Condemned US inmate nominated anew for Nobel Peace Prize [Tookie Williams]

SAN FRANCISCO - A condemned US inmate who turned from a gang leader to an anti-gang advocate behind bars has been nominated for the 2006 Nobel peace prize, the college professor behind the nomination said.

Professor Philip Gasper of Notre Dame de Namur University in California has nominated convicted killer Stanley "Tookie" Williams for the prize five years in a row, according to Alice Kim of the Campaign to Stop the Death Penalty.

A Swiss parliamentarian was the first to recommend Williams for the prize, Kim said.

"I respect him for his willingness to be public with his stand against gangs and for peace, though he must cope daily with a violent prison environment where gang members and unfriendly prison officials surround him, many of whom do not support his message or his work," said Gasper.

"Moreover, I admire Mr. Williams because of his ability to do this remarkable work for youth, despite the fact that he is, in prison jargon, a 'dead man walking'."

Williams is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in San Quentin Prison on the San Francisco Bay early on Dec. 13.

Celebrity governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will hold a clemency hearing on Thursday at which each side will get 30 minutes to make their case why Williams should be spared or killed.

"His contributions to anti-gang activities; his children's books and his role in negotiating gang truces has had effects in the United States and internationally," Gasper told AFP.

"This is somebody who is playing a very positive role. It would be a huge loss to society to stop him from playing that role."

Williams, who co-founded the notorious Crips gang in Los Angeles, has maintained his innocence in the four 1979 murders that resulted in his death sentence.

The 51-year-old Williams was convicted in 1981 of the murders but has since renounced his violent past, penned children's books and worked to stem gang warfare.

Aside from writing children's books with anti-gang themes, Williams has inked a "Protocol for Street Peace" for gangs to use to achieve truces.

Gasper, head of the department of philosophy and religion at the private Catholic university in Northern California, said his nomination of Williams for the peace prize was endorsed by 32 other professors.

Support for Williams has gained momentum in recent weeks. Rallies have grown increasingly frequent at the prison gates. Actors, musicians, Nobel laureates and political leaders have urged Schwarzenegger to grant clemency.

Rapper Snoop Dogg, born Calvin Broadus, lobbied for Williams in his latest music CD and in a new music video.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People launched a four-city tour in California on Tuesday to rally support for Williams.

Meanwhile, a group called Religious Imperative to Stop State Murders and a hippie-generation icon, "Wavy Gravy," dressed as "Santa Insanity Claus" planned a demonstration at the prison gates on Tuesday.

Gravy and the group were to deliver gifts including Life Saver candy "for the children of the world," a life preserver for Schwarzenegger and Twinkies for inmates, organizers said.

Vigils outside the prison were expected to intensify with the approach of the execution date.

Excellent post. I am appalled by the media circus surrounding the "Free Tookie Williams" movement.

The international and Hollywood support for the clemency of Stanley "Tookie" Williams just garnered further support. This time from the western regional director of the NAACP, Jamal Watkins. Jamal Watkins recently compared "Tookie" Williams to Moses and insists that clemency must be given to Mr. Williams.

Since the Governor of California will be reviewing "Tookie's" request for clemency this week maybe we should review exactly what "Tookie" did and what kind of a man he is today.

"Tookie" is infamous because he is the founder of the notorious L.A. Crips gang which currently boasts a membership of 30,000 gang members. The L.A. police department estimates that this gang is responsible for 300 murders a year.

In 1979 "Tookie" murdered four innocent, defenseless people with a shotgun at point blank range. During his first murder he ordered a convenient store clerk into the back room and told him to "lie face down on the floor you mother----er." He then walked over to this young man and shot him in the back at contact range with a shotgun. The rush of blood in the victims lungs and throat made a gurgling sound and the man struggled to breathe. "Tookie" then fired another round into the man's back -- again at contact range. Later that evening he bragged about the murder and laughed while recalling the agony, gurgling sounds and the desperate gasping of the victim.

Eleven days later "Tookie" broke into a small motel at 5:30 in the morning. When confronted by the owner he shot the man point blank in the face with a shotgun. He broke into the owners bedroom and shot his wife at point blank range with the same shotgun. When their daughter came running to their rescue he shot and brutally killed their only daughter with the same powerful shotgun. Then he calmly raided the cash register and drove away with a hundred dollars -- the only receipts for the evening.

"Tookie" was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for these wanton, brutal acts of murder. During the sentencing phase of his trial he looked over to the jury and mouthed "I will get everyone of you mother----ers."

Shortly after incarceration he hatched a plan to escape which included the planned killing of deputies and one of his fellow accomplices. The plans were described in his own notes that he was passing back and forth to his visitors.

His case has been appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court where the court denied to review it. He has now exhausted all of his appeals and is seeking clemency from the Governor. It should be catergorically denied.

Why? Because "Tookie" Williams is not remorseful, does not take responsibility for his actions, has consistently denied that he killed anyone -- ever, still maintains his innocence against all evidence to the contrary, claims that he was framed, maintains that he is the victim, and as recently as last week during an interview with MSNBC, Rita Cosby, lied about important details regarding his case.

"Tookie" Williams showed no mercy to his victims, is not remorseful, continues to lie, and has never taken responsibilty for his murderous actions. This man does not deserve to be treated as a hero. He is an unrepentant murderous thug. We must not forget who the real victims are. "Tookie" deserves the ultimate punishment for his crimes. Shouldn't we spend more time celebrating the lives of Albert Owens, Yee Chen Lin, Yen-I Yang or Tsi-Shai Yang instead of glorifying a murderous thug?

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