Nov. 22 VIRGINIA: Warner facing tough decision Singular circumstances and future political aspirations may make a condemned man's clemency plea to Gov. Mark R. Warner the toughest to have crossed his desk. The lame-duck governor has let the execution of 11 men proceed since taking office in 2002. But Robin Lovitt's case stands apart. State officials deliberately destroyed evidence that Lovitt's lawyers claim might save his life. Warner must decide what, if anything, should be done about it. He could grant a full pardon, an outcome viewed unlikely even by Lovitt supporters. Or he could commute the death sentence to life with or without the possibility of parole. Or, if past is prologue, Lovitt will die by injection Nov. 30. The dilemma posed by Lovitt began in 2001 when 132 of the state's 140 legislators -- sobered by the revelation that Virginia nearly executed an innocent man -- sponsored a bill to help make sure it didn't happen again. Among other things, the new law ordered courts to send all biological evidence in death cases to the state forensics lab for safekeeping in the event future DNA or other testing was needed. The law took effect May 2, 2001, on an emergency basis. Less than three weeks later, in viola- tion of the new law and ostensibly to clear more storage space, the Arlington County Circuit Court ordered the destruction of evidence in Lovitt's case. The clerk in question claimed ignorance of any wrongdoing. Courts have since held that although Arlington officials broke the law in destroying the evidence, they did not act in bad faith. Because the new state law did not include any remedy for such an error, judges have said they cannot help Lovitt. Therefore it is now in the lap of Warner, who is widely touted as a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2008. The Lovitt case has drawn national attention because of the peculiar development and because of a dubious distinction: Lovitt could be the 1,000th person executed in the U.S. since the death penalty was allowed to resume in 1976. Lovitt's lawyers contend that new DNA testing techniques not available when Lovitt was prosecuted -- and testing on evidence that was not previously subjected to DNA testing might clear Lovitt or at least raise doubts about his guilt. The DNA testing done in his case in 1999 was largely inconclusive. The state's position is that DNA played a minimal role in the case against Lovitt and that the destruction of the evidence, while improper, should not affect his conviction and death sentence. The Virginia attorney general's office, in opposing a Lovitt appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, argued that the destruction of the evidence actually prejudiced the state by allowing Lovitt to argue "with impunity" that the evidence might have exonerated him. Warner will not make his decision in a vacuum. Virginia governors have the unfettered right to grant clemency. They are answerable to no one and need not give any reason for their action or inaction. But governors are elected officials. Protestations of governors aside, the power of clemency, particularly in high-profile death cases, is inherently political. Kevin Hall, a Warner spokesman, said clemency requests usually are examined by the secretary of the commonwealth's office and the Virginia Parole Board. They present recommendations to the governor's counselor, Robert Crouch, who then studies the clemency petition and the recommendations. Crouch then brings in other lawyers to help brief the governor. "This is completely an executive prerogative, and this governor considers it one of the more solemn duties and treats it with the seriousness and the thoughtfulness that it deserves," Hall said. Larry J. Sabato, a University of Virginia political analyst, said: "Naturally, we'd all like to think a governor would make this decision purely on the facts, not with political considerations in mind." He added: "I have no evidence at all that Warner would do anything other than that." But, he said, having permitted other executions to proceed, Warner could probably escape political harm with one commutation, should he grant it. He would be criticized by some who would argue that Lovitt is guilty and is simply getting off on a technicality. However, Sabato said, "Democrats, unlike the general population, are tilted against the death penalty, especially the liberal activists who will show up in droves in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2008." Warner, said Sabato, "could earn points with them by issuing a pardon or commutation." He could also earn points in some surprising quarters. Mark L. Earley was Virginia's Republican attorney general from 1998 to 2001, a period when the state executed 30 men. Warner defeated him to become governor in 2002. Earley, now president of Northern Virginia-based Prison Fellowship Ministries, still supports the death penalty and does not believe Lovitt is innocent. But he believes clemency is appropriate in Lovitt's case and is urging Warner to grant it. "I think it's just morally unfair to this guy when the evidence was by all accounts clearly destroyed contrary to [state law], and it has clearly prejudiced him," said Earley. The destruction of the evidence, he said, " just presents a highly prejudicial cloud over the case." Earley warned that, "if you impose the death penalty in this case, quite frankly, you undermine the credibility of the death penalty." One of Lovitt's lawyers is Kenneth Starr, dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law and the independent counsel whose report on the Monica Lewinsky