post your tookie williams here
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this is the place for tookie williams
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September 30, 2006 at 4:38 am
So i am researching Tookie Wiliams and there seems to be an abundance of sources, but many of them say the same things, so if anyone has found a really good site please post it. Thank you
September 30, 2006 at 9:58 pm
http://www.savetookie.org
http://www.tookie.com
http://www.streetgangs.com
October 1, 2006 at 6:13 am
Ashley Maggetti
Assignment: 4
September 28, 2006
Ashmaggetti@yahoo.com
Humanities 6
This is a very hard topic to make an opinion about without knowing the true facts. All you can do is assume and that does not justify anyone’s opinion. I have read up on and saw the web-cast of Stanley Tookie Williams. So I do not mean to incriminate or judge anyone in my thoughts on this subject. From what I have read I have come to believe that Williams belonged in jail. I have mixed feelings about the execution of Williams. I don’t believe anyone has the right to decide if one should live or die. Though, Williams also took that decision into his own hands based on incriminating evidence. Although Williams never admitted to the two murders, he started an epidemic legacy of the L.A gang, The Crips. The Crips are responsible for countless crimes and killings that are still very alive today. This is the other side of my mixed feelings in that if Williams started this epidemic and also killed then he deserved the execution. We may never get The Crips under control and with the killings of many and the numerous crimes, he should be held accountable for this gang he started. Considering his non-cooperation then his turn around in 1993, writing and being recognized for children’s books warning against gangs. This does not mean he was ‘redeemed’ as many people implied. If anything he should of just lived the rest of his life in prison. I also do not believe this execution was a result of ‘American racism’. I believe if you look at the big picture in what this man cause, hence The Crips, then the execution seems justified in my eyes. When you watch the funeral service it is hard not to feel pain and sorrow for Williams. All the people, good words and Williams own words struck a cord. It makes you reevaluate your thoughts on him. Although his actions are still prevalent in my mind his character is dramatically changed for the better. His words sounded very educated, deep and genuine. The only thing that got me was when I read an article about the some of the Crips were gathered outside the funeral service and had said that they owe it all to Williams and so on. That disturbed me but not beyond the point to changed my mind. I believe that Williams was trying to do better by himself and the right people didn’t recognize his efforts in order to prevent execution. Or maybe they did and choose to go along with the execution because some people can never change. It is hard to say and I am no one to judge considering I do not know the full facts of this case. I do know that he should of just lived on in prison for life and not have been executed.
October 1, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Jana Churich
Humanities
Tookie Williams Response
Tookie Williams is yet another example of a man in the justice system that was victim of racial judgment and inequality. His life was a very politically influential life. He started the Crips gang in Los Angeles, Ca. The original concept was that he would be part of a group of activists that were trying to make a positive change in the community. Williams said “we started out—at least my intent was to, in a sense—address all of the so-called neighboring gangs in the area and to put, in a sense—I thought I can cleanse the neighborhood of all these, you know, marauding gangs. But I was totally wrong. And eventually, we morphed into the monster we were addressing.”(wikipedia) For this reason, the fact that he started an East Coast/West Coast gang rivalry, an internal gang war within California’s borders, and set the stage for future gang bangers to refuse law and order, Tookie Williams sentencing was a political statement to youth an adults alike. It was a statement of zero tolerance of that type of violent and radical behavior.
It seems like there is a lot of controversy over the evidence and jury selection of Tookie William’s trial. It appears that the evidence was non-conclusive. There were no eye witnesses, there were no fingerprints or matching blood samples and the bullet casings that were found supposedly did not match Tookie’s gun. It was also said that Tookie’s room mate at the time was under investigation for extortion. The District Attorney’s office handled a deal with the guy to testify against Tookie. It is unclear what the testimony did or did not do to Tookie’s case. Following the issues of lack of evidentiary support for the case, Tookie claimed there was an unfair jury selection during the trial. The three African American people that were originally selected were kicked off resulting in a jury of ten Caucasians, one Filipino, and one Latino. It also seems that the star witness of the trial was a man that stayed in the cell next to Tookie. It has been suggested that the man as a known police informer and that a copy of his Tookie’s case was dropped in the cell for study, and picked up the next morning. The witness had claimed that Tookie had volunteered his confession. (Tookie Fact Sheet)
The fact that racism is painted all over this case is disturbing. Tookie killed three members of the Yang family and was later testified against that he called them “Buddha-heads” an obvious derogatory name for Asians. The Prosecutor in Tookie’s case also seemed to be named a racist. In this closing argument he called Tookie a “black panther.” His analogy was that of a highly dangerous predator let loose in the wild. A panther does not change his instincts or worry about laws of nature, or worry about their prey. They fight for survival, they fight for necessity, and they fight without repercussion. In his own way, the Prosecutor was describing Tookie as a wild force, which should be contained. This analogy did not boast well with pro-Tookie activists or the African American community. Just a thought, if I were them, and in keeping with the analogy, if LA is a so-called concrete jungle, that how can one not be ruled by survival of the fittest? Was Tookie an out of control human being, or was he just doing what he needed to do for survival, like a panther?
Tookie’s murders can very easily be compared to those of Charles Manson. Charles Manson was the leader and founder of his killing-group, or cult, “The Family.” He denies naming the group that and protests that the title was given to them to promote to the community that they were in fact a cult. Tookie obviously formed the larger group of Crips, and Charles Manson had a more intimate group of followers. Charles Manson was tried in a case called the Tate-LaBianca Murder Case.(Wikipedia) Collectively he was tried for the six murders in the Tate-LaBianca case, but was said to be responsible for about thirty-five murders total. There are several theories about why Charles Manson created the Family, and their motivation towards committing these murders, but the one I found most interesting was that Manson and his followers believed Armageddon was approaching. “Blacks would win the war, but be unfit to run the world, and the Family would therefore emerge and run it for them as a benevolent autocracy, with Manson at the head of this new world order. The war would be triggered by “some black people coming out of the ghetto and doing atrocious crimes… killings… writing things in blood.” However, by summer 1969, Manson was heard to say that the blacks did not know how to start their role in this war, so he would have to show them.” (Wikipedia) As distorted as Manson may have sounded, or as benevolent Tookie’s motives may have been, their institutions mirrored each other. The upsetting part is that Charles Manson, known killer whom also claims he is innocent, is up for parole in 2007 at the age of 73. Tookie Williams a black man from Los Angeles received a death sentence for about the same grade crime as Charles Manson, yet Manson will one day, again be free. In all fairness to answer the question of Did Tookie Williams deserve the death penalty when Charles Manson did not, my answer would be “No.” Whether one believes in Capital Punishment or not, the proceedings, trials, and outcomes should be fair and equal. In these cases, both should have received the death penalty or both should be serving for life.
The assumed power is that there is no power for the accused. The state uses the jury selection process, and the appellate courts to take away the burden of error on their part. Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed that he denied clemency to Tookie Williams because “The possible irregularities in Williams’ trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury’s decisions that he is guilty of these four murders and should pay with his life.” (Wikipedia) However through researching Tookie William’s life and death, the advocates that were fighting for his life claimed that although he may have done wrong in the past he had redeemed himself. He began teaching children, speaking up for peace, and had no infractions while in prison. Schwarzenegger cited that there was no way Tookie could truly be reformed. His message was obviously not impactful enough to change the behavior of Crips’ gang members and William’s had also dedicated part of his book to George Jackson, a guard killer. Tookie’s life was in Schwarzenegger’s hands and decided not to grant clemency, Tookie and his followers could not do or say anything to overcome these decisions; they were powerless. Foucault would say that Public execution restores the power of the sovereign because the laws are created by the sovereign, the breaking of the laws is a direct attack on them, therefore in order to restore that said power they must demonstrate “triumph of the law. (Foucault 47)
On December 13, 2005 many celebrities became outspoken in the favor of Tookie Williams. Most notably Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover, and Snoop Dogg poured out messages of hope and reform. Snoop Dogg who used to be a Crip was quoted saying, “There’s people who don’t know how to get along and have beefs with each other. He’s showing people how to work that out, how to communicate and how to come along and to be able to converse with each other.”(abclocal.go.com) Jamie Foxx whose birthday fell on the same day, wished only one thing for his birthday gift, Stanley Williams’ sentence commuted to life without parole.
