The Fight to Save Stan Tookie Williams
Story of the Day
The Fight to Save Stan Tookie Williams
by Dave Zirin (Edge of Sports)
Jim Brown: NFL Hall of Famer, actor, activist. He has mediated truces between the toughest gangs in Los Angeles and fought racism from South Central to Soweto. But today he is involved in a different kind of fight: the race to save Stan Tookie Williams, who now awaits execution on California's death row. Williams is due to be executed December 13, and Brown has linked arms with a motley crew of activists from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg demanding that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spare his life. Schwarzenegger, who has set a clemency hearing for December 8, recently told reporters he is "dreading" the decision he is about to make.
It's not surprising Williams could inspire such a fierce defense. In 1971 he co-founded the infamous street gang the Crips. In 1981 he was convicted of the 1979 murdersof Albert Owens, Thsai-Shai Chen Yang, Yen-I Yang and Yee Chen Lin during two separate robberies. Williams, who continues to maintain his innocence, was convicted in a fashion that would make Bull Connor proud. During a questionable trial, which unfolded against a backdrop of anti-gang hysteria, the prosecutor likened him to "a Bengal tiger" and his South Central home a jungle. He was found guilty by an all-white jury after all prospective black jurors were removed from the pool. In the sentencing phase of his trial, Williams appeared in shackles--a practice that the US Supreme Court has since ruled unconstitutional. Williams went global when Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx portrayed him in the made-for-TV movie Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story.
But the unexpected occurred on the way to death row. From the confines of his six-by-ten-foot cell, Williams decided to make a difference... (full story)
Save Tookie Williams
Headlines for December 7, 2005 (English - Español)
- Government Fails to Convict Palestinian Professor on Terror Charges
- German Citizen Files Rendition Lawsuit Against US
- Rice Secures New Military Base in Romania
- Tehran Plane Crash Kills Over 110 People
- US Security Consultant Kidnapped in Iraq
- Hundreds of Families Flee US Offensive in Ramadi
The Fight to Save Stan Tookie Williams
by Dave Zirin (Edge of Sports)
Jim Brown: NFL Hall of Famer, actor, activist. He has mediated truces between the toughest gangs in Los Angeles and fought racism from South Central to Soweto. But today he is involved in a different kind of fight: the race to save Stan Tookie Williams, who now awaits execution on California's death row. Williams is due to be executed December 13, and Brown has linked arms with a motley crew of activists from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg demanding that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spare his life. Schwarzenegger, who has set a clemency hearing for December 8, recently told reporters he is "dreading" the decision he is about to make.
It's not surprising Williams could inspire such a fierce defense. In 1971 he co-founded the infamous street gang the Crips. In 1981 he was convicted of the 1979 murdersof Albert Owens, Thsai-Shai Chen Yang, Yen-I Yang and Yee Chen Lin during two separate robberies. Williams, who continues to maintain his innocence, was convicted in a fashion that would make Bull Connor proud. During a questionable trial, which unfolded against a backdrop of anti-gang hysteria, the prosecutor likened him to "a Bengal tiger" and his South Central home a jungle. He was found guilty by an all-white jury after all prospective black jurors were removed from the pool. In the sentencing phase of his trial, Williams appeared in shackles--a practice that the US Supreme Court has since ruled unconstitutional. Williams went global when Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx portrayed him in the made-for-TV movie Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story.
But the unexpected occurred on the way to death row. From the confines of his six-by-ten-foot cell, Williams decided to make a difference... (full story)
Save Tookie Williams
Headlines for December 7, 2005 (English - Español)
- Government Fails to Convict Palestinian Professor on Terror Charges
- German Citizen Files Rendition Lawsuit Against US
- Rice Secures New Military Base in Romania
- Tehran Plane Crash Kills Over 110 People
- US Security Consultant Kidnapped in Iraq
- Hundreds of Families Flee US Offensive in Ramadi
posted by Isaac at 12:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home