http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/13/1525201
Democracy Now!
Angela Davis: "The State of California May Have Extinguished the Life of
Stanley Tookie Williams, But They Have Not Managed to Extinguish the Hope
for a Better World"
Tuesday, December 13th, 2005
We speak with longtime prison activist and professor Angela Davis about the
execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. She was outside San Quentin prison
when he died. In the written response to Williams' clemency appeal,
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said "The dedication of Williams'
book 'Life in Prison' casts significant doubt on his personal redemption." -
the dedication includes Angela Davis. [includes rush transcript]
In California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's written response to Stanley
Tookie Williams" clemency appeal, Schwarzenegger writes: "The dedication of
Williams' book "Life in Prison" casts significant doubt on his personal
redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams'
claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to
'Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga
Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid,
George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and
youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars.' The
mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some
have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of
law enforcement."
Schwarzenegger goes on to particularly single out the inclusion of George
Jackson on this list. George Jackson, the jailed Black Panther member gunned
down by prison guards at San Quentin in 1971. Angela Davis stood trial and
was acquitted for taking part in a courtroom raid that sought Jackson's
release.
. Angela Davis, a longtime prison activist and professor at the
University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of several books
including "Are Prisons Obsolete?" and "Women, Race and Class". Her latest
book is titled "Abolition Democracy: Prisons, Democracy, and Empire." She
was at San Quentin State Prison last night.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Angela Davis, longtime prison activist,
professor, University of California, Santa Cruz, author of a number of
books, including Are Prisons Obsolete?, Women, Race and Class, and her
latest is Abolition Democracy: Prisons, Democracy and Empire. Angela, you
were outside the death chamber. You were outside the San Quentin prison last
night into the morning. Can you talk about your response to the execution
and to what was happening outside?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, of course, it was a very sad moment. But for thousands
of people who gathered there, dedicated themselves to keeping Tookie
Williams's spirit alive. I must say, I have attended other vigils; this is
the largest vigil I have ever seen. I'm not sure exactly how many people
were there, but it seemed like thousands. During the last portion of the
protest and vigil, young people, in this extremely moving gesture, read from
Tookie Williams's book, a young man, after young woman, after young man,
after young woman, gave very moving renditions of the lessons that Tookie
Williams has left to us about the importance of nonviolence, the importance
of turning away from the gang life.
And as I stood there imaging what was happening in the death chamber, it
seemed to me that this might very well be the beginning of something very
new. The campaign against the death penalty has been -- while a powerful
campaign, its participants have been those who attend all of the vigils, a
relatively small number of people. There were last night huge numbers of
people, multigenerational, a extremely diverse crowd and everyone was both
very sad and at the same time it seemed to me very dedicated to continuing
the campaign against capital punishment, against injustices brought on by
the prison system, against racism, for peace, for justice, for equality.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela Davis, I wanted to turn to an excerpt from Governor
Schwarzenegger's written response to Tookie Williams's clemency appeal, when
he denied it. Schwarzenegger writes, quote, "The dedication of Williams's
book, Life in Prison, casts significant doubt on his personal redemption.
This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams claimed
redemptive experience." Schwarzenegger goes on to write, "Specifically the
book is dedicated to Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur,
Geromino ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba
al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men,
women and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind
bars." Schwarzenegger goes on to say, "The mix of individuals on this list
is curious. Most have violent pasts, and some have been convicted of
committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement."
Schwarzenegger goes on to particularly single out the inclusion of George
Jackson in Williams's dedication, George Jackson, the jailed Black Panther
member gunned down by prison guards at San Quentin in 1971. Angela Davis,
you stood trial and were acquitted of taking part in a courtroom raid that
sought Jackson's release. Can you respond to this part of Schwarzenegger's
denial of Williams's clemency appeal?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, it seems to me that we saw a very intentional
politicization of this process, namely the equation of what Schwarzenegger
would call lawlessness and criminality with radical political activism. It
is revealing, it seems to me, that every single name he evoked by quoting
the dedication from Tookie's autobiography, every single name is the name of
a person of color, a black person or a Native person, and of course we have
Nelson Mandela, who is a global hero, who represents to us the determination
to dismantle racism and sexism and economic exploitation.
