http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/11/46154.php
Statement: Rev. Jesse Jackson Following Visit w/ Stanley "Tookie" Williams “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.... Statement of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Following His Visit With San Quentin Death Row Inmate Stanley "Tookie" Williams FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 21, 2005 Press Contact: Butch Wing (510) 701-8955 Tracy K. Rice, Esq. (310) 994-8583 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 14 th 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. ### Jasmyne Cannick | 4038 Mont Clair Street | Los Angeles | CA | 90018 see also: "I didn't get this from somebody that was on the streets. I got this from Stanley Tookie Williams, a brother that was locked up on death row," he said, wearing a white T-shirt with huge black letters that said savetookie.org. "He inspired me to want to do something positive with my life and to go touch the kids." -- Ron Harris--"Snoop Dogg Rallies for Crips Co-Founder" and http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/11/46131.php or http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/11/19/1314381-ap.html and Williams, who was a hard-bodied weight lifter as well as a notorious gang member, recounted the brief encounter in a book published last year: Arnold Schwarzenegger was so impressed with Williams' physique, he noted that Williams' biceps were as big as thighs....With the world watching, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must decide in the next few weeks whether Williams will live or die...Williams, 51, the co-founder of the Crips gang and a four-time murderer who has become an anti-gang crusader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is scheduled to be executed at San Quentin State Prison on Dec. 13.-- "Governor dreading decision on life or death" http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/11/46128.php and "The unwillingness for the government to recognize and encourage the Peace efforts of ’92 is one reason why Kam was not surprised to see the reluctance of the government to remove the death sentence from Tookie Williams. Kam who spends most of his days talking about peace with young people in the hoods of South LA trying to get them to turn their lives around...says it appears that many within the system fear Tookie’s wisdom and his ability to turn his life around. He says that Tookie’s redemption is troublesome to a system that seeks to keep Black people divided, confused and in disarray." -- Davey D -- " A Few Things to Ponder-Rapper Step Up to Save Tookie" http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/11/45994.php or http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=634.topic and "One issue highlighted the fact that the prosecutor in Tookie's original case removed all of the Black jurors from the jury, leaving an all-white jury to deliberate his case. During Stan's trial, this prosecutor made racially-coded remarks during his closing argument, comparing Stan during the trial to a Bengal tiger in the zoo and stating that a black community - South Central Los Angeles - was equivalent to the natural "habitat" of a Bengal Tiger." -- "Supreme Court Declines to Consider Saving Stan 'Tookie' Williams" http://www.tookie.com/protocol/ http://ww.indybay.org/news/2005/10/1773885.php and see also: http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/10/1773966.php and Stanley Williams co-founded the Los Angeles street organization, the Crips, in 1971 at the age of 17. Eager to get him off the streets, the Los Angeles Police Department charged Stan with four murders. Stan has always maintained his innocence. ..."Henceforth, I chose the path of inflexible resistance, meaning I refused to allow the animalistic prison conditions, anyone or anything to define who I am. That's when I knew I was not a beast...."--- Stanley Tookie Williams http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/07/42442.php and http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2079.shtml and "Anyone who tunes into Redemption, the F/X original film starring Jamie Foxx and based on Williams's life, renunciation of gang violence and his fervent dedication to deterring children away from gang life, will more than likely take it for granted that they're exercising a privilege that Williams lost twenty-three years ago. This reality of prison life and, more specifically, life on death row, doesn't get much play in the hip hop music that has glorified, be it intentional or unintentional, the gangster lifestyle Williams helped create." -- "The Resurrection of Stanley Tookie Williams" http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/24947.php and http://africana.com/articles/daily/mtv20040409redemption.asp and "LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - The author of nine children's books promoting peace, a man who ... has dedicated his life to helping youth, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee whose life has been made into a movie starring Jamie Foxx, is second in line to be executed by the State of California. ...Stanley "Tookie" Williams has been on death row in San Quentin for 23 years. The co-founder of the notorious Crips street gang, Mr. Williams transformed his life during a six-year stint in solitary confinement. Mr. Williams, who admits and apologizes for his part in creating the Crips, maintains his innocence" -- "Gang leader becomes peace broker" http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/24825.php and http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_1370.shtml and The Tookie Protocol For Peace A Local Street Peace Initiative Stanley "Tookie" Williams http://www.tookie.com/protocol/ http://ww.indybay.org/news/2005/10/1773885.php http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/10/44419.php and http://www.daveyd.com/ http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/21/CLEMENCY.TMP http://savetookie.org/ ___ Stay Strong "Be a friend to the oppressed and an enemy to the oppressor" --Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib (as) "We restate our commitment to the peace process. But we will not submit to a process of humiliation." --patrick o'neil "...we have the responsibility to make no deal with the oppressor" --harry belafonte http://www.sidebrow.net/2006/lbraithwaite-01.html http://www.sleepybrain.net/vanilla.html http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2005/10/7255.php http://ilovepoetry.com/search.asp?keywords=braithwaite&orderBy=date http://www.lowliferecords.co.uk/