The Black Nationalism Essay and Lynching go hand in hand. Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad, the author of Black nationalism basically says that Tookie is product of his environment. Similarly in Lynching, the reason why we see racism in the court system is because in the early development years of this country, and the slavery movement, it can be inferred that because we felt it was ok then, we see remnants of that past today in our court system. Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad says in Williams’ defense,” but the
bottom line is that Tookie Williams was a consequence of his communities racist marginalization – of America’s internal Black colony and its occupation by racist and brutal police armies.” This West African writer, had lots of opinions as to the cause and affect of a black person’s behavior within the United States, and attacks Schwarzenegger for not hearing all the evidence. Her views seemed very aggressive, rightfully so, and in Lynching it states on page three that “ The death penalty is and has always been rarely a punishment used objectively against those deserving of it – it has been instead a tool that has been used throughout history to oppress racial minorities especially afro- Americans.”
It is my opinion that the racial issues in our current court system are a product of these things, however, if someone commits a crime, even if the reason is because they are a product of their environment, they should be punished. If these crimes are being committed by a certain race, because their environment is densely populated with people of color, the government needs to offer more assistance and prevention programs. In every case, people of color and whites should have a jury that matches their community, and given a fair and equitable trial.
October 1, 2006 at 6:50 pm
Page 1
Crystal Pardo
September 30, 2006
Response to Tookie Williams – Week 6
Pardofam4@sbcglobal.net
American Cultures 1395
Stanley “Tookie” Williams was not your average Death Row inmate. Although Tookie lived a life of crime and violence in his past, he like all people was capable of change. The twenty four years that he spent on Death Row, Tookie came to terms with himself and wanted to help others to not end up where he was. He became a peacemaker generally focusing on our youth because he wanted the violence to stop. Tookie wanted his words to be heard so that life could continue on after his death without the violence that he had to experience.
When I think of people like Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer and I compare them to Tookie Williams I get a clear sense of how unfair our judicial system is. Execution is not being used fairly. Tookie who maintained his innocence was put to death when other people who have admitted to their crimes were not executed. Where is the justice in that? As this class goes on and the more information I am receiving, I am starting to believe that the Death Penalty is wrong. Why use something that involves killing people if it is not going to be used correctly? It is not fair to execute one man for murder and not the other.
There was information provided that Tookie was wrongfully convicted. It is believed that he was framed by corrupt testimony. His trial was based on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of several witnesses, all of whom were facing a range of felony charges, including fraud, rape, murder and mutilation.
During the last few days of Tookie’s life, an investigative team uncovered proof of substantial misconduct on the part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, involving false testimony against Mr. Williams. The investigators found evidence that members of the Sheriff’s Department used a paid police informant in Tookie’s case.
They brought to this informant’s jail cell a copy of the police report of the murder investigation for which Tookie was subsequently convicted. The jailhouse informant testified for the prosecution by claiming, “How could I know all of this detail about the crimes unless the defendant, Tookie, had told me these things?”
Besides all of the false information that lead to his execution, Tookie accepted his sentence and did not want people to be sad about him dying, but rather he wanted his soul to live on and his words to be known. He did not dwell on the fact that his life would soon be over; instead he devoted his last days to making sure his messages were heard while others tried to spare his life because they believed he was worth saving.
Page 2
Response to Tookie Williams – Week 6
Many people including famous people like Snoop Dogg were devoted to helping save the life of Stanley “Tookie” Williams because they saw how much he had changed from the person he once was. Snoop Dogg stated that Tookie had inspired him because he was once a leader as a gang member who he looked up to in that sense, but now has turned his life around and became a man as a whole different leader. Just seeing the faces of the people at his memorial it was obvious that he had a great impact on all of their lives. In interviews of young people, one man stated that Tookie gave himself and other people ideas on how to put a peace agreement together when they didn’t even know what it was or what to do with it.
Tookie was someone in which a lot of gang members looked up to, so for him to speak out like he did was a great impact on their minds and lives. Not only did they look up to him for the bad that he had done, they got a chance to see the good he has become. He hoped that his words and his execution would open the doors for other people to realize the importance of life.
I remember hearing bits and pieces of Tookie on the news when it came close to his time of execution, but I did not know how important he was to people and how so many people loved him. It was surprising to me that in appealing his execution conviction there were so many people involved in trying to save his life. 60,000 people from Italy even wrote the governor in favor of Tookie because they too believed he had a greater positive impact on our world than a negative one.
The media characterized Tookie as a monster because of how he co-founded the Crips in 1971 and the violence that he brought upon people as that leader, but the media fails to tell the other side of Tookie of how he changed his life in order to help save others. This is something Tookie had to prove himself to people in his writings. Tookie discovered his true self between the years of 1988 to 1994 while in Solitary Confinement. He was challenged to realize whether he was a beast or a man. In discovering his true humanity, Tookie realized that he was a man and that started his path to recovery for himself and in helping to influence others.
In my own personal opinion I feel that Tookie did wrong in his past and he admits that, but taking his life did not bring justice to anything. He did deserve to be in jail as a punishment for his crime, but the loss of his life only brought more rage to this world and the people that supported him will continue to prove their thoughts on how our judicial system is unfair. Not only for Tookie, but for people that have already been executed and anyone else that will be executed. Tookie was not just someone trying to have his charges dismissed so that he could be free; he along with others wanted his life to continue so that he could continue to be a role model for others.
As Tookie left this world he left us all with a lot of knowledge, but he wanted only one message to be known to everyone. He states, “I am no longer a man of war, I died a man of peace.”
October 1, 2006 at 7:07 pm
Melissa Duffield 1
Stanley Tookie Williams
10/1/06
Meld731@yahoo.com
1395
The article The Ethics of Black Atonement in Racist America: the Execution of Stanley Tookie Williams written by Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin- Wahad is an opinionated paper that does discus many interesting points as well as raises some creative questions. Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad felt compelled to write this paper about Stanley Tookie Williams because he was one of the individuals that Tookie Williams dedicate his book to. He also felt he needed to tell the story of Stanley Tookie Williams execution and the “debate around the death penalty.”
Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad starts off by talking about how Tookie Williams was a “product of the African experience in racist America.” Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad states which I and many others agree with, Tookie Williams could have been an asset to Black youth. Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad talks about how street gangs formed, which I found very interesting because I never thought about why they formed. I just focused on the violence they cause on themselves and others around them. Mr. Bin-Wahad says “Street gangs that started out as expressions of our community’s inability to control our own streets and in opposition to police terror.” Police are also talked about later in the paper, I think that this is a major problem still in today’s society that we need to concentrate on. Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad says “cops who also believe they are the biggest and baddest gang in the ‘hood and act accordingly’.” I agree that gangs were formed as a reaction to the way that police were treating African American people. I also think that police need to turn their focus away from trying to be the biggest and baddest
Melissa Duffield 2
Stanley Tookie Williams
gang on the streets and focus on creating Rec-centers for young African Americans and safe houses that members of the African American community can go to. Although gangs cause a lot of problems in society I think that they are an outlet to young African American men who don’t feel like they have a place in American. These young don’t have the same opportunities that white men there age might have. I think that these gangs create a certain sense that the young men feel needed and like they belong to something that is bigger than them. Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad also comments on how “Black professors and militant academician were hollering at white educational institutions.” He is saying that these African Americans succeeded in their line of work but only to help the white population. Now that they are successful they don’t need to care or worry about the rest of the African American community. I understand what Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad is saying however the many successful African American people I know, they are very aware of where they came from and also make a point of contributing to there community.
Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad also discusses Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character the Terminator is admired by many Americans who quote famous line from the movies and Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad even says “The Terminator” is a role model for thugs and murderers around the globe. The Terminator is powerful man who is strong, independent, and does kill. Tookie Williams is not that extreme but he was a powerful, smart man who did, in his earlier years kill four people. However Tookie turned himself around and tried to change his
Melissa Duffield 3
Stanley Tookie Williams
way of life to better himself and his community. Killing Tookie Williams was like killing a political figure. George W. Bush sent Tookie Williams a letter commending him for his social activism. Tookie Williams was also protected and recognized in the Hollywood community by people like Jamie Foxx, making movie about Tookie Williams and Snoop Dogg. My point is he did not just become recognized by people from his community for his work but by all of America. The whole country saw what good work Tookie Williams was doing for himself and others around him.
Although Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad was very one sided and opinionated in the writing of this paper making comments like “The biggest ‘gang’ is the US government and its law enforcement agencies.” I know he feels this way because of how the police treat his people and the US government is responsible for killing people such as Stanley Tookie Williams; however I don’t think I would go as far as to say that the US government is a “gang.” By the state of California executing Stanley Tookie Williams we have lost a great assets to the African American community and a good role model for the youth.
October 1, 2006 at 10:59 pm
Is it me or what there was a certain site the j put up yo see tookies video
and now I do not see it on the blog? Anyway anyone can tell me where to go to veiw this?
thank you
Shalome
October 1, 2006 at 11:50 pm
Donna Blanchard
Stanley Tookie Williams
October 1, 2006
moxiedonna@gmail.com
Human 6, Section 1395
On December 13, 2005 Stanley Tookie Williams was put to death at San Quentin Prison. His death sentence and execution were controversial and subject to debate until the moment of his death – and they continue to be controversial today, nearly a year after his execution. Williams spent more than half of his life in San Quentin and spent the last decade speaking out against the violent gangs he spent the first part of his life creating.
It can be easy for me, as someone who is pro death penalty, to discount all of Williams’ good works and say “kill him” with no feeling. However, I can’t set aside the strides Williams took to attempt to redeem himself of his violent past – three Nobel Peace Prize nominations, a number of anti-gang children’s books, speaking out against gangs. I can appreciate the fact that he spent the last part of his life trying to teach others but the fact remains that he was convicted of murdering four people in cold blood and sentenced to death.
I read many different articles on Stanley Williams and how it was wrong to execute such a “fine man”. However, I feel that if Williams had not made a dramatic turnaround in prison people would not have been trying so hard to save his life – which makes me wonder what prompted Williams’ “spiritual reformation”. In a November 30, 2005 telephone interview with Democracy Now!, Williams stated that the six years he spent in solitary confinement prompted his change. Williams stated that “I had a 720-degree turnaround. It took me twice as much”. ( democracynow.org) the skeptical part of me wonders if Williams only reformed himself on the outside, showing the world a façade of peace while the anger still seethed inside. What if none of the things he did – the children’s books, the anti-violence and anti-gang works – were out of a desire to teach others but out of self-preservation? If Williams had been granted clemency and his death sentence reduce to life imprisonment, would he have continued these things?
I know people believe that executing Williams robbed the world of a good and peaceful person but what about the people he killed, both directly and indirectly? Williams was convicted of robbing four people of their lives – their chance to live, laugh and love. He also robbed their family and friends of their loved ones. And, by co-founding one of the bloodiest gangs in the world, Williams was indirectly responsible for the death of thousands of others. But Williams never admitted his guilt. Williams maintained his innocence until his death and blamed his conviction on racism, a biased (all-white) jury, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective counsel ( democracynow.org). I find it hard to believe that in the twenty-odd years Williams spent on Death Row, nothing was discovered during his appeals to give validity to his statements. It has been my experience that most convicted criminals will spout their innocence and state they have been wrongly convicted. It makes the pill of Williams’ professed innocence hard for me to swallow. It is so easy to blame other people for our mistakes. Blame white culture for being racist. Blame law enforcement for racial profiling. Blame everyone else but don’t take the blame on ourselves. It would have been so much more comforting to the family of Williams’ victims if he had apologized for his crimes. Admission of guilt would have meant more to the families than any children’s books. In an article on msnbc.com, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that “without an apology or atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption” for Williams ( msnbc.com).
After all of my research, I still believe that Williams deserved the death penalty. That he died while convicted murderer Charles Manson did not is not racism – it is just simple fact. Manson was sentenced to death in 1971 but his death sentence was commuted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court’s people v. Anderson decision in 1972 (answers.com). At Williams’ funeral, Reverend Jesse Jackson spoke of the case of Jennifer Porter, who was involved in a fatal hit and run accident in Florida in 2004. Porter was driving a vehicle when she struck and killed two children and injured two others. She was ultimately convicted of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and sentenced to three years probation and two years house arrest. Reverend Jackson stated “if whites kill blacks we just count the numbers. It’s permitted”. I don’t believe this is true. It’s easy to say that Porter got off light because of her skin color but the facts of the case don’t allow for race to come into play.
Reverend Jackson eulogized Williams, stating “Tookie is dead, we’re not safer, we’re not more secure, we’re not more humane”. But I feel that the execution of Williams was just and fair. In his fight for clemency, the media and celebrities focused so much on Williams and all of the good works he has done in the past ten years that his violent acts were overshadowed. It seemed to me that the victims were pretty much forgotten. And what about their families? In all of the research I did about Williams, I saw nothing about the victims’ families and how they feel about Williams’ apparent redemption in prison. Did the children’s books and Nobel Peace Prize nominations give the families peace? Did Williams request for The Crips and The Bloods to stop killing each other give the families justice they may have sought after 20 years? Yes, Williams did good works while he was imprisoned. Yes, he appeared to have changed his life. Yes, he garnered a huge celebrity following and created a media circus with his pleas for clemency. But the fact remains that he still killed without remorse. The ironic thing for me was that in all of my research, I would read about the wonderful things Williams did and then I would bounce across a website that had crime scene photos of the not-so-wonderful things he did. I did not find the “pro-Tookie” and “anti-Tookie” media coverage to be equally divided. There were so many celebrity advocates for Williams that the opponents were outshone and overshadowed.
In Dhoruba al-Mjuahid Bin Wahad’s article on Williams, he spoke of Reverend Al Sharpton’s belief that Williams has “shown a lot of young Americans the folly of being involved in gang life”. If young Americans believed that nothing good can come of being in a gang, why do gang populations remain so high? Why are there still so many gang killings? Williams own son, Stanley Jr., is a Crip member and has been convicted of shooting a twenty-year old woman to death in an alley and sentenced to sixteen years in prison ( http://www.jtf.org). If Williams’ message against gangs and violence was so strong, why did his own son not listen?
Wahad said in his article “if nothing is gained by executing Williams, then surely nothing is lost with his demise”. With Williams died the only remaining co-founder of The Crips, and a legacy of violence and death. Though Williams was “reformed” he was still a criminal in the eyes of the law and deserved to be punished in the way that the law intended. And, in the end, Williams finally accepted his fate and died in peace. As he stated the night of his death “I am no longer a man of war. I die a man of peace”.