It is very frightening to me that Schwarzenegger would make such a
statement, particularly in light of the assault on people's rights
associated with the PATRIOT Act. This feels like an even more intense kind
of McCarthyism that's happening here, and it was particularly ironic that he
said that Williams is not reformed and he still sees violence and
lawlessness as legitimate, as what he called a legitimate means to address
societal problems. This is ironic, since Stanley Tookie Williams has
publicly embraced nonviolence, and as I said this evening, when I spoke at
the rally, this execution is the most outrageous example of using violence,
of using state violence as a legitimate means of addressing social problems.
AMY GOODMAN: What about the issue that Schwarzenegger raised, and others,
that Stanley Tookie Williams, if he was truly engaged in redemption, would
ask for forgiveness, admit his crime and ask for forgiveness?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, Stanley Tookie Williams did repeatedly express remorse
for all of the terrible things he admitted he had done in his youth. At the
same time, he indicated that, time and time again, that he was not guilty of
the particular crimes with which he was charged. It would have actually been
easy for him to admit guilt, even though he is innocent, it would have been
very easy for him to admit guilt, apologize for the purpose of guaranteeing
that he might receive clemency from Governor Schwarzenegger, but he
maintained his innocence until the very end.
And, of course, there has been little discussion about the actual evidence
in the trial. There's been little discussion of the witnesses who testified
against him, the jailhouse informant, for example, because there was no DNA,
or what they call factual evidence in the case, and this is what I think is
quite dangerous about the assumption that the only way innocence can be
demonstrated is through DNA. I would say parenthetically that I happened to
catch on CNN an interview with a man who had been released from death row in
Illinois based on DNA evidence, and he told a CNN reporter that he believes
that Tookie Williams should be executed, because there was no actual
innocence, there was no factual evidence of his innocence. This is very
frightening to me, because it means that the science, the so-called
scientific production of innocence can, as a matter of fact, boomerang
against all of those who are not able to mobilize such evidence. And it
might boomerang against the notion that we need to abolish the death penalty
because it is wrong. No one, regardless of guilt or innocence, should be put
to death by the state during this day and age.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela Davis, I want to thank you very much for being with us,
and a safe trip to Paris. What words will you bring to the conferences you
speak at in France?
ANGELA DAVIS: Words I will bring will emphasize the importance of generating
stronger global solidarity. There is widespread sentiment against the death
penalty in France, of course throughout Europe, and increasingly in other
parts of the world, as well. I should point out that the Cote d'Ivoire just
recently abolished the death penalty. Senegal just recently abolished the
death penalty. So I will bring a message of hope, that the State of
California may have extinguished the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, but
the State has not managed to extinguish the hope for a better world.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela Davis, thank you very much for being with us, professor,
University of California, Santa Cruz. Her latest book is Abolition
Democracy: Prisons, Democracy, and Empire.
www.democracynow.org
***
LA TIMES POLL
TO VOTE GO TO:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-analysis13dec13,1,1617783.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Did Governor Schwarzenegger do the right thing by denying clemency for Crips
co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams?
53.3%
Yes, he did the right thing. Williams shows no remorse and should be
punished.
(18027 responses)
40.1%
No, he did the wrong thing. Williams has renounced gang life and could have
been a positive influence.
(13583 responses)
6.6%
I'm undecided, come back to me later.
(2243 responses)
33853 total responses
####
Sneering at Redemption: Why Arnold Killed Tookie
By Dave Zirin
In the end, we can only assume the decision wasn't so
"agonizing" after all. Last night Stan Tookie Williams
was legally lynched by the state of California, at the
behest of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who denied
Williams' appeal for clemency. The Governor deemed that
a man who had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
five times and brokered gang truces from Newark to
South Central was not worthy to walk and breathe among
us. Stan's case for clemency was so compelling it was
articulated by people from Desmond Tutu to Snoop Dogg,
and yet, watching Schwarzenegger in action has been to
observe the nexus of cold-hearted political calculation
and cowardice.
Williams' Attorney John Harris challenged the governor
to meet with Tookie, saying to the San Francisco
Chronicle, "It's impossible to me to believe that if
you had met Stanley Williams and spent time with him,
that you would not believe in his personal
redemption." But that would require a courage the
Governor has never demonstrated. Unlike the movie tough
guy always ready to look his victims in the eye -- a
quip at the ready -- before shooting, stabbing, or
beheading them, Arnold made his decision at safe
remove, hanging out this weekend at his son's soccer
game, his face a waxy mask of carefree detachment,
while Tookie's supporters organized, marched, chanted
and prayed themselves hoarse.