scandal led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment. He, too, argues for clemency. Starr points out that DNA testing has greatly improved since 1999. "Through no fault of his," Lovitt cannot take advantage of new DNA technology, complained Starr. John W. Whitehead, founder and president of the conservative Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville, also wants Warner to spare Lovitt's life. "The governor's authority to commute death sentences is reserved specifically for situations like this one," he said in a statement. Virginia is one of 14 states with the death penalty in which the governor has the sole authority to grant clemency. Since the death penalty was allowed to resume in 1976, there have been 229 grants of clemency to death-row inmates across the country. During that period, Virginia governors granted clemency to six death-row inmates. 4 were granted clemency because of issues raised about possible innocence, one because of rehabilitation and one because of his poor mental condition. No death-row inmate has been granted clemency in Virginia since 1999, when Gov. Jim Gilmore commuted Calvin Swann's death sentence to life. Since then, 27 men have been executed. The new laws enacted in 2001 were the result of the Earl Washington Jr. case. Washington came within days of being executed in 1985 in the 1982 rape and murder of a Culpeper woman. In 2000, DNA testing failed to find any evidence Washington had been at the bloody scene of the crime. The testing did find the DNA of a convicted rapist in semen left at the scene. Gilmore granted Washington an unconditional pardon. (His sentence had been commuted to life in 1994 by Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.) In 2003, Warner halted the execution of Bobby Wayne Swisher so the condemned killer could argue a claim before the Virginia Supreme Court. Swisher lost and was executed 3 weeks after Warner's reprieve. Lovitt's execution would be the 95th in Virginia since the death penalty was allowed to resume in 1976. Only Texas, with 355 executions, has put to death more. (source: Richmond Times-Dispatch) LOUISIANA: Double Homicide Suspect Could Face Death Penalty Webster Parish District Attorney says he will seek the death penalty against Omar Gipson. Gipson is charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Yolunda Warren and her daughter, Anastsia. Deputies were called to the Cullen Square Apartments early Sunday morning. When they arrived, they found 2 bodies with numerous stab wounds inside an apartment. Witnesses told deputies that Gipson was the last person inside Warren`s apartment. Gipson was later taken into custody at his mother`s home in Cullen. This is not the 1st time Gipson has faced murder charges. He was tried for 2nd degree murder back in 2000. But he was acquitted after a key witness recanted their testimony. (source: News Channel6) CALIFORNIA: 'Tookie' is innocent, Jesse Jackson insists----Activists blame conviction for murder on bad lawyers, snitches, jury with few black The campaign to win a pardon for convicted killer Stanley "Tookie" Williams continued Monday when the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Bianca Jagger visited him at San Quentin State Prison. At a news conference after the meeting, Jackson and Jagger said they think Williams is innocent and he is being persecuted as a founder of the Crips street gang. They said he is an example of a poor black man who was convicted because he had bad lawyers, a jury without enough blacks on it, no direct evidence placing him at the crime and testimony from snitches. "His reputation as a gang leader was on trial, not the evidence," Jackson said. Jagger, former wife of Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, is a representative of the Council of Europe, an anti-death penalty organization. Jackson and Jagger are the latest celebrities to visit the prison in a campaign for a pardon from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rapper Snoop Dogg headlined a rally Saturday morning that drew more than 1,000 people. Monday's celebrity visit at San Quentin came as attorneys for Williams urged Schwarzenegger for the 2nd time to cancel the upcoming Dec. 13 execution and submitted what they said were signatures of 32,000 people supporting the clemency request. The lawyers told the governor that Williams, who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize 5 times while on death row, could do more for society alive than dead. They said Williams, 51, is no longer a gang member and has not committed an infraction in prison since 1993. "It would be more consistent with the true goals of law enforcement and of society to acknowledge the value of Stanley Williams' personal redemption and, more importantly, the value of his message to the youth of this state and this great nation," attorney Peter Fleming Jr. wrote. Williams faces death by lethal injection for murdering 4 people in 1979 - a Whittier convenience store clerk and three people at a Pico Rivera motel less than 2 weeks later. He denies his guilt and has asked the California Supreme Court to reopen his case, alleging shoddy forensics wrongly connected him to 3 of the murders. As many as 45,800 people have registered their support for clemency on the SaveTookie.org Web site. Only 32,000 of the names were submitted to Schwarzenegger because the numbers kept growing by "thousands per day," said Jonathan Harris, one of Williams' clemency attorneys. San Quentin officials have spoken out against Williams, saying he hasn't changed his ways or expressed remorse for his