Oct. 28 CALIFORNIA: No justice in Williams death sentence In mid-September, I attended a prejudice conference. There I saw racism circumscribed on a line, represented in the height of a bar graph, removed of all its venom and made as innocuous as a snakeskin. All the dropouts, the crime, the poverty, the lost identity, the self hatred - even the cold waitresses and the too-profuse praise were reduced to benign charts and data. At the end of this 4-day vivisection of American racism, a question was posed to the audience. "How far have we gone from those Jim Crow days?" And despite the solidity of the presentations and the confidence of the speakers, there was no satisfying answer." So how far behind are those Birmingham days? Before that question can even be approached, one must first ask, "Where are we now?" I could tell you that approximately 12 % of all black men in their 20s are in prison or in jail. I could say that although blacks only comprise 5 % of the Wisconsin population, they are the majority in our prisons. I could also mention that there are currently 1,432 blacks on death row in our nation, making 42 % of all death row inmates. But these are just the numbers. They do not reach the heart of racism; they dont even feel the pulse. On Dec. 13, Stanley "Tookie" Williams, co-founder of the Crips street gang, will be put to death in San Quentin State Prison of California. In 1981, he was sentenced to die by an all white jury as punishment for the murders of 4 people during 2 separate robberies. None of the physical evidence from the crime scenes has been linked to Tookie, and all of the witnesses were facing felony charges. To this day, Tookie maintains his innocence in regard to these crimes. Since his incarceration, he has written 9 childrens books denouncing gang life. He has been nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize and 4 times for the Nobel Prize for Literature. His efforts to stop gang violence have garnered accolades from the international community. In 1999, Tookie was visited by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former African National Congress Women's League President and the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela. In 2004, his story was made into a television movie, "Redemption," with Jamie Foxx starring as Tookie. In August, President Bush praised him for his work, which has reached oppressed youth across the world. However, this has not been enough to save him. Every level of the judicial system has rejected his appeals. If the Coalition Against Legal Lynching (CALL) and the National Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty fail and Governor Schwarzenegger does not grant Stanley "Tookie" Williams clemency, then he will die like so many marginalized black men before him. Except today, there will be no heavy drop, no awkward suspension and no upward-gazing children wrapped around broad American shoulders. (They can get that kind of entertainment at home these days.) Tookie's death will be smoother. Cleaner. Efficient. He will be our shameful legacy of judicial failure. And for those who capture racism in slopes and graphs, he will be that clear answer to the question, "How far have we gone?" Not one inch. (source: The Badger Herald -- Summer Wilken is a freshman (at the Univ. Wisconsin) and member of the Coalition Against Legal Lynching.) ******************************** Killing a Voice for Peace----The Race to Execute Tookie Williams The State of California is attempting to silence the voice of death-row inmate Stanley Tookie Williams as quickly as it can. On October 24, less than two weeks after the US Supreme Court refused to hear Stan's final appeal, a Superior Court in Los Angeles agreed to set his execution for one minute past midnight on December 13, ahead of 2 other cases whose final appeals had been turned down earlier. Judge William Pounders refused even to push the execution date back one week, to allow Williams' lawyers more time to prepare a clemency petition to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "This case has taken over 24 years to get to this point," Pounders said with a smile. "That is a long delay in itself and I would hate to add to that." Now, to add further insult to injury, Stan has already been moved by the San Quentin authorities to the secured area where death-row prisoners are placed in preparation for execution, nearly 3 weeks ahead of the usual schedule. Why such haste? It is hard to escape the conclusion that the purpose is to silence his voice as quickly possible. For the time being, Stan has lost telephone access and is unable to call friends and supporters, or media outlets covering his case. He cannot speak in person to "Live From Death Row" events, which are being organized across the country in a last-ditch effort to save his life. And he can no longer speak to school children and young people in classrooms and community centers around the country, even though his voice has encouraged thousands of them to stay away from gangs and violence over the past several years. The details of Williams' case are familiar, so I won't repeat them here. Suffice to say that the co-founder of the Crips