12/1 *** URGENT*** 12 Days to STOP the EXECUTION!! PLEASE ACT!!

I strongly urge DUers to
Posted by H2O Man on Tue Nov-29-05 11:47 AM

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5464497#5474206

I strongly urge DUers to take the time to contact the governor and ask him to spare this man's life. There are a number of reasons, all of which are valid, for people doing this. It can be rooted in opposition to the death penalty; concerns about the racial overtones of the case; as well as the possibility that the man is innocent of the charges.

It seems that some DUers insist upon trying to derail the thread, and get it mired in an hostile debate about gang violence, and the hatred and fear that have infected America's soul. One person responded to the request that this thread be allowed to stay focused on saving his life, by saying DU is about debate, and that there should be room for differences of opinion. There is room for such differences: threads debating the value of capital punishment; the role of racism in the legal system; the frequency of innocent people being convicted; the dangers of gangs; and the pain of being victimized by violent thugs -- these are all potentially good.

But DU should also be about respecting others' opinions. It should include having personal boundries, where you don't feel free to try to insult other peoples' values. It should include respecting other peoples' efforts to organize fellow DUers in an effort they feel is important.

There is plenty of room for differences of opinion on DU. There is good reason for mutual respect for even those who disagree on things you feel strongly about.

Previous thread:
11/30 *** URGENT*** 13 Days to STOP the EXECUTION!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5482561
(A vast amount of info throughout the thread)

Please consider contributing to the debate in this related
thread:
DEBATE: Should Stan Tookie Williams receive clemency?:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5493162

Please support the effort to save Stanley 'Tookie' Williams at
http://www.savetookie.org

Please sign the petition for clemency @
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html

Another petition @
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

To learn more about Tookie and his work on behalf of children
and families across the world, visit http://www.tookie.com

Please also call, email, and FAX Gov. Schwarzenegger:

Phone: 916-445-2841

Email: governor@governor.ca.gov

FAX: 916-445-4633

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

THE STANLEY 'TOOKIE' WILLIAMS CASE

Stanley 'Tookie' Williams' execution is scheduled for Dec. 13, one minute after midnight.

Tookie's conviction was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

Tookie's conviction was filled w/racist tactics & based on
questionable circumstantial evidence & ‘witness’ testimony.
This casts serious doubt on whether Stan ‘Tookie’ Williams was
given a fair trial. It also questions whether he is guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt..

The prosecutor in the case was allowed to dismiss ALL of
the black jurors.

This prosecutor made numerous racist remarks during the
trial.

Police files were deliberately left in a paid informant's jail
cell to help prepare the informant w/details so that he could
testify that Tookie 'confessed' to him.

Fingerprints found at the scene were not his, bloody
footprints found at the scene were not his, etc.

At the time he started it, the Crips numbered around thirty members, when he was convicted, still less than a thousand.

Tookie's work over the past decade has saved tens of thousands of kids from gang life. He can do far more good living than his death could ever accomplish.

Nobel Laureates, peace & justice activists, the religious community, the anti-death penalty community, community activists, anti-gang activists, celebrities, and everyone else, including & especially our precious children & youths wanting to avoid/leave gang life, support Tookie and urge the governor ro grant him clemency.

Laura Flanders (AAR) Nov. 26 interview w/Barbara Becnel,
Stan ‘Tookie’ Williams’ advocate:
http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=display...

DOAR Supports Tookie Williams Clemency Hearing (VIDEO):
http://www.doar.com /


Please contact Gov. Schwarzenegger for clemency!

Thank you!!!

"The future depends on what we do today." -Gandhi
Posted by H2O Man on Wed Nov-30-05 09:33 PM

In the 1958 book "The Human Condition," author Hannah Arendt notes that, "The freedom contained in Jesus' teaching of forgiveness is the freedom from vengence, which encloses both doer and sufferer in the relentless automatism of the action process, which by itself need never come to an end." (page 241) Is it possible that we can apply this thought to the case at hand? Could we even take it a step farther, and look at some of the hatred being expressed by a few DUers towards Mr. Williams, which includes their continued hostility towards the efforts of those on DU looking to save Tookie's life?

In his 1964 book "Gandhi on Non-Violence," Thomas Merton writes, "It is no accident that Hitler believed firmly in the unforgivableness of sin.This is indeed fundamental to the whole mentality of Nazism, and its avidity for final solutions and its concern that all uncertainties be eliminated. Hitler's world was built on the central dogma of the irreversibility of evil ...." (page 12)

Merton continues with an examination of St. Thomas Aquinas's views on evil. He viewed evil as real, and recognized that it was necessary to confront it. But he knew it could be overcome, even healed, and built upon. Aquinas noted that there were characteristics common to those who could not forgive, which make them remarkably similar to the sinners they hate. In "Summa Theologica," he notes "the mood of Nemesis" that "rejoices in the belief that others justly suffer and grieves when good comes to the unworthy." That sounds strangely similar to some of the ugly things one DUer has recently posted on this thread.