October 2, 2006 at 1:40 am
Matthew Phillips
Tookie Williams
10/01/06
bobomrp@yahoo.com
American Cultures 1395
Stanley Tookie Williams was born December 29, 1953 and died by Lethal Injection at San Quentin Prison on December 13, 2005. Williams was the co-founder of notorious South Central Los Angeles street gang the Crips. Williams was convicted of killing four people in two separate incidents in 1979 and sentenced to death. Williams always maintained his innocence regarding the four murders and questioned the prosecutions evidence and conduct. He spent six and a half years in solitary confinement in the 1980’s for multiple attacks on guards and other inmates. He describes that time as a turning point in his life. After coming out of solitary confinement, Williams began working to stop violence and gang activity. He started writing children’s books, which brought him world-wide recognition and he reportedly was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
After Williams’ court appeals failed, he started to receive growing support in 2005 in a campaign for his clemency. Among his supporters were some celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and Jamie Foxx. Their efforts to save Williams’ life were widely reported on by media all over the country. This attention helped spark debate over the use of the death penalty in our society and its constitutionality. Family members of the victims that Stanley Williams was convicted of killing even expressed their opposition to Williams’ execution. On December 12, 2005 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency to Williams and he was executed that night, just after midnight.
Williams’ memorial service was held at Bethel church in Los Angeles on December 20, 2005. Many prominent people spoke at the service and watching it I felt it gave a feeling of an important and powerful event marking the death of a powerful and influential man, not the funeral of an executed murderer. It started with a recording of Williams’ from prison talking about how he had “discovered humanity” and that the war within him was over. There was a lot of talk about redemption and how Williams’ was a redeemed man, not from the murders, which he maintained his innocence, but from his life as a gang member and from the crimes he was not convicted of. Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke and put him in company with Johnny Cochran, Ray Charles, and Richard Preyer as prominent black men who passed away in 2005. He expressed his belief that the State does not have the moral authority to kill and that people need to kill the idea of killing to stop killing. He quoted Williams as saying “I regret I was a predator upon my people” and talked about the role of corrupt informants in Williams’ trial and likened it to the informants that were used as the basis of the Iraq war. He also stated that O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake had more circumstantial evidence against them, but they got off because they had “dream team” lawyers, whereas Williams did not.
Snoop Dogg spoke next and read a poem he wrote called “Until We Meet Again,” which caused him to become choked up and cry at the end. Tony Robbins spoke and said the media’s description of Williams was that of a man 30 years ago and not that of the present and changed man. He talked about how Williams brought the Crips and Bloods gangs together in peace and how family members of the murder victims said they forgave him if he did it and if he didn’t they appreciated his work. This was followed by a clip from an upcoming documentary on Williams’ life.
Next a man named Rudy spoke and described Williams’ last day. One of the stories he told was a powerful piece that gave insight into Williams’ humanity. He said that after thanking everyone who had come to see him on his last day, Williams turned around to the guard that was sitting behind him and thanked him as well, saying that he appreciated him showing him humanity on one occasion when the guard gave him privacy during his shower time. The guard began to cry after that.
Louis Farrakhan gave a long eulogy followed by Travon Williams, Tookie’s son, and Barbara Becnel, close friend and Williams’ spokesperson, who read Tookie’s last message to the world. He talked about wanting nothing from those who will kill him and that he forgave them. His final words, directed toward the youth he wanted to enlighten, was “I am no longer a man of war, I die a man of peace.”
Overall I thought the memorial was powerful and full of hope and messages of change. Everyone held Williams as a martyr whose life and death would be used to effect social change. I think Tookie would have been proud.
The article about Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism was very interesting and confusing at the same time. I am not fully sure exactly what Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad’s point was in the end. She seemed to be angry and pointed her finger at everyone: Blacks, Whites, the Government and America in general. I am not even sure what she actually thought of Tookie. She did make it clear that she feels the way the justice system and death penalty works now is racist. I am not sure whether she is for or against the death penalty in general though. She makes statements to the effect that Black people should not be subject to the American justice system and should only be judged by the Black community. It also sounded like she was in favor of militaristic action and violence by the Black community. Her points about the disparities in how minorities are treated in the judicial system are valid and I agree that things need to change. I don’t agree with her apparent opinion that the Black or African-American community is or should somehow be separate from the rest of America. I also don’t think that violence solves anything. With regards to the justice system, if a white person and black person commit the same crime I think they should get the same sentence. There should not be any disparity between punishment of crimes based on race. I don’t like Dhoruba’s America-hating attitude. Yes there are a lot of minorities in prison and they are given tougher sentences and that is wrong, but no one forces anyone to commit crimes in the first place. I also don’t like when people distinguish themselves as something other than just American. We are all Americans, why should we separate and segregate ourselves with labels? Does the color of your skin make you any more or less American? I don’t think so. I think that being so label oriented contributes to inequity by the very inherent nature of labels. Anyway, I digress. I wish everyone could just be colorblind and treat everyone the same.
October 2, 2006 at 1:44 am
For some reason I thought Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad was a woman and refered to him as a her in my paper. I guess that’s what I get for making an assumption. My apologies.
October 2, 2006 at 2:43 am
Gillian Betz
October 1, 2006
Human 6 -1395
Stanley “Tookie” Williams
Gbetz85@yahoo.com
I can clearly see, from reading the article on our schedule, “Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism,” by Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin-Wahad, that Stanley Williams was a victim of the American Judicial System. I do not have an opinion as to whether or not he was guilty or innocent -I would like to do some further research- but that is not the issue at hand. Williams was a Co-founder of the gang the Crips, and as pointed out in the article, gangs were formed as “expressions of the communities inability to control the streets and in opposition to police brutality and terror” on African-American and poor neighborhoods. Gangs then became “predatory, apolitical, and reactionary.” With the destruction of African-American militant groups, such as the Black Panther Party, there has been a direct rise in the amount of gang violence. These destroyed militant groups would have occupied the time of African-American youth and there would have been no need for the formation of gangs in the first place.
African-American leaders have been to preoccupied with getting equality, etc. that they have lost sight of who they are fighting for. Black leaders want to stand up for the rights of African-Americans, but at the same time try to be politically correct, and that just is not possible. Most of the African-American leaders are academics, and do not speak the “language” of the “street soldiers”- the young men -and women- living in the “ghettos” and urban areas of America. The racist character of the United States is evident when looking at who is locked up, and who is on death row; especially those on death row who are being executed. Williams was caught up in this racist and vicious cycle. The death penalty has “operated as a legal instrument of of racial terror.”
The fact that the death penalty stems from lynching -the hanging of “guilty” African-Americans- says a lot about who the intended subjects are. Rarely do we see white men and women being executed, and of those who are, rarely -if ever- are their victims African-American, or people of color. The death penalty is widely used as justice in the deaths of white Americans. Those who are on death row are usually African-American or Latino, uneducated, poor, along with a multitude of other disadvantages. The execution of Stanley Tookie William show young African-American and Latino gang members that “redemptive militancy is unacceptable -only rejection of your social history and complete surrender to the myths of white American could possibly save your life” (Bin-Wahad).