street gang was framed for four murders in 1979, but has since renounced his past and in his nine-by-four-foot cell, written nine books for children attempting to deromanticize gangs, crime and prison. One of them, Life in Prison, has received two national book honors, including an award from the American Library Association. It has been used in schools, libraries, juvenile correctional facilities and prisons throughout the United States and around the world, including Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town's South Africa. Williams has also recorded two anti-gang public service announcements for radio that have aired on stations across the United States. More than 70,000 people have sent emails to Stan's web site expressing appreciation for his work, many saying they have opted not to join gangs or have withdrawn from gang membership as a result of reading his books. Messages like this one are typical: My name is J______ and I was a member of a Los Angeles street gang. I would just like to let you know how big of an impact your story had on my life. Your works have made me realize the self-destruction that my involvement in a gang was causing. I love you for that. I pray for you every night. I wish you the best of luck on any further works. Thank you for saving my life. In 2001, Williams began providing live mentoring sessions via the telephone to incarcerated youths - teenage boys and girls - in California juvenile correctional facilities. He has also writes on a quarterly basis one- to two-page positive communiqus of encouragement to these same jailed youths. His written messages have such potency and influence that juvenile correctional officers have started using them as an official part of their exit-interview process for young people who have served their time and are allowed to go home. Last year, gang members in Newark, New Jersey who had learned about Stan by seeing Redemption-the TV movie about his life starring Jamie Foxx-negotiated a truce based on the "Tookie Protocol for Peace: A Local Street Peace Initiative," posted on his web site. Before signing the peace treaty, the gangs had been responsible for 34 murders in the first four months of 2004 alone. After signing the treaty in May, gang-related killing in Newark stopped, and the truce has held ever since. The Observer newspaper in London reported last November that Williams' anti-gang initiatives have now been extended to Britain. In London, where there is a significant street gang problem, the hip-hop music industry is featuring Stan in an anti-gang advertising campaign in magazines, and his autobiography (Blue Rage, Black Redemption) is being sold in music stores alongside hip-hop CDs. Stan's work has been positively cited by several authors, including the psychologist Linda Goldman in Raising Our Children to be Resilient: A Guide to Helping Children Cope with Trauma in Today's World, the criminologist Lewis Yablonsky in his book Gangsters, and social activist and former-California State Senator Tom Hayden in Street Wars: Gangs and the Future of Violence. According to Yablonsky, emeritus Professor of Criminology at California State University, Northridge, "Williams is the only person I know of-gangster or criminologist-who has come up with any kind of articulate insight into black-on-black violence." Since 2001, he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 5 times. Last year he won the 2004 Season for Nonviolence Award. At a conservative estimate, Stan has probably saved hundreds of lives over the past few years. It ought to be obvious that he should be allowed to continue this work as long as possible. But his life has become a challenge to one of the basic assumptions of our barbaric death-penalty system-namely, that those on death rows around the country are the worst of the worst, incapable of making a positive contribution to society and utterly irredeemable. For that reason his right-wing critics are incapable of recognizing that his transformation is for real, and the State of California is eager to silence him as quickly as it can. Time is running out for Stan Williams. For information about what you can do to help save his life, visit http://www.savetookie.org. (source: CounterPunch (Phil Gasper is Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame de Namur University in California and a member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty) ********************************** Mother of Suspect in Bay Area Killing Held---Parent is arrested on suspicion of being an accessory in slaying of lawyer's wife. Her son has been charged with 1st-degree murder. The mother of a teenager accused of killing his neighbor at her hilltop estate was arrested Thursday and held on suspicion of being an accessory to murder. Esther Fielding, 53, was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to a deputy at the Contra Costa County jail. Also Thursday, her son, Scott Dyleski, 16, appeared before a judge on charges that he murdered Pamela Vitale, the wife of prominent defense attorney and television commentator Daniel Horowitz. Dyleski did not enter a plea to the 1st-degree murder charge. Contra Costa sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee could not be reached about Fielding's arrest. On the night of Oct. 15, Dyleski was at a friend's house with his girlfriend, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday in support of a search warrant for the girlfriend's Walnut Creek house. After about an hour, the couple left for the girlfriend's house "in order to have sex," the affidavit said. Before he left, Dyleski called Fielding, who told him to spend the night in Walnut Creek. She said the road was blocked because of "police activity within the area," the affidavit said. Dyleski was arrested Oct. 19, four days after the killing. Vitale's body was found in a mobile home on the Lafayette estate where she and Horowitz were building their 7,000-square-foot dream home. Horowitz was a popular legal pundit who received national attention for his commentary during the double-murder trial of Scott Peterson, convicted last November of murdering his pregnant wife. In a move likely to bring the case even more attention, Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred has been retained by an unidentified witness in the case. Horowitz, who was defending Susan Polk, a woman accused of killing her husband, came home about 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 and found his wife's body. He called 911 to report the slaying, according to authorities. Vitale had been beaten and stabbed, investigators said. Dyleski was arrested after police received a tip from a neighbor who said his credit card had been stolen, which led detectives to Dyleski. The credit card was allegedly used to buy hydroponic growing equipment - often used to cultivate marijuana - that was scheduled for delivery to the Horowitz residence, according to police documents. Investigators believe Dyleski went to the home looking for the equipment and got into a fight with Vitale, an investigative source who requested anonymity told the San Francisco Chronicle last week. (source: Los Angeles Times) *********************** Judgment day -- Only Arnold Schwarzenegger can now stop the execution of a repentant prisoner who has served 24 years in jail, writes Dan Glaister Another week, another challenge for California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - but the latest challenge, unlike his declining poll ratings and his support for imperilled ballot propositions, is more serious: this one involves death and darkness in the sunny, liberal state of California. Should he accept this challenge the film star, who was elected a politician on the promise of making a difference, has an opportunity to deliver on his pledge; should he fail California will have taken a further step towards permanently forfeiting its place among the 12 civilised states of the union that do not have the death penalty. For the 3rd time since he became governor a year ago, Schwarzenegger will consider a request for clemency from a prisoner facing execution. The last time clemency was granted to a murderer in California was by that other Hollywood Republican Governor Ronald Reagan in 1967. But this is a case like no other: it has a gangster-turned-educator, a 51-year-old man who has already served 24 years in prison; it involves a flawed trial and a questionable conviction; the man behind bars has been nominated for Nobel prizes and is the subject of a Hollywood movie; and he also recently received a commendation from President Bush. That the case of Stanley "Tookie" Williams has come to Governor Schwarzenegger's desk is the result of one of the first acts of the US supreme court under Chief Justice John Roberts. In mid-October, the court refused to consider an appeal from Williams against his death sentence for the 1981 murder of a convenience store worker. He was also convicted of the murders of 3 other people. This week, a judge set December 13 as the date for Williams' execution, at San Quentin prison. The California superior court judge, William Pounders, was perhaps trying to sound humane when explaining his decision to proceed immediately to an execution date, but he only succeeded in sounding macabre. "This case has taken over 24 years to get to this point," he noted. "That is a long delay in itself, and I would hate to add to that delay." The timing gives Williams' lawyers until November 8 - coincidentally, the day of voting on the ballot propositions - to submit a request for clemency to Schwarzenegger. Williams' case is an unusual one: in 1971, at the age of 17, Williams co-founded the Crips gang in Los Angeles, a fraternity that, together with its rivals the Bloods, now boasts 150,000 members in LA and outposts as far afield as South Africa. At his trial, Williams was found guilty of the "execution-style" murder of a worker at a 7-Eleven convenience store in February 1979 and of the owners of an LA motel and their daughter 2 weeks later. He has always maintained his innocence, arguing that the physical evidence found at the scene could not be connected to him and that the prosecution relied on the testimony of police informers whose credibility was questionable. The conduct of the trial itself raised other questions: the prosecution successfully argued for