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

AP ^ | 12/7/5 | KIM CURTIS

[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.

[afnamvet]

It's the "punch 3 for no clemency...press 4 for clemency...press 9 for the cigar room" answering machine,

[Fudd Fan]

Well that was disturbing.

I never heard that poem.

[EDINVA]

I don't agree with yanking the photo, either .. in fact, we had a lengthy discussion here about that photo and how that is what should be shown to the 'do-good' celebs and high school students who are pleading for 'clemency' ... I'm sure his victims pled for same, to no avail.

[bill1952]

Thank you. - I'm sure that they did.

I would post links to other photos and text and testimony regarding his victims and the other publicly available information regarding the conviction of Tookie and the situation of the victim's loved ones, but apparently that is "non grata" here.

[elcid1970]

"The Governor is neutral".

Geez, you got that right. Let's pray it ain't so.

[Howlin]

I never understand why people whine about posts like that; granted, a warning would have been cool, but, FGS, we're grownup here. At least some of us are.

[mewzilla]

[marajade]

He's not going to let him off. He wants to get all the info before making a decision. There's nothing with that and in fact if he denies clemency makes his decision stronger.

[freedumb2003]

They pulled your pic -- post the link instead.

But I think I know what pic you posted.

[EDINVA]

you might consider emailing some of those photos to the people promoting the clemency .. I honestly think they are clueless.

[WasDougsLamb]

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


-----These are the people who SHOULD have input, Not the celebrities out looking for PR oppertunities. I hope Arnold does the right thing. Execute that murdering bastard and be done with it.

[badgerlandjim]

They stuck me on a Tuesday and my heart stood still
Da doo ron ron ron, da doo ron ron...

yeah!

[bill1952]

Dude, you missed my point.

I DIDN'T post the picture. - I DID only post a link to the picture that is on my own server.

They STILL pulled it. - Links posted here to HIS trash are still just okey dokey.

That's why I'm ticked.
If they don't like the pics being posted and want to pull them, fine.

When they start pulling links to news items and factual data that are lawfully on other places on the Internet, then there isn't much difference between them and the moderators at the DU.

[freedumb2003]

Calm down

They pulled it before I made my post -- I didn't know they were pulling links now.


AM -- is this the new FRule?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

The C&W Wilburn brothers sung this song in the forties.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Anyone who takes a perverted pleasure on how their victims sounded when they died, doesn't deserve to live. Tookie Williams is not a changed man. From articles I've read in the last few days, according to officials at San Quentin, he's still running the Crips from behind bars.

[BigSkyFreeper]

He refuses to testify against the Crips saying he doesn't want to give up his last shred of dignity.

According to an LA Times article, he still hasn't expressed remorse to the families of those he murdered, and in a Townhall.com article, he's still running the Crips from behind bars (according to San Quentin officials).

[goldstategop]

It bearing reminding the people now dead don't get to start over again. Why should Stanley Williams receive mercy he never showed to them? That's exactly the point here.

(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.")

[bill1952]

I'm calm. I was just a bit steamed.

The endless posturing by the left over the "rights" of conviced murderous scum and the total lack of concern for the dead annoys me.

Thank you for your post.

[Denny0205]

I have said this before...they shouldn't put poor Tookie down. The should take him and all the other killers in this country, count the number of victims they murdered, get that number, minus one, of dud hand grenades. Mix them up with one live grenade in a box. Each day at noon, drag him out, pick a grenade out of the box, tape it to his sorry A$$, and pull the pin. If there is no boom, put him back in his cell and let him think about it for 24 hours. Repeat the process until the desired effects are produced.

Let me see when that Bin Ladin jerk is caught, where can we find 3000 dud grenades???