While doing research on Stanley Tookie Williams, I was able to read some of the trial transcripts, statements from witnesses in his case, and statements from witnesses of his death. From these I learned what crimes he was charged with -the robbery and murder of a 7-Eleven, and the murder of three Asian immigrants. Williams had a record of violent behavior his first years in jail, but over time he saw what violence does to people and he made it a point to stop the violence that he had helped to create. Throughout his incarceration, Williams maintained his innocence of the crimes with which he was charged and convicted. After reading some articles and visiting http://www.savetookie.org, it is evident that Williams did not receive a fair trial. He was not tried by a jury of his peers -there were no African-American jurors because the Prosecution removed the three potential jurors who were African-American, and of the twelve jurors, only two were people of color. Throughout the trial, the Prosecutor made multiple racist statements about Williams, none of which he was reprimanded for (at least not at the time). Many of the witnesses against Williams received far lesser sentences and/or no jail time at all.
Although Williams turned his violence into something positive -his ability to really connect with gang members on a very personal basis, and save thousands of youth from becoming or staying gang members- and although he wrote nine influential children’s books, and although he wrote an amazing autobiography in order to help reach youth and those who were imprisoned, and although he made an incredible difference in lives of many across the world, all the while living in a cell behind bars with little in the way of resources, because he DID NOT apologize for the crimes he was convicted of, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger did not see it fit to spare Stanley Tookie Williams life, and potentially the lives of thousands of America’s youth.
It was apparent, through watching the film of his memorial that Stanley Tookie Williams impacted more than just gang members, more than just fellow African-Americans, and more than just fellow inmates. Williams influence and impacted MANY people, Tony Robbins, Snoop Dogg, and many, many others. I never knew much about Stanley Tookie Williams before this assignment, and that really is a shame. Although I am not sure of his guilt or innocence, I am sure of my opinion about whether or not he should have been put to death. My opinion is a very strong No. I read in one of the articles a statement to the effect of “his books will live on, and if they are really making a difference, it doesn’t matter if Stanley Williams is alive or dead.” This is a ridiculous statement in my eyes. Williams did more than just write books, he spoke to many people in person, counseled many youth, many people who want to help youth, he took a stand and started change -none of which can be continued just because his books are around.
There were multiple times throughout his memorial service that I found myself teary-eyed, and at one point sobbing. I am a very emotional person, and I am not naive to the racist society in which I live. Watching Williams affect on all of those who spoke made me realize what a true asset he was to our society. It also made me realize that though I am not naive to what is going on around me, I am an active participant through my inaction. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to racial issues throughout society. If we are not out there taking a stand, whether it be for or against something, our inaction is a suppressant. No one can make change by sitting at home assuming that others will fight the fight, and that is a realization that slapped me in the face while I was watching the memorial service. I was, and still am, against the execution of Williams.
I do not see how a man like Stanley Williams, a man who has made an OBVIOUS impact even from prison, must be executed while men, like Charles Manson, men who confessed to crimes and confessed the desire to commit even more heinous crimes, get to live. A man who has redeemed himself, in the eyes of many, and who made it his mission to make up for his mistakes and prevent the mistakes of others was -in my opinion- used as a political pawn by our Governor Schwarzenegger. If Williams had been a white man, he would have had a much greater chance at being alive today. The media did not portray Williams as a man who had changed and was making a difference in the lives of so many. For the most part, Williams was another black man, guilty of a crime -obviously because a jury had said so- who deserved to die for what he had done. None of the articles that I found throughout my research were unbiased and/or on “the side” of Tookie Williams. It was not unless I went to specific website, such as http://www.savetookie.org, that I was able to find information and articles about his innocence. All the world got to hear was “Tookie Williams, the founder of the Crips, inventor of gangs and gang violence in America.”
In my opinion, December 13, 2005, America, and the world, lost a very valuable member of society. It is a shame that a man as influential as Stanley Tookie Williams must die merely because he has black skin and was not fortunate enough to have money. The whole institution of the prison system and especially the death penalty is a racist trap.
October 2, 2006 at 2:46 am
Ray Hill
Ray_hill4ever@hotmail.com
Humanities 6 Section 1395
Oct. 1, 2006
Assignment: Tookie
Pg. 1
“The legitimacy of war is not with man the nemesis is the enemy within oneself to conquer this personal demon brings life to be defeated by it provokes death those who shy away from this life altering battle will remain locked in mere conflicts with other men that have no true purpose of spiritual worth…”(Tookie)
Tookie had many situations where he had to decide if he were a human or animal. One circumstance is he found out that he didn’t receive clemency. In front of his friends he became angry at first and then shrugged over. Then being on death row for 24 years being tortured like an animal; the guards physically tortured him and put him into solitary confinement. He had to decide that he was human and transcend himself to be a better person. He says he chose the path of inflexible resistance, improving himself everyday.
Tookie “started” the Crips gang and was accused of killing several people. From the perspective of the “white christian system” I can see how Tookie stood for all of the troubled colored children in the ghettos that cause crime and go to jail. Only this time the “troubling colored” redeemed himself. Tookie was a male icon for kids in the ghetto. The kids in the hood could transcend from their situation and become upstanding citizens.
Ray Hill
Humanities 6 Section 1395
Pg. 2
But the government failed their community and duty to their community. The government is supposed to take care of their people. Gov. Schwarzenegger aka The Terminator didn’t even show up to tell Tookie he didn’t receive clemency. He didn’t even meet Tookie or even look him in the eye before he killed him. Referring to the execution Reverend Jessie Jackson said “The communities are no safer, no more justice has been served…” For a responsible government Tookie would have been an asset. Tookie was working with the youth to get them out of gangs. He was apologizing for his actions while being a member in the Crips. He was resolving hate between rival gangs. Given the death of Tookie I would say the Government wants kids in the ghettos to kill themselves. Only this time the “system” killed another prophet.
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! have no fear for atomic energy,
cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say its just a part of it:
Weve got to fulfil de book.
Ray Hill
Humanities 6 Section 1395
Pg. 3
Wont you help to sing
Dese songs of freedom? –Bob Marley
He knew that the prison was set up in a way of master slave. “In the matter of the master-slave concept, there are commonalities between a guard as master and a prisoner as slave.” (Tookie.com) Guards watch over the prisoners every moment which makes it a form of torture. Tookie thanked a guard for showing him humanity by giving him ten minutes of alone time before his execution. Described by Tookie’s friend, this guard cried before Tookie was killed. Tookie described how all prison guards acted differently.
In the procedure of the execution prison guards had volunteered to do the killing. They took a half of an hour to find Tookie’s vein before they could execute him. Tookie smiled for he had a bigger purpose than the “system.”
As the famous words to 2 Pac “Only God can judge me.”
October 2, 2006 at 2:54 am
Jana – I have to disagree where you said:
“The original concept was that he would be part of a group of activists that were trying to make a positive change in the community. Williams said “we started out—at least my intent was to, in a sense—address all of the so-called neighboring gangs in the area and to put, in a sense—I thought I can cleanse the neighborhood of all these, you know, marauding gangs.”
My impression was more that he wanted to unite the smaller gangs, bringing them under control, and thereby “cleanse the neighborhood”. But his intention was to do it with himself and the Crips as part of that uniting leadership. He never said or implied that by cleansing the neighborhood, he had any intention of stopping the crime and violence. He just wanted a hand in controlling it.
Todd
October 2, 2006 at 3:00 am
shalome atkinson Says:
October 1st, 2006 at 10:59 pm
“Is it me or what there was a certain site the j put up yo see tookies video
and now I do not see it on the blog? Anyway anyone can tell me where to go to veiw this?”
You have to go to the top of the home page, click the button that says schedule, and scroll down to the assignment. The reading material is on the right hand side, hyperlinked to the video location. Hope that helps.