the removal of African-American jurors, meaning that Williams - who is African-American - was not tried by a jury of his peers. And in his closing arguments, the prosecutor compared Williams to a Bengal tiger in a zoo, likening the black community of South Central Los Angeles to the natural habitat of a Bengal tiger. Williams received the death sentence. In jail, however, something happened: in a classic tale of redemption, Williams saw the error of his ways and started to work to stop others following him. "I no longer participate in the so-called gangster lifestyle, and I deeply regret that I ever did," he wrote in 1997. "I vow to spend the rest of my life working toward solutions." He co-wrote a series of lauded children's books entitled Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence. He mentored and counselled young gang members and troubled youths from his prison cell. He drew up and has promoted a Protocol for Peace, a formula to help gangs reach a truce, based on the coexistence of gangs inside prisons. It has been successfully implemented in New Jersey. His work - and his plight - started to be recognised. He was nominated (five times) for the Nobel peace prize and even for the Nobel prize for literature. A TV movie titled Redemption - based on Williams' own memoir - was made, with Jamie Foxx playing Williams. In August this year he received a President's Call to Service award commending his work on death row, complete with a letter from President Bush praising him for demonstrating the "outstanding character of America". The White House, apparently, had no idea who he was. And then came the supreme court decision, 1 of 3 this month that have raised the possibility of a series of executions in California in the months to come. Earlier this year, after Governor Schwarzenegger rejected his plea for clemency, Donald Jay Beardslee was executed by the state of California. He was the 1st prisoner to be killed since 2002 and the 11th since California re-enacted the death penalty in 1977. "This is a big sea change for California," says Lance Lindsey, executive director of Death Penalty Focus. "It's coming to look a lot more like Texas, with regular executions." Lindsey hopes Schwarzenegger will live up to his rhetoric. "We're encouraged," he says. "Governor Schwarzenegger was the one who said he wanted the criminal justice system to focus on rehabilitation. This is a classic case for clemency. It's what it was designed for: to recognise extra-legally that someone has turned their life around, has shown remorse, has given back." The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up Williams' cause, as have others. And there are hopes that Governor Schwarzenegger may see a hint in the words of a judge on the ninth US circuit court of appeals who in 2002 ruled against Williams' appeal. At that time, Judge Proctor Hug said: "We are aware of Williams' laudable efforts opposing gang violence from his prison cell ... [but] they are not matters that we in the federal judiciary are at liberty to take into consideration." For Williams' supporters, these words suggest that the governor, the only person who can take such matters into consideration, should do so. Should he choose not to, California will have killed another person. (source: Guardian) NORTH CAROLINA: Gell, formerly on death row, shares experiences with law students 7 years after being sentenced to death row and a year after exoneration, Alan Gell stood before a gathering of UNC law students Thursday night to retell his story. >From court trials to prison stories, solitary confinement to liberation, Gell related many of his experiences since being convicted of murder in 1995. Gell said there were many instances throughout his hearings that kept him from proving his innocence in the murder of Allen Ray Jenkins. "I've been told that anything that could have possibly gone wrong with my trial basically did," Gell said. Unable to pay for his own defense, Gell said he went through a plethora of court-appointed lawyers, which in most cases were of little to no help. "My grandpa told me one time, 'You get what you paid for,'" Gell said. "That's an accurate statement." Gell said he spent more than 2 years in solitary confinement awaiting the beginning of his trial. "The jailors told me I was too dangerous to be around people," he said. The event hit a more somber tone when he told of his conviction and ultimate sentencing. "They were celebrating my death," Gell said of the courtroom atmosphere following his sentencing. "It was a victory, a sweet victory for them." "Isn't human life more important than that?" Gell now campaigns across the state, attempting to prevent another situation like his from occurring in the future. Kunal Nandy, a 3rd-year UNC law student, said the conversations with Gell were important for everyone to hear. "Theres a lot of prosecutors in the crowd," Nandy said. "That will make them think twice before they think of going for the death penalty." During this past summer, Gell worked with many legislators in the N.C. General Assembly to enact a study and 2-year moratorium on death penalties. The legislation never fully came to fruition, with only the study passing. "I think it's a shame that were going to be killing people while we study our flaws," Gell said. "I believe we should have waited and tried to get a full moratorium." (source: The Daily Tar Heel) ************************* Durham court to hear 1st death penalty case since 1999 For the 1st time in nearly 6 years, a handful of Durham citizens will decide the fate of one mans life. Lawyers have already begun selecting jurors for the 1st-degree murder trial of Dennis Lamonte Hargrove. The defendant faces the death penalty if convicted of his alleged crimes - killing a woman, shooting out a toddlers eye and wounding 2 other individuals. 