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CA Supreme Court Denies Stay of Execution for Death Row Prisoner
Stanley Tookie Williams, Fate Lies with Gov. Schwarzenegger
No Word on Fate of Four Kidnapped Peace Activists as Deadline
From Captors to Kill Them Passes in Iraq
Richard Pryor 1940 - 2005: Pioneering Comedian Revealed Reality
of African-American Experience to Wide Audience
CA Supreme Court Denies Stay of Execution for Death
Row Prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams, Fate Lies with Gov.
Schwarzenegger
Death row prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams is scheduled
to die by lethal injection at 12:01 am PT. Tuesday unless
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger intervenes and grants
clemency. On Sunday, the California Supreme Court unanimously
denied an emergency request by his lawyers to halt his execution.
We speak with Barbara Becnel and play an excerpt of our interview
with Williams from San Quentin death row. [includes rush
transcript]
We look at the case of death row prisoner Stanley Tookie
Williams. 51 year-old Stanley Williams will die by lethal
injection at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday unless California Governor,
Arnold Schwarzenegger intervenes and grants clemency. On Sunday,
the California Supreme Court unanimously denied an emergency
request by his lawyers to halt his execution. 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 nominee, children's
author and a vocal advocate against gang violence.
Stanley Tookie Williams' life rests in the hands of Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger who has the power to commute the death
sentence. Last Thursday, Schwarzenegger heard presentations
from Williams" attorneys and Los Angeles County prosecutors
about whether to grant Williams clemency. An international
campaign to save his life has also grown over the last few
weeks. Hip hop star Snoop Dogg and actor Jamie Foxx participated
in the Save Tookie Day last week, reading excerpts from Williams"
books. Foxx starred in a film about Tookie's life titled Redemption.
To date over 32,000 people have signed online petitions calling
for Schwarzenegger to commute the death sentence.
The story of Tookie Williams begins in the streets of Los
Angeles in the early 1970s. At the age of 17 he started the
Crips street gang with his friend Raymond Washington. The
gang would expand across the country and even overseas. In
1979 Williams was arrested in connection with four murders.
_He was convicted of shooting dead a 7-Eleven clerk named
Albert Owens and of robbing and killing a Taiwanese motel
owner along with his wife and daughter. He was sentenced in
1981 to four death sentences. Tookie Williams has always maintained
his innocence and claims he received an unfair trial, in part,
because he was convicted by an all-white jury. In 1993, Tookie
began speaking out against gang violence. With the help of
his main advocate, Barbara Becnel, Williams soon began writing
children's books and speaking with young people about the
gang life. He also helped orchestrate truces between gangs.
Linda Owens, the widow of Albert Owens, issued a statement
on Friday in support of Williams" efforts to bring an
end to gang violence. She said, "I invite Mr. Williams
to join me in sending a message to all communities that we
should all unite in peace. This position of peace would honor
my husband's memory and Mr. Williams work."
Judges who have reviewed the case have conceded that there
is a strong case for clemency. In 2002, a three-judge panel
on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his death
sentence but in a rare move urged then-Governor Gray Davis
to consider commuting the death sentence. The judges praised
Tookie Williams for his "laudable efforts opposing gang
violence" and his "good works and accomplishments
since incarceration." We recently spoke to Tookie from
death row in San Quentin prison.
- Stanley Tookie Williams, Democracy Now! interview, November
30, 2005.
Go to the full
interview
We speak with journalist Barbara Becnel.
- Barbara Becnel, journalist who helped Stanley Williams
find a publisher for his books. She is also the co-author,
with Stanley Williams, of the book "Life in Prison."
No Word on Fate of Four Kidnapped Peace Activists
as Deadline From Captors to Kill Them Passes in Iraq
There has been no word on the fate of four Christian peace
activists kidnapped two weeks ago in Baghdad. Their kidnappers
had threatened to kill them by Saturday if Iraq and U.S. didn't
release all prisoners in Iraq. We hear from family members
of the kidnapped activists and others calling for their release.
[includes rush
transcript]
We turn to the situation of the kidnapped humanitarian aid
workers in Iraq. More than two weeks ago, Tom Fox of Clearbrook
Virginia, James Loney of Toronto, Harmeet Singh Sooden of
Canada and Norman Kember of Britain were taken captive in
Iraq by a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness
Brigade.