victims and remains a committed member of the Crips gang. Last week, both California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley called for the execution to proceed. But Jackson said, "It is unnecessary to kill this man." He said Williams assured him he is no longer a member of the Crips - and refuses to apologize for crimes of which he was wrongly convicted. "He said he hasn't apologized because he's innocent," Jackson said. Barbara Becnel, who co-authored children's books with Williams, said prison officials are on the offensive against Williams because they need a scapegoat to justify capital punishment. "This is all part of a strategy," she said. *********** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ---- November 21, 2005 STATEMENT OF THE REV. JESSE L. JACKSON, SR. FOLLOWING HIS VISIT WITH SAN QUENTIN DEATH ROW INMATE STANLEY "TOOKIE" WILLIAMS "Today I met with "Tookie" Williams, a man who is scheduled to be killed 17 days from today. We had prayer. At the conclusion of our one and a half hour visit I told him 'We are going to fight for you and we are going to win.' He told me that his work here is not finished. The State of California is gearing up its machinery of death based on the assumption of the certainty of this man's guilt. The State has a plan of certainty for his execution. Date certain. Time certain. But there is more uncertainty about his guilt than there is necessity for execution," Jackson stated. "Tookie" Williams is a changed man. He stands before Governor Swarzenegger requesting clemency. There are those who state that he should not receive clemency because he has not acknowledged guilt and remorse. But this is not a legal requirement for clemency. It cannot be predicated upon a false or coerced confession of guilt or remorse. "What is certain is that since 1992, "Tookie" has been a voice reaching out to the voiceless. He has encouraged youth to lift themselves up so as not to end up locked up. His voice has reached impoverished and alienated youth in places police dare not tread. Through his personal transformation in prison, he has brought light to dark places because he knows where to look. He speaks truth to power with a sincere knowledge of what lies ahead for these youth and gives them a stark look at what their future could be if they don't renounce gang life and all that it stands for. And they listen, because he was one of them. "Tookie Williams personifies what "Redemption" is all about. He has used his time in prison to reach others and save lives. We may not be able to quantify the number of children he has saved, but I am certain that there are children in this country and abroad that would not be here had they not received his powerful message. "In the days to come we will bear witness to our criminal justice system at its lowest point. As California gears up for the taking of a life, the eyes of the world are upon us. We must kill the idea of killing as a remedy to societal problems and shortcomings. We do not condone "Tookie" Williams past actions, however, the streets of California will be no safer on December 14th should he be executed. In fact, there is reason to believe that they will be even less safe as those he would have reached in his ongoing efforts to stop children from joining gang life will never hear his message." remarked Jackson. "Today I have requested a meeting with Governor Schwarzenegger. I will urge him to grant clemency and convert Tookie Williams' sentence to life without possibility of parole. By granting clemency in this case he would be setting an example of courage over cowardice, of humanity over brutality. Commutation in this case would follow in the best traditions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Cesar Chavez. Gov.Swarzenegger has the ability to come down on the right side of history and make it clear by this single act of courage that he remains committed to the principles of justice. I will also urge the Governor to halt all executions while the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice conducts a thorough study of the state's criminal justice procedures. This Commission was formed by the state Senate in August 2004, "to study and review the administration of criminal justice in California to determine the extent to which that process has failed in the past, resulting in wrongful executions of innocent persons.' There should be a moratorium on all executions pending the completion of this official governmental body's investigation," Jackson declared. The legislative findings will be presented to the Governor by December 31,2007. (sources: Marin Independent Journal & Associated Press) *********************** Love Your Enemies Means Dont Kill Them Thanksgiving is upon us, and the traditional jocular soft news press releases about the presidents annual pardoning of a turkey are being prepared for distribution. Particularly with the current president, believed by many to be the real turkey, the subject lends itself to a lot of levity in the media, but this year a serious story about a human facing death at the hands of fellow humans has dominated the news instead. The state of California plans to kill a man in cold blood on Dec. 13. It wont be self-defense, because the man is safely locked up, so he poses no threat to anyone. War is not the excusehere in California we're still a civil society, at peace at home if not abroad. And it's well established that capital punishment does not reduce the murder rate. It's not even certain that vengeance is involved in this case, since the man whom the state plans to kill