1st-degree murder is the only crime in North Carolina for which jurors, instead of judges, decide the punishment. It is also the only crime in the state punishable by death. Before the Hargrove trial, no 1st-degree murder case tried in Durham included the death penalty as a potential consequence of conviction since 1999. Hargrove's June 2003 alleged crime, which occurred off Markham Avenue, was reportedly committed to scare the victim's roommate into repaying a drug debt. Prosecutor Tracey Cline and defense attorneys have been interviewing prospective jurors for more than a week, but because of the serious nature of the trial, only a handful have been chosen thus far. Cline did not respond to several requests for comment. Headlines about the trial stood adjacent earlier this year to those of another high-profile murder case in which Curt Blackman, a former Duke employee, was the victim. Blackman, 32, was found brutally murdered in his apartment May 20, 2004. He was blindfolded, gagged and tied-up. An autopsy report later revealed that Blackman was stabbed 30 times. He was the coordinator for graduate recruitment and minority programs at Duke before his death. Within weeks, police apprehended Durham resident Thomas Anthony Pitt who ultimately confessed to the crime. Although robbery appeared to be a motive, attorneys for both the prosecution and defense have suggested that there was some prior link between victim and defendant. In April, District Attorney David Saacks voiced the state's plans to pursue the death penalty in the Pitt trial, although legal officials have said it may take more than a year and a half for the case to be heard in court. Amid such high-profile cases, the death penalty has continued to be a contentious issue throughout the state. Several organizations and activists support campaigns to halt the death penalty, citing the need to investigate the efficacy of the system. "The problem with the death penalty is that there's no way to administer it fairly," said James Coleman, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Law. Coleman said this uncertainty of fairness applies to the Hargrove case. "This is a gruesome case," he acknowledged, but he added that its specific nature makes applying the death penalty difficult. Brian Keith Hargrove, a relative of Dennis Lamonte Hargrove, is also being accused of 1st-degree murder based on related crimes in the case. He will be tried later - but there is a dispute between the two defendants over what happened the night of the murder. This conflict of testimony, Coleman said, could result in the wrong person being sentenced to death. Wrongful sentencing is one problem that many death penalty critics believe could be addressed through a moratorium on executions. North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium spokesperson David Neal explained that a moratorium bill would halt all state executions for 2 years, although death penalty trials would be able to continue. "We've found there's consistent support among regular people for taking the time out while we're making sure we're doing things fairly and not putting innocent people on death row," Neal said. "I think it's just a matter of good public policy and common sense for them to do so," he added. Philip Cook, ITT/Terry Sanford distinguished professor of public policy studies, explained that beyond moral considerations, research he has conducted shows that the death penalty makes poor economic sense. "What we have to do is to see the death penalty as something that we might favor or not, depending on our sense of justice," he said. "But if we're trying to talk about it in terms of utilitarian concerns... I think the case is very weak," Cook added. Despite these criticisms about the death penalty, the moratorium campaign has yet to make significant ground. In 2003, the state senate passed a moratorium bill. But the bill ultimately failed in the N.C. House of Representatives when the co-speaker of the house refused to call a vote. (source: The (Duke) Chronicle) DELAWARE: Death Penalty Battle In Wilmington----Convicted Killer To Be Put To Death Next Week Death penalty opponents are protesting next week's scheduled execution of convicted killer Brian Steckel. The group Delaware Citizens Opposed to the Death Penalty held a rally Thursday on Rodney Square in Wilmington to condemn capital punishment. Wilmington attorney Kevin OConnell is a spokesman for the group and doesn't believe in the idea of "an eye for an eye." He says society doesn't rape rapists