Todd
October 2, 2006 at 3:02 am
Page 1 of 4
Todd Eastman
Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism
10/01/06
Todd.eastman@comcast.net
HUMAN 6 American Cultures, Section 1395
Stanley Tookie Williams, III aka Inmate CDC# C29300
Tookie’s real name was actually Stanley Tookie Williams, III. Many people believed “Tookie” was just a nickname. Williams was born in New Orleans, LA to a 17 year old mother. At age 6, he moved to South Central Los Angeles. Williams developed an early reputation as a fighter and gang leader. At the age of 17 or 18, Williams became one of the co-founders of the infamous street gang, the “Crips.”
While a member of the Crips, Williams was arrested and convicted of murdering 4 people during 2 armed robberies in 1979, with his conviction in 1981 along with the death penalty. During his trial, there were allegations that the Prosecutor purposely removed blacks from the jury pool. Allegations also arose for evidence tampering, coaching of witnesses, and a possible threat Williams made against the jury.
Shortly after his incarceration in 1981, Williams began having behavioral problems while in prison. He was involved in fights, disruptive behavior, and twice splashed chemicals into the eyes of his guards. Here I found some discrepancies regarding Williams’ prison record. One source indicates that he was placed in solitary confinement for 6 ½ years in Oct of 1988. Yet, prison records also indicate that Williams was involved in another fight in December of 1991 and again in July 1993. These two incidents are reported to have occurred during the same period that he was supposed to be in solitary confinement.
In any case, this 6 year period is when Williams claims to have had spent the time to contemplate the meaning of his life, and the ramification of his past actions. After his release from solitary confinement, Williams soon gained world-wide attention as he published children’s books advocating non-violence and alternatives to gangs and crime. He also wrote an autobiography called “Blue Rage, Black Redemption.” Somewhere in this timeframe, Williams not only became famous for his efforts, but also became a lightning rod for the African-American movement against racial inequalities, as well as for those opposed to the death penalty.
Page 2 of 4
Todd Eastman
Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism
10/01/06
There is no arguing that Williams was “reformed” and became a positive influence for children and the world. There is no question that he was influential in keeping kids out of gangs. But as I have stated in previous essays, there are a large percentage of prisoners who become “reformed” and / or religious while on death row.
I will say, after researching this issue in more detail, I do not think the death penalty was appropriate in this case. There were too many inconsistencies, no reliable witnesses, or any concrete evidence that he acted alone and killed those four people. In my opinion, the Governor should have commuted his sentence to life without possibility of parole.
I also found it disturbing that his execution was handled so poorly. Apparently, they had a lot of difficulty locating a vein for his IV. Having received training in phlebotomy myself, I found this hard to believe, as it is easier to find a vein on a muscular arm like those that Williams had. In the 9/28/06 issue of the Press Democrat, Dr. Mark Heath of Columbia University, testifying about the pain issues involved with lethal injection, stated that Stanley Williams may have still been conscious while executed.
Reviewing past copies of press reports and stories, the Press was most often characterizing him as a brutal, violent, gang leader and murderer. There was also some media coverage that characterized him more as a martyr and a symbol of racial inequality in the U.S. I can recall when this issue first began to be reported by the media, and at the time, my impressions were that he deserved to die, the sooner the better. I am not particularly a supporter of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but when he declined the petition for clemency, I was actually pleased. My concern then was that the Governor would easily bow down to the celebrities that took Williams’ case as their own special cause.
But frankly, in my own personal opinion, I am sad to say that it appears to me some of his own “people” have taken advantage of him. I was extremely disappointed by the article “Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism” by Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad. The article spouts the same kind of racial hatred and finger pointing that I think Williams was trying to fight against. In one passage, the author says: “First of all, Tookie Williams was a product of the African experience in racist America.” I would argue that Tookie Williams was a product
Page 3 of 4
Todd Eastman
Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism
10/01/06
of his own choices and decisions and that “racist America” cannot shoulder the blame.
Again from the author: “Tookie Williams was a consequence of his communities (sic) racist marginalization – of America’s internal Black colony and its
occupation by racist and brutal police armies.” If that is not inflammatory language, then I guess I don’t know the correct definition.
The memorial service for Tookie Williams was held on 20 Dec, 2005 at the Bethel A.M.E. Church. Even while viewing the film clip, I felt like several of the speakers were using Tookie’s memorial as a means of spouting their own views on racism. If I were Tookie, I would have wanted those who attended my memorial to remember me for who I was, and what I accomplished. But most of what I heard was more like a “Call to Arms” for the black community to carry on the fight. When Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke, he grouped Williams together with people like Johnny Cochran, Richard Pryor, John Johnson, Ray Charles, and Lou Rawls. I didn’t quite catch what the relationship was that Jackson was attempting to invoke. But Jackson did make a very solid point when he asked why Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, and Jennifer Porter were all still alive, while Williams was not. He points at financial inequality when he uses O.J. (Simpson) and Blake (Robert Blake?) as examples of wealthy people who could afford top notch attorneys to get them free, while Williams did not.
“Snoop Dog’s” eulogy was less self serving and more genuine. I found it kind of odd that he would be carrying around a picture of Tookie all the time. He too promised to “keep up the fight”.
I am familiar with Tony Robbins, and must admit that he is one of the last people I would have expected to have not only developed a friendship with Tookie, but also be asked to speak at his eulogy. To me, that was probably the most amazing part of the video.
Overall, the first half of the video was informative and I gained a greater understanding of who Tookie was. But the entire portion with Louis Farrakhan was so self-serving, so self-righteous, that I could barely stand to watch or listen to him speak. Farrakhan is one of those that I would accuse of making the breech between the races larger instead of smaller.
Page 4 of 4
Todd Eastman
Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism
10/01/06
In conclusion, I would have to say that I am sorry I did not really understand or make an attempt to learn more about the Tookie Williams case. I think his execution was a miscarriage of justice. And yet, I think he still belonged in prison, because no amount of redemption can bring back the people he was involved in killing.
There is a deeper issue here than whether Tookie was innocent, or guilty, whether he should have been executed or spared. The real issue is the separation of people by race, whether it is whites doing it to blacks, or blacks doing it to themselves. I am a person of mixed ancestry. Half Japanese, Half White, with some American Indian thrown in to the white half somewhere along the line. I have always hated those questionnaires that say “Please select and mark your race” and only allow you to make one selection. I always mark “other” in those cases. But what will my niece and nephew mark when they are asked? They are ¼ white, ¼ Japanese, ¼ Mexican, and ¼ Spanish, with auburn red hair.
In my opinion, the whole issue of race would be settled by now if each individual would take responsibility for stopping the use of racial identifiers, stopping the practice of stereotyping, and stop the practice of generalizing entire populations of people based solely on the color of their skin (or financial situation, gender, age, or sexual orientation). I believe that people like Farrakhan and Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad do much more harm to our society than good. When will we ever be able to embrace each other as fellow human beings? Doing so does not mean that you have to give up your culture, your religion, or your personal belief systems. But so long as “African-Americans”, “Mexican-Americans” , “Irish-Americans” and all the other hyphenated Americans refuse to simply be “Americans”, I think this entire issue will continue to feed upon itself. If you act like you are being victimized, then yes, you become a victim. If you believe that the “white man” is putting you down or holding you back, then you will always be suppressed and will never progress forward.