denies having killed the victims, but for the purposes of this discussion let's say that murders took place, hes a likely suspect, and a jury convicted him. Stanley Tookie Williams freely admits that he has committed many crimes, if not the ones for which he faces being killed. So retribution is the last remaining putative justification for killing him. Most of the world now believes that government-sponsored retributive killing is morally wrong, even in cases where the criminal does not admit guilt or show remorse. The United States, as one of the last bastions of capital punishment, is regarded with horror by most of what is commonly called the civilized world, as well as most of the rest of the world, countries which have shown themselves to be more civilized than we are by renouncing the death penalty. Last week we saw the San Francisco Operas production of Beethovens Fidelio, an uplifting saga about a prisoner who escapes execution at the last minute through the heroism of his wife and the timely arrival of a government minister who saves him. Its especially relevant at a time when Americans are learning about all the jailing and torture being done in our name. The jailer, Rocco, is a good-humored man of the people who reluctantly agrees to dig the grave for a man hes come to know and like, but refuses to do the actual killing himself. The part was played by a singer named Arthur Woodley, who has a gorgeous voice and is also a fine actor. Rocco's ambivalence is sometimes played for laughs, but Woodley managed to humanize Rocco's moral dilemma effectively with no slapstick. Over the weekend we were lucky to be invited to a party where we got a chance to meet Arthur Woodley in person. We talked about how he got where he is today. He told us that hed been raised in the South Bronx in the late '60s and early '70s, back when it was considered a trackless wasteland. "But we had programs," he said, all kinds of programs, the noble endeavors that grew out of Lyndon Johnsons Great Society agenda. As a black youth, he was supposed to be headed for trouble, but instead he was drawn first into theater and then into music, and he hasnt looked back. He mentioned in particular the South Bronx Community Theater as a home away from home for a kid looking for excitement. Someone in one of his programs steered him to the city of Bologna, in Italy, at that time run by Communists who believed in government support for the arts, and he spent 10 years getting his musical training at the conservatory there. When he came back to the United States, he expected to step right on to the opera stage, but he learned that parts for African-American singers were still few and far between. He spent a few years at the Dance Theater of Harlem, where the legendary Arthur Mitchell insisted that everyone learn to dance and act. Now hes finally gotten to be a regular on the opera circuit, one of the increasingly small number of singers who fly around the world to take roles in major opera houses. Arthur Woodley is about the same age as Tookie Williams, or perhaps a bit older. The programs he remembers so fondly and his gift for singing put him on a different path. For Williams then, and for most of todays kids in the South Bronx, in California and in the rest of the U.S., there were and are no such programs. This is not to excuse murder, if indeed Williams did commit murder, but we all share responsibility for a society that is now geared to produce more criminals like Williams than educated and productive citizens like Woodley. And killing Williams wont change that. It will be nothing more than another murder, this one state-sponsored. Like the government minister in Fidelio, Arnold Schwarzenegger has it in his power to prevent a death. Like the jailer Rocco, he probably believes in his heart that state killing is morally wrong. His wife Maria Shriver certainly knows this, and perhaps she has some influence over him. They both claim to be Catholics, educated as such and now church-going. The teaching of the church they profess to believe in is clear: Capital punishment is wrong. They might ponder an e-mail which my cousin forwarded to me this morning. It was written by William J. Phelan, an ex-Jesuit seminarian, after he took part in the recent protest at the School of the Americas, which has trained hundreds of jailers, torturers and killers: I realized that I am proud to have been educated in Catholic schools (kindergarten through 1st year of graduate school) and to find that the lessons learned stay with me. And I was almost tearful remembering that commitment to social justice was the way I was brought up in the Catholic faith. It was a major emphasis at LeMoyne, and at Fordham, but I also remember it from high school. This was the church I knew and loved - a radical caring for the downtrodden, the poor, the vulnerable, for working families. But this was before the church took that all-consuming, energy-sapping, money-draining detour into matters reproductive, or non-reproductive. (Jesus, as you know, said nothing about abortion, birth control, homosexuality or heterosexuality, but had plenty to say about loving one's neighbor and ones enemy, and about social justice.) "Who would Jesus bomb?" said one bumper sticker I saw. Another said: "When Jesus said 'Love your enemies,' he probably meant not to kill them." Pro-life is not limited to fetal life for some Catholics. Something for Arnold and Maria to think about when they go to church this week. And they should catch the last production of Fidelio over the weekend too. (source: Editorial, Berkeley Daily Planet)