and shouldnt be killing people who have killed. Steckel was convicted in 1996 of raping and murdering Sandra Long in her Prices Corner apartment in 1994. He then set the apartment on fire. Steckel is scheduled to be executed on November 4th. (source: Associated Press) NEW YORK: D.A. hopefuls spar over crime rate, death penalty----Forum on Sunday Candidates for Westchester County Court, Westchester Family Court, state Supreme Court and Westchester district attorney will participate Sunday in a forum about legal issues pertaining to families. It is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Shadowbrook, the Tarrytown estate of coalition founder Monica Getz, 821 N. Broadway. People may park in the American Booksellers Association lot across Broadway. The three candidates running for Westchester County district attorney appeared together publicly for the 1st time yesterday at a forum, fielding questions ranging from their stance on the death penalty to how they would handle media relations differently from incumbent Jeanine Pirro. The event was sponsored by the League of Women Voters at Pace University and began with candidates' opening statements, followed by questions. Republican Janet DiFiore stressed her 20 years' experience in the county and her commitment to public safety issues. "As a district attorney, the greatest challenge to be met is to find ways with which to maintain and further reduce the falling crime rate in our county. And I will meet that challenge by developing strong prosecution initiatives that meet the public safety needs of our communities and by integrating strong and effective crime prevention programs into the work that's done by the district attorney under my leadership," DiFiore said. Right to Life candidate Anthony DeCintio said that while he does not expect to win the election, he believed it is vital that Pirro be replaced by a district attorney with competency and integrity. Democratic contender Tony Castro countered DiFiore's assessment of declining crime statistics by citing two recent violent slayings in White Plains and Yonkers, adding that he believes he is the most qualified candidate for the office. "I cut my teeth in Bronx County," Castro said. "I prosecuted there for 14 years and rose through the ranks to become the deputy chief of homicides and the grand jury bureau. I personally have tried ... some of the most violent criminals in the state. I have lectured nationally on DNA to district attorneys throughout the country and I have supervised hundreds of assistant DAs." Asked whether they would pursue death penalty charges if the state revives the law, both leading candidates said they would evaluate on a case-by-case basis but would seek capital charges when appropriate, with Castro qualifying his support by saying he is philosophically opposed to the death penalty. In closing, DiFiore brought up the fact that she received endorsements from The New York Times and Rudolph Giuliani. Castro said he saw The Times endorsement as a good omen, since he had it last race and lost. As for the Giuliani's support, Castro said, "Bernie Kerik got that too," referring to Giuliani's police commissioner who was involved in a scandal and withdrew as a nominee for Homeland Security secretary. (source: The Journal News) MISSOURI: Inmate executed after calls for further study Marlin Gray was executed by the state of Missouri Oct. 26 following extensive calls by death-penalty opponents for a delay to allow further study of the case. Gray was executed in Bonne Terre for the 1991 murders of Julie and Robin Kerry on the old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River. Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, a group that includes the Missouri Catholic Conference, expressed condolences to the Kerry family but noted what they called troubling issues about the case. Gray had admitted to rape but said he did not take part in the murders. Court records did not dispute his claim that he was not on the bridge at the time of the murders, but prosecutors said he was the one who planned it. Three other men also were convicted in the case. Kevin Cummins, an uncle of the Kerrys, told the Review there was no need for further study of the case. "There already was one. It was his trial. There was nothing confusing in this trial. The jury examined the evidence, listened to the testimony of both the police and of Marlin Grays own friends and family. They pronounced him guilty, just as anyone sitting there would have," he noted in an e-mail to the Review. Earlier this year the U.S. bishops launched the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty, calling for prayer, education and advocacy against capital punishment. Since 1989 Missouri has put 66 inmates to death, ranking among the top states nationwide. Protests against the execution were held around the state, and a prayer service was held at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in Midtown for Gray and the victims. The U.S. bishops campaign notes that Catholic teaching "makes it clear that the use of the death penalty cannot be justified when the state has other ways to protect society." (source: St. Louis Review)
