One woman held a sign likening Williams to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
"We believe his (Williams') execution marks the beginning of the end of the death penalty in California," activist ToddChretien told reporters.
Activist and filmmaker Kevin Epps agreed.
"We've just got to move forward from here and hopefully his message will continue to resonate," he said. "... Don't let his death be in vain."
Allen already was serving a life sentence for murder — arranging the strangulation of a witness to his 1974 burglary of a Fresno-area store — when he was condemned to die for arranging from his prison cell the 1980 shotgun slayings of three of that store's employees, one of whom had testified against him.
His supporters note he uses a wheelchair, is diabetic and nearly blind, suffered a heart attack in September and will be the oldest person this nation has put to death in more than six decades.
His attorneys filed a federal lawsuit last week seeking a stay of execution, claiming prison officials gave him inadequate medical care and hindered preparation of his clemency petition.
That 34-page petition was filed with the governor's office Tuesday; the state will file its opposition and his lawyers will file a reply before the governor decides whether to schedule a hearing as he did for Williams.
The petition argues Allen already has been punished enough for the crimes of which he was convicted, and to kill him now would be "purely gratuitous punishment that furthers only the base purpose of vengeance and not any legitimate state interest."
It also cites alleged unfairness in his trial and lingering doubt about his guilt.
"We're obviously digesting what the governor said in response to Tookie Williams' petition, and we'll have to give it some thought," Raj Chatterjee, one of Allen's attorneys, said Tuesday.
The state is preparing to schedule another execution in February or March — that of Michael Angelo Morales, 45, who was condemned in 1983 for the 1981 rape and murder of Terri Winchell, 17, near Lodi.
Contact Josh Richman at jrichman@angnewspapers.com.
Time for folks to start writing letters.
After Allen here is another to keep an eye on:
The state is preparing to schedule another execution in February or March — that of Michael Angelo Morales, 45, who was condemned in 1983 for the 1981 rape and murder of Terri Winchell, 17, near Lodi.
How insulting to the families of his victims and all those who have been killed and hurt by the Crips.
His death was not in vain. His life was in vain.
(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.")
PING
Williams disgusts me. His supporter's outrage me.
Those groups that always ignore the victims and defend the criminals are hardly worth commenting on.
the FAMOUS filmaker epps doesnt want tookies death to be in vain, lol. a comedian who thinks hes a filmaker, thats a good one. i feel more sympathy when i see a dead rabbit on a country road than i do for tookie, allen or the soon to be room temperature senor morales. btw, is he an illegal or am i a monster for asking such a racist question? seriously, we need to start executing on a more regular basis, as their deeds require, just as god ordered. sending the souls of murderers to god is what god wants. filmakers not withstanding of course.
Some momentum.
His death was not in vain, but his death was in his vein.
OK, this article lost control with that one, no point in reading further.
What part of 70% success on a referendum don't these anti-DP idiot's understand?
Doesn't matter if it's fair (it is), it's law and popularly supported.
I make it a point not to take anything written by a 'Josh'... series-ly.
"His life was in vain."
That's exactly what I was thinking. He knew before he took up his life of crime that there were laws in place providing harsh penalties for his behavior. He chose to ignore that and discharge his weapon. For that he paid the highest price. The left uses opposition to the death penalty to undermine, and hopefully destroy, the Constitution of the United States, as they abhor individual responsibility.
They aren't smart enough to realize that they've chosen the wrong mass murderer to rally around. They would have been a whole lot smarter to rally behind that Texas woman that GW allowed to be executed several years ago, or around someone whose guilt was genuinely in dispute.
Tookie was the worst of the worst. He was clearly guilty. He was unrepentent. His crimes were horrific. He did not cooperate with authorities. His "children books" were actually written by other people. He was a fraud. Ninety percent of the people agree that he should have been executed.
The fact that they nominate him for a Nobel just shows how mentally derranged these people are.
If they want to make Tookie their cause celebre, then their cause is doomed.
Too bad the MSM does not feel the same.
Oh. ..that's right; they are one of 'those groups'. . .
My advice, since it general takes 18-20 years on average and $2-$3 Million before an execution is finally carried out, is ... a.)to forever keep the convicted criminal on death row, which is solitary confinement. b.)daily shower counts as daily exercise. c.)no visitation, TV or radio previleges. d.)a hook bolted to ceiling capable of holding 1,000 pounds.
You can guess what happens.
People who think of aligning themselves with this movement had better check to see who their fellow travelers ( yes, I was around then ) are:
http://www.zombietime.com/tookie/
These photographs and videos were taken outside the gates of San Quentin Prison on the evening of December 12, 2005
These guys are dreaming. 98% of the people howling about Tookie lost interest in the Death Penalty 5 seconds after he stopped twitching. Unless it is a Celebrity getting the needle, most of the sheep in California could not care less.
In theory, I'm against the death penalty. But in practice, I find it is the lesser of two evils. First the government needs to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens and protect them from these thugs. If they do that, then I'll consider worrying about the "rights" of the criminals.
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