----She spent the night on her knees no doubt...----
Joanie probably spends many nights on her knees. :)
-Dan
Posted on 12/13/2005 9:21:23 AM PST by Goldwater-Reagan Republican
As the crowd outside San Quentin State Prison was told after midnight this morning that Tookie Williams was dead, a lone voice cried out, "Shame." Then the throng took up the chant, "Tookie, Tookie, Tookie, Tookie."
"Despite what happened tonight, people do not feel defeated, as you can hear," said Jeff Boyette of San Francisco, a Williams supporter in his 20s.
"I think people see tonight just how unjust the system is," added Sarah Poole, another young death penalty opponent from San Francisco.
Moments earlier, as the execution time neared, there were tears as people sang "We Shall Overcome."
With California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear standing by, the crowd of well over a thousand dispersed peacefully.
It brought to an end one of the most celebrated death penalty cases in memory.
All night, the scene outside San Quentin's East Gate had been a crush of Tookie Williams supporters, capital punishment opponents, journalists and a few demonstrators in favor of Williams' execution.
As midnight drew closer, people poured into little San Quentin Village, swelling the crowd and jamming the narrow street leading into the prison.
The CHP was very much in evidence throughout the night, tightening security on roads around San Quentin and circling overhead in a helicopter.
The large turnout was not entirely unexpected, even though people had to park far away and hike in. The Williams case, with its condemnation of gang violence and themes of peace and redemption, had become a cause celebre in California.
"Tookie Williams has a new celebrity based on his transformation," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said as he waited, comparing the founder of the Crips street gang to Malcolm X. "He likes that."
Jackson was among a contingent of Williams' supporters who walked to the prison from San Francisco, carrying signs calling for an end to "state-sponsored murder."
Standing on a makeshift stage under glaring lights before the execution, he told the crowd that he had visited Williams twice that day.
"I said, 'We'll see you in the morning,' and we laughed and embraced," he said. "Tookie's last words to me were, 'Those who care about my legacy, avoid violence.'"
Actor Mike Farrell, a longtime death penalty opponent, condemned Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for denying Williams' clemency, and taking so long to announce his decision.
"He didn't respond for 97 hours," he said. "He tortured him (Williams) for 97 hours."
Folksinger and peace activist Joan Baez took the stage, quoted Gandhi, saying, "An eye for an eye until the whole world is blind," then added, "We have to be blind in this country to do what we do."
After branding the execution "cold-blooded murder," she sang an a cappella rendition of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and said she would "spend the night silently in prayer."
Angela Davis appeared, and Marin actor Sean Penn was on hand, but did not speak.
Marin author Anne Lamott was among those in the noisy, jostling crowd.
"I'm just bearing witness," she said. "As Woody Allen once said, '90 percent of life is showing up.'"
For Lamott, bearing witness at the prison gate has been a lifelong ritual. She said she used to come to San Quentin in the 1950s with her father, who taught English to prisoners.
"We came when they were going to gas someone and stood vigil," she said. "It's so horrible to me."
While the crowd was generally peaceful, there were some minor scuffles and conflicts.
A "shock jock" from a Los Angeles radio station had his microphone broken when he harassed Jesse Jackson, demanding that Jackson recite the names of Williams' victims. He was later surrounded by Williams' supporters, chanting "racist go home."
A capital punishment advocate with a bullhorn was surrounded and drowned out by a circle of drummers. And a man's crudely-lettered cardboard sign, which read: "Cook Kookie" was quickly obscured by death penalty opponents holding signs with slogans such as: "The California Department of Corrections is a serial killer. Stop it before it murders again."
Marin peace activists Alan and Ruth Barnett of Mill Valley came to the prison after Schwarzenegger surprised them by failing to grant clemency in the politically-charged case.
"One feels so helpless," he said. "These are cathartic experiences for people."
Shawn PinHead should have been on the Titanic. He could have bailed out the ship with his wittle plastic cup!
"For Lamott, bearing witness at the prison gate has been a lifelong ritual. She said she used to come to San Quentin in the 1950s with her father, who taught English to prisoners.
"We came when they were going to gas someone and stood vigil," she said. "It's so horrible to me."
Boy....she did have a disturbed chilhood.
Great posting....for a view from inside the chamber go to, 'This was not a man who went meekly': An eyewitness account of Stanley Tookie Williams' execution: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1539562/posts
So much for Tookie's redemptive books (Written by one of his handlers BTW)
Yes...it is clear who the real rascist was...and that murderer is now gone and society better for it, despite all of the whinings and blusterings and threatenings and carrying-ons of his supporters and the fame-seekers.
Joanie probably spends many nights on her knees. :)
-Dan
Well, maybe not Hitler, but definately for Stalin.
On her knees praying. Just like Tsai-Shai Yang died.
WHAAAAA... Williams tortured his victims and their families for 25 YEARS!! Geesh, I'm so sick of these bleeding-heart liberals bleeding for the wrong person. Where's the compassion for the victim's families? What a bunch of HYPOCRITES!!
I agree. It's a case of mass mental retardation! Cognitive dissonance on display. Thank God there aren't enough of these Looney Tunes to run the country!
Why not Hitler? He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, too....
-Dan
You had best be careful.
Apparently, the FR admin has decided that even links to those pics are not allowed.
Deleted my post containing said link on another thread.
Yeah, but they're just a bunch of 'buddha-heads' don'cha know? It's not like they're human or anything like that. Moonbats are so disgusting.
They are only sh*t.
Gee...given Je$$e Jacka$$'s "penchant" for fabricating stories about dying men...
...I'm surprised that Je$$e didn't come out wearing a T-Shirt that he claimed was stained with "Saint Tookie of the Sawed-Off"'s blood like he did with MLK!
I think the conversation went something like this...
JJ: "Tookie, you're gonna die."
TW: "In that case Je$$e, I'll save you a seat next to me in hell! Make sure you get loads of face time during the riots!"
And as far as Sean Penn goes...
Sean Penn would have been the guy who leaped into a half-filled lifeboat ahead of the women and children and ordered it lowered immediately.
-Dan
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