October 2, 2006 at 3:47 am
Dina McCarthy
Tookie
9/30/06
dmccarthy5@sbcglobal.net
American Cultures 1395
In the beginning of Tookie’s funeral, Rev. Jesse Jackson says “Tookie is dead, and we are not thankful, we do not feel more secure, and we are not more humane”, he goes on to say: “we must kill the idea of killing to stop killing.” These are powerful, thought provoking statements. As much I thought that I believed in the death penalty, I have to ask myself what it actually proves. Is it justice for the victims or their families? Does ending the life of these criminals actually make this world a better place or even make it safer? Isn’t it hypocritical to kill as a punishment for killing? Then I listen and re-listen to Tookie speak and those who were speaking on his behalf at his funeral, they talked about his redemption, and how he was all about love; where was his humanity, his love, when he was robbing and killing? I think that people are capable of saying and doing what they need to; such as telling people what they want to hear, or behaving in a way that we believe that they have redeemed themselves in order to save themselves. In a recorded message played at the funeral, Tookie states that he had to ask himself “Am I a man or a beast?” Then he goes on to say that “it wasn’t until after being in solitary confinement from 1988 to 1994 that I was able to answer that question.” He explains how gradually through endless soul searching, education, and spiritual cultivation that he was able to find his humanity and refused to allow the animalistic prison conditions and abuse to define him. I wonder if he ever realized that “animalist conditions and abuse” are what he used against others. Why is it that so many criminals “find God”, and then that’s it…they have redeemed themselves, they are forgiven, they are now good people?
Now, the new and redeemed Tookie: I believe that prison probably did make him sorry, but was he sorry that he got caught, or sorry for the violence that he created? Was he sorry that he took advantage and influenced so many misguided children in to being gang members that it got out of control? I will give him credit for drawing in powerful voices to speak on behalf of his “prison is horrible” mantra. People like Jamie Foxx reading from his book the part about “being burdened with homesickness while being in prison is the worst feeling you will ever experience, so stay out of trouble so you can stay out of prison.” If I had lost my child or loved one to this man, I’m pretty sure that his horrible feelings of homesickness would not even begin to make me fell bad for him. Again, it’s back to being caught, we are all sorry after we get caught for doing something wrong, but would he have found redemption and promoted ending gang violence had he never been caught?
Wikipedia explains that while in prison, Williams refused to aid police investigations with any information against his gang, and was implicated in attacks on guards and other inmates as well as multiple escape plots. In 1993, Williams began making changes in his behavior, and became an anti-gang activist while on Death Row in California. Although he continued to refuse to assist police in their gang investigations, he
Dina McCarthy
Tookie
9/30/06
dmccarthy5@sbcglobal.net
American Cultures 1395
renounced his gang affiliation and apologized for the Crips’ founding, while maintaining his innocence of the crimes for which he was convicted.
It’s easy to get sucked in when someone is promoting good, especially with a subject such as gangs and violence, and especially when you are using pastoral power being delivered by people like Rev. Jesse Jackson, Tony Robbins, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, and other well known influential figures to deliver your message. Tookie was an advocate for stopping violence in the end, but would it have been necessary if he hadn’t started it in the first place? Did he deserve lethal injection? Maybe, it really depends on if your decision is based solely on his redemption, or whether or not you can get past the plethora of violence this one man created.
References
http://www.finalcall.com/webcast/tookie
The Ethics of Black Atonement in Racist America: The Execution of Stanley Tookie Williams: By Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad
October 2, 2006 at 4:08 am
Corinne Neuman
Tookie Williams
10/1/06
yourmomismad@yahoo.com
Human 6: Section 1395
Tookie brings many mixed feelings of right versus wrong. Looking among the audience at Tookie’s funeral, it is obvious the impact that he had on society. To some he was a hero, but it is difficult to simply ignore the evil he construed on our society. He was after all the father of the Crips, that organization responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. Tookie was faced with the choice of many – become a victim or victimize. Which would you choose? How would you escape? I do agree that Tookie should have lived, and he contributed more to society while behind bars than others will in their entire lifetime. I believe that the State of California used Tookie, as an example of the power it holds. The execution of Tookie was the State of California demonstrating its power of an institution, to hold its head high for killing the killer of all killers. It seems that the State of California ironically behaved similarly to that of a gang. Tookie was not killed on the basis of the crimes he was committed for; he was killed because of his reputation, image, and race.
When I watched the funeral of Tookie, I was inspired. I was inspired most by the incredible speeches given by Snoop Dog, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Barbara. The opening statement by Tookie himself brought me to the conclusion that he truly was at peace with himself or he would have not been able to record that statement with the calmness and sincerity that he did. Observing the audience was more inspiring than the speeches themselves. Tookie was responsible for bringing all of those people together, and the diversity in that room was incredible. In the audience I saw punks, executives, politician, reverends, and celebrities in one room sharing the love and compassion for the same cause. Never before have I seen such a celebration for love and peace and caring than at Tookie’s funeral. However, it was impossible to notice the absence of Caucasian’s in the audience. Many statements said had major impacts, but one that stood of for me was “we are not any safer, more humaine, or have more security now that Tookie is dead.”
What was it that led Tookie William’s in his journey to redemption? After six years behind bars continuing his history of violence and continuing his relations with the Crip, what prompted his change? During his statement at his funeral, he discussed that is was a war within him questioning if he was a man or a beast? When the war had ended, he realized that he was not a beast. Perhaps also it was because for the first time in his life he was allowed to make his own choices and had an opportunity to escape the violent patterns that he grew up with. I agree that Tookie came to a place of piece within himself, authoring children’s books and a peace treaty between gang rivalries. People donated money to him in order to support his cause, not gang affiliation. He sought to explore the causes and effects of gang life, and solutions to solve them. Tookie was the responsible person at bringing the Bloods and Crips as close as ever known – without M
Neuman, Corinne; Page 2
killing. According to his website, http://www.savetookie.org, he also was responsible for saving 150,000 people from joining gangs.
My stomach turned. I read his prison history for the first 6 and half years he served on San Quentin. Not only was he an active gang member, but also he was charged with eleven brutal attacks against other inmates and prison guards. Peace was not at this man’s forefront, but as said during his funeral, “we were programmed to kill.” The folks who advocated his death did so because they felt his redemption was phony. He sought redemption, only after his plans of escape failed. Governor Shwartznager argued, “Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption.” Tookie pleaded his innocence in the crimes he was committed for but admitted his guilt for other wrongdoings. Prison officials continued to suspect Tookie of gang affiliation, because he had an unusually large bank account.
What are the Crips saying about Tookie? Are they upset with him for abdoning them or did he continue to stand by their sides?. Was death row his protection when he denounced his affiliation with the Crips? Normally, resigning from a gang is a death sentence in itself. How was he able to protect himself from such a powerful group that continued to communicate through the prison walls? Perhaps he was never jumped out because he never cooperated with authorities in snitching on Crips crime. Terry Thornton confirmed with the San Francisco Chronicle “that prison officials would indeed make a point of Williams’s continued association with the Crips on death row, and the fact that he has refused to go through the “debriefing” process, interviews designed to extract intelligence on gangs and their members, which Thornton said is intended to promote institutional security and help law enforcement investigate crimes.”
The media portrayed Tookie in a different light, and did not represent the thousands and millions of people who opposed his death. The headlines in papers and in news stories were repetitive. “Former Crips Founder, and convicted killer of four…..” Media portrays the images that sell. Since most of the subscribers, listeners, and viewers of our society are pro-death penalty and white, the media highlighted on the evil of Tookie. I noticed in the articles that I viewed, that the media consistently quoted that of Lora Owens before that of any other. Lora Owens, stepmother of one of Williams’ victims; was the only family member of a victim that did not forgive Tookie. Out of five articles I viewed that were produced by CNN, Lora Owens was quoted within the top 4 paragraphs (appearing on the front page of a paper). Advocates of Tookie, were not quoted until the end of the article which would not be read by most. The other victim’s family had
Christmas must have been good at the home of police officers, and officials who brought Tookie behind bars that year. Imagine the reward for bringing in the father of the crips, imagine the attention those people received. Following the massive media attention of
Neuman, Corinne; Page 3
Tookie Williams, it seems to me that Tookie was sentenced to death before the trial began. After all, the District Attorney has a duty to the public. It appears to me, that it was a matter of career survival for the prosecution to execute Stan Tookie Williams.