The kidnapped are members of the humanitarian group The Christian
Peacemaker Teams, a non-missionary organization that has been
documenting the abuse of Iraqi detainees, working with the
families of prisoners and promoting peace. They have been
operating in Iraq since 2002, and have had a presence in Gaza
and the West Bank for the past decade. It has previously operated
in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Bosnia.
More than 35,000 people have signed an online petition urging
their release and support from Muslim activists has been especially
significant. Recently, the Association of Muslim Scholars,
a group of influential Sunni scholars said that the captives
should be granted their freedom.
Moazzam Begg, a British citizen, who was detained at Guantanamo
Bay base in Cuba for nearly three years also called for their
release.
- Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo detainee.
The four hostages first appeared in a video broadcast by
Al Jazeera. The station then aired another video in which
the kidnappers threatened to kill the four unless all prisoners
in US and Iraqi detention centers were released by December
8th. The deadline was extended by 48 hours. That deadline
has now passed. There has been no word of their fate. Last
Wednesday, a video was released of two of the captives, Tom
Fox and Norman Kember, making this plea.
- Tom Fox and Norman Kember, video broadcast.
For more on the latest, we are joined by two guests.
- Ed Loney, brother of Jim Loney - one of the kidnapped
men in Iraq who work for the Christian Peacemaker Teams
- on the phone from Canada
- Catharine Fox, daughter of Tom Fox, - one of the kidnapped
men in Iraq who work for the Christian Peacemaker Teams
- video statement.
Links:
- Christian Peacemaker Teams
website
- Online
petition
Richard Pryor 1940 - 2005: Pioneering Comedian Revealed
Reality of African-American Experience to Wide Audience
Groundbreaking comedian, Richard Pryor, died in Los Angeles
Saturday at the age of 65 of a heart attack. Pryor's body
of work set the standard for American comedy while penetrating
and revealing the African-American experience to a wide audience.
We speak with journalist and author Mel Watkins. [includes
rush
transcript]
On Saturday, the groundbreaking comedian, Richard Pryor
died in Los Angeles at the age of 65. The cause was a heart
attack. Pryor's health had been in decline for many years
and he had a long publicized history with drug abuse. He was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986.
Richard Pryor's body of work set the standard for American
comedy while penetrating and revealing the African-American
experience to a wide audience. An obituary in Newsday states
that his body of work was a "political movement in itself
and was steeped in race class and social commentary."
Comedian Steve Martin, upon hearing of Pryor's death said
to the Associated Press quote "By expressing his heart,
anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form."
Pryor was born in 1940 in Peoria, Illinois and had a stint
in the army after getting kicked out of school in the eighth
grade. He then toured the club circuit before finding success
in television and film. Pryor is one of the few comedians
to have had success in both the black clubs known as the "chitlin
circuit" and the predominately Jewish hotels in the Catskills
called the "Borscht Belt." His career encompassed
film, television, concert halls and comedy albums. He recorded
more than 20 albums and appeared in more than 40 films. In
the early 1980's he was the highest paid black performer in
the entertainment industry. Pryor was also was a sought after
writer. In 1974 he won an Emmy for writing a Lily Tomlin television
special and won the American Writers Guild Award for his script
for the movie, "Blazing Saddles" which he co-wrote
with Mel Brooks. He was also a frequent writer for the television
series Sanford and Son and the Flip Wilson Show. Throughout
his career, Pryor won five Grammys and an Emmy. In 1998, he
was honored by the Kennedy Center with the first Mark Twain
Prize for American humor. His acceptance statement read, "I
feel great to be honored on par with a great white man- now
that's funny!"
Richard Pryor recorded some of his most successful albums
in the 1970's. They were also some of his most political work.
- "That Nigger's Crazy" - excerpt from 1974 Richard
Pryor album. After a trip to Africa in 1979, he regretted
using the racist epithet and changed the title to "That
African American's Crazy."
- "Bicentennial Nigger" - excerpt from 1976 Richard
Pryor album.
For more on Richard Pryor's life and career we are joined
by journalist and author, Mel Watkins.
- Mel Watkins, former editor and writer for The Sunday
New York Times Book Review and the author of "On the
Real Side: A History of African American Comedy." His
latest book, "Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of
Lincoln Perry," was recently published.
Read Mel Watkins' obituary
for Richard Pryor in The New York Times.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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