In Haudenosaunee (or Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) culture, there is a position on the Grand Council of Chiefs that is known as "the chief of chiefs." This man serves as Tadodaho. In the actual history of the Iroquois, the first Tadodaho was a brutal man, a cruel man who boiled and ate the victims of his rage. The prophet known as the PeaceMaker eventually was able to comb the hatred from his mind. Just as Merton and Aquinas taught, an evil person could become healed, and could offer good to society.

A few years ago, my good friend Rubin Carter told an audience at the State University in Binghamton, NY, that everyone who hates their brother is a murderer. He was paraphrasing 1 John, 3:15. It's the quote that Merton selected to begin his book with. Small world.

We need to move beyond hatred. Bitterness consumes the vessel that contains it, the Hurricane told that audience in Binghamton. Reading this thread, and a couple of the hateful messages, shows how true that is. I appreciate how hard it can be to get by the pain that violent criminals inflict on the families and friends of their victims. But we need to take a little time to decide what direction we want our country to move in: the Hitler/Nazi direction, where the government decides what people should be killed? Or the Gandhi/Merton direction, where we attempt to heal societies' wounds, and transform peoples' lives?

Please call the governor. Thank you.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

:kick:


peace!

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

:hug:

possibly can, Sapphire Blue!

:hug:


peace and solidarity!

... read the previous thread, and the articles contained in the links throughout. There is so much that isn't in the MSM!!!

to get some of the best linked to this one.


peace!

DemocracyNow.

very interesting and worth the time to listen!

Amy Goodman's live interview Wednesday:

We look at the case of death row prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams. In just under two weeks, on December 13, the 51-year-old Williams is scheduled to be executed by the state of California. Williams is a convicted murderer and the co-founder of one of the country's most notorious street gangs, the Crips. But since his incarceration he has also become a Nobel Peace Prize nominated children's author and a vocal advocate against gang violence.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/30/153...

thank you!


peace!

are the supremes asleep?!!

thank you for this, SB!


peace and solidarity!

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

8,403.

please sign here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html

and/or here:
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240

thank you!


peace!

you're welcome!

"WE" may be able to make a difference.

we don't have to say much.

this will do:

Subject: Please grant clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams! Thank you. (End of message)

To: governor@governor.ca.gov

MUST STOP THIS EXECUTION!!!!!!!

thank you for that, Sapphire Blue!!!

we must


peace and solidarity!

60,872 Signatures Total

of the gross inequities of our system.

Life.

yes yes yes

that's it!

for social justice

thank you, Clara T !



Life.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10271054/from/RSS/

10:47 p.m. ET Dec. 1, 2005

The nation's leading civil rights organization Thursday announced plans to mount a tour of four cities in California on behalf of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, in a last-minute bid to petition Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to halt Williams' execution, now set for Dec. 13.

John C. White, the NAACP's director of communications, told MSNBC.com that the NAACP's new president and chief executive officer Bruce Gordon would be on the tour with the organization's state president and other officials.

White said petitions — “30,000-plus is my understanding” — will be delivered to the governor’s office. “We certainly hope it helps increase public support for the position of clemency for Mr. Williams,” White said Thursday. “Hopefully the governor is influenced by that to some degree.”

-snip-

“I am convinced that our community is best served if Stan is alive and contributing to the guidance of our youth,” Gordon said in a Thursday press release. “He is a one-of-a-kind human asset who needs to exercise his unique ability to touch the lives of young people.”

-snip-

***

NAACP, on December 6 in Los Angeles, then goes to San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Californians, please post this on Cali forum!


peace and solidarity!

how great it might be even 30,000.

it's reaching them.

please sign the petitions, everyone!!!

Please sign the petition for clemency @
http://www.petitiononline.com/stw4804/petition.html

Another petition @
http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=2240


please call email and fax!!!

Phone: 916-445-2841

Email: governor@governor.ca.gov

FAX: 916-445-4633

thank you all!!


peace and solidarity!

:kick:

the governor?
that is a very important thought to convey to him! to all!

and please sign the petitions!


peace and solidarity!

full letters by regular mail are said to be very affective.

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814


and fax full letters:
FAX: 916-445-4633


thank you!!

...more than once.

This ain't no election. On this issue we can vote early & vote often.

We can clog the governor's office with a mind-numbing paper trail of objection to this execution via snail mails & faxes. Also, we can clog the phone lines & band width with phone calls & E-mails.

I saw an interview with Arnold yesterday. He was clearly shaken by the weight of this upcoming decision. Now is the time to appeal to his humanity.

call, fax, email, snail-mail the governor!!!

Gov. Schwarzenegger:

Phone: 916-445-2841

Email: governor@governor.ca.gov

FAX: 916-445-4633

snail mail address:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814


thank you!!


peace and solidarity!

...while a nest of eagles is forced to jump through the vipers' hoop.

However, the times they are a changing. Let's now make the times change soon enough for Williams to be spared.

the EXECUTION!

you don't have to say much.

this will do:

Subject: Please grant clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams! Thank you. (End of message)

To: governor@governor.ca.gov

Per original poster request