When it finally came time for Arnold to announce his
personal judgment that Stan Williams should die,
tragedy became farce. The Governor's office released an
ugly scandalous diatribe that qualifies as nothing less
than hate-speech.
As he - or his script doctor - wrote, "The dedication
of Williams' book Life in Prison casts significant
doubt on his personal redemption. This book was
published in 1998 several years after Williams'
redemptive experience. Specifically the book is
dedicated to Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X,
Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa,
John Africa, Leonard Peltier, George Jackson, Mumia Abu
Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths,
who have to endure the hellish oppression of living
behind bars. The mix of individuals on this list is
curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been
convicted of committing heinous murders including the
killing of law enforcement. But the inclusion of George
Jackson on this list defies reason and is a significant
indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he
still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate
means to address societal problems."
For Tookie, all of these folks, from Mandela, to
Malcolm, to Assata, are one and the same: people of
color who strove for liberation in the darkest of
circumstances. For Schwarzenegger, the whole lot is the
same as well: people who are his political enemies
because they refused to be broken. Notice the singling
out of George Jackson, author of Soledad Brother, a
book for which there is no evidence Schwarzenegger has
so much as skimmed. Jackson was someone who despite
being framed for his political activism never stopped
organizing. That is the person Schwarzenegger wants to
kill by executing Tookie.
Later, Arnold passes judgment on Williams' very
redemption, writing, "Is Williams' redemption complete
and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise? . . .
Without an apology and atonement for these senseless
and brutal killings there can be no redemption." In
other words, because Williams has consistently defended
his own innocence, he should die. But as Tookie once
said, "Many people expect me to apologize for crimes I
didn't commit--just to save my life. Of course I want
to live, but not by having to lie."
While not surprising Arnold did not have the courage to
face Tookie and spew this nonsense to his face, it
certainly would have been incredible theatre. In fact,
it would have been something of a reunion. In the late
1970s, Arnold and Tookie, about fifty life times ago,
admired each other's biceps on Muscle Beach in Venice,
California. "Your arms are like thighs!" Arnold
grinned. Amazing the difference thirty years makes. In
that time, Arnold rode his muscles and Teutonic good
looks from Hollywood stardom to the Governor's mansion.
Yes, he had a spotty past including many allegations of
sexual assault and drug abuse. But he passed that off
as youthful indiscretion, claimed that he had changed,
and a pliant media were happy to believe that Arnold
was worthy of forgiveness and redemption.
Tookie, like Arnold, also fashioned an unlikely
political career. But his began not with Hollywood
riches but as the target of the tough-on-crime laws of
the Clinton-Bush years which saw the nation's prison
population balloon from more than one to two million.
He was convicted of murder in a manner that would make
Strom Thurmond proud, called a "Bengal tiger" by a
prosecutor who engineered an all-white jury to make
sure the "Crip founder" found San Quentin. While
Arnold cozied up to the Bush and Kennedy clans, Tookie
read dictionaries in solitary, wrote letters to gang
kids in LA, and became that most dangerous of political
beings: a Black leader in racist America.
In one of his final interviews he said, "So, as long as
I have breath, I will continue to do what I can to
proliferate a positive message throughout this country
and abroad to youths everywhere, of all colors or
gender and geographical area, and I will continue to do
what I can to help. I want to be a part of the, you
know, the solution."
Now another tragedy, along with the murders of Albert
Owens, Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, and Yu-Chin
Yang Lin, has taken place because Stan Tookie has been
put to death. But the tragedy is not theirs to bear
alone.
Tonight children are being born to mothers without
health insurance, in neighborhoods politicians don"t
enter without SWAT teams, news cameras, and latex
gloves. The political class has already branded these
kids as human waste. But many of them could have found
another path, because Stanley Tookie Williams would
have been there to intervene in their lives and show
another way.
Now it's up to those of us who stood with Tookie to
keep on pushing. This is Schwarzenegger's "mission
accomplished" moment for his right wing, pro-death
base. But his "mission" will fail. He is part of a
21st century set of rulers who have repeatedly shown,
whether in Baghdad or New Orleans, that they are unfit
to rule. Their brutality will be met with resistance in
the tradition of Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm
X, Leonard Peltier, George Jackson... and Stanley
Tookie Williams.
[Dave Zirin is the author of "'What's My Name Fool?':
Sports and Resistance in the United States" (Haymarket
Books). He is a regular writer for the Nation and a
columnist for Slam Magazine. You can reach him by
emailing [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you can get his
column every week by sending a blank email to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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