In response to the article, Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism by Dhoruba, I agree with the fact that Tookie was a victim of racial America. I do have to disagree with the statement made, “Those who followed in Tookies footsteps did so because not one black institution existed that embraced and channeled their warrior spirit in a positive direction.” Tookie had become about caring and peace – not “channeling the warrior spirit.” He wanted to cease fire, and this statement seems to encourage war and the pro-fight attitude. I believe that those who followed in Tookies footsteps were seeking the same things that he was – family, protection, money, and leadership. I also believe that creating an all black institution would further problems, and encourage segregation.
The death penalty is applied unfairly and yet continues because of the power held by The State of California. Charles Manson is a white male, who was convicted of seven counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Manson was convicted of more counts then Tookie. Manson was sentenced to death, and is still awaiting execution. It seems to me that Tookie was a product of the environment in which he was raised in poverty and slums, where he was forced to fight his way out. In comparason, Charles Manson was more of a product of pure evil. He killed far more people (and celebrities), and had far more vicious motives.
October 2, 2006 at 4:14 am
Sarah Bellomo
Tookie Williams
10/1/2006
A8006@aol.com
Section#1395
The subject of Tookie Williams is so controversial in so many ways. I have been reading through many different articles and every one makes me feel differently about this case. When I read “The ethics of black atonement in racial America” honestly I felt like the author was mostly full of it. Dhoruba made a lot of excuses towards our American society, mostly claiming how prejudicial America is and how Blacks get no Social justice. I know that there are still a lot of racial and prejudicial people in our society. For me to try and deny that would be ignorant. However, when speaking on our government and how far we have come in America with all of the laws that prohibit and actually exemplify the fact that we cannot have any prejudice when trying anyone based on color, gender, or sexual orientation I feel that most of his statements are ludicrous. Dhoruba stated that Tookie should have been tried by a group of African-Americans in regards to his trial. I agree, but only if the crime that he had committed was done in Africa. If we as Americans were in Africa the outcome would be the same if not worse. At least in our country when you commit a murder you are just executed in the way that is least painful. If we were to be punished in Africa, the community would stone us. What may I ask u is going to gratify the black community in doing that?
Dhoruba also stated that Tookie started the “crips” because there was not one black institution existing to embrace and channel their warrior spirits in positive directions. It is
Sarah Bellomo
Tookie Williams
the same within every nationality but that does not make it right for anyone to go out and kill people for their living nor lifestyle. Dhoruba speaks of being a Muslim but fails to recognize the “Nation of Muslim”, which is a black organization readily available to the black community to deter them from crime. They also work in prevention of crime within their communities. Or what about “100 Black Men”, which is another organization permitting and promoting the Black community to do better for themselves and the community. Dhoruba was so caught up with his prejudicial beliefs against Governor Swarzenoff that he made it seem like just because Swarzenoff was previously an actor, he could not judge the ruling of this execution correctly. Did Dhoruba forget how many people Tookie had killed or was that not important because his “warrior like” persona had to be set free?? Did Dhoruba forget that all it would have took to end the battle with going forward with this execution was for Tookie to show remorse for the murders which he committed and was convicted for. It is the same in that distinction whether you are white or black. They had their proof; they convicted him of the crime. All that they wanted was acknowledgement and remorse, as any guilty person in any crime as this should do. No one told Tookie Williams to forget neither where he came from nor his heritage. America just does not want people killing people in the process of understanding their culture. America has worked too hard to make everyone regardless of nationality, gender, or sexual preference free.
Sarah Bellomo
Tookie Williams
I further read through a few other articles about Tookie. One of which was called “live from death row”. This is a letter directly written from Tookie Williams about his life and beliefs. He initially states that he is innocent and that he is in a race against time to indeed prove his innocence. He then goes on to talk about what a “hellhole” he is placed in and how The death penalty is just a way of making racism and prejudice legal. The death penalty is just a way to make it legal to kill black and poor people he states. What about the facts of reasoning for a person to be put up against the death penalty, because of them committing murder or heinous crimes themselves. Why is it I ask that every person who is sentenced to the death penalty act as though they are a victim in some shape or form? They act as though they never did anything wrong to get to that point. Of all people Tookie should know that on the street if this crime were to be committed between gangs that the result would be the same. If one of his gang members were to be murdered by another gang member, Tookie’s gang would go after and murder the person whom killed his associate. Now I ask you if that in fact were the case would there be the argument of the crime being committed solely because of racism and prejudice? I think not. He as well as all of our society has choices as to what they do and do not do. He chose to kill people and organize crime. He did not have to do that. No one forced him to commit the acts that he did. If this were fifty years ago I might agree with his beliefs and why he thinks that this happened to him. But it’s not fifty years ago, and our America has changed a great deal. America definitely has a lot more to work on but we are not as we were before. The day is now, and today obviously the public whom voted on this
Sarah Bellomo
Tookie Williams
execution felt that race and prejudice was not the matter, which designated his death. If we were to condone his acts and let him get away with what he did we mine as well let other people get away with terrorism and let their warrior like spirits express themselves and kill people because we don’t have any associations to lead them in a better way of life. I apologize for my sarcasm but I feel that this is a serious issue that we face in so many more ways than this alone. Executing Tookie was America standing up for itself in my eyes. Standing up and saying that everyone is equal, we should all be equally safe in our communities, and we are not free to organize murders of people on the streets without due cause. Everything happens for a reason. I believe that their reason for executing Tookie was exactly opposite of what he and his associates stated, that’s why they had to do it. They didn’t have a choice.
October 2, 2006 at 4:31 am
Shalome Atkinson
Tookie Williams
10/1/06
isisonafullmoon@hotmail.com
Human 6 ONLINE
Sadly enough, I was not at all interested in this case until this class. I heard the
media reponses when it was big deal, close to his execution. My own conclusions at that time
were one of a uneducated person on the case. I still am on the fence with the death penalty
however, when this case surfaced media wise I truly believed that he should have died for
the crimes. I have a real low tolorence for gang violence (any not just cripsand bloods but,
all kkk, north side etc.) Therefore when I am looking at the man who co created a major gang
operation I find it hard to sypathize for him. the fact that he changed his life and was
doing all this fabulous things for “his” community before his death for, me it does not erase
the fear, hatered, the demands, the killing, the showing of others how to live this life!
Yes there is evidence that is was reformed and that may be very true. he may
not have killed those 4 people but, people learned behaviors of the crip lifstyle from him.
I dont know that we ever know if a person is reformed. For myself for today I can say I
am reformed but, I can only go day by day. So sad that he was executed? Yes, but
sad that all those lives that followed in his foot steps? Absolutley! And it will continue
for years and years. Why is manson still alive? Who the heck knows. Should he be?
well absolutley if you are gonna have capital punishment you might as well be consistent
with it. Manson may a lot freaker that Williams however probably resposible indirectly
and directly for more murders than manson. Dont get me he wrong the site of manson
makes me cringe. And for sure I believe that Tookie had a far bettter heart in th eend than
manson would ever have.
Listening to his memorial was real and raw. It took him six years of soiltary
confinment to reach the reality of what he had done. And to hear that he told one
man he did not do those murders but he deserved to be there made me think
ok this man does have a grasp on who he was and that Karma was there to kick him
and let him know this was unexceptable. The fact that he could have crips and bloods
in the same room was awesome! In one of his readings from his childrens books says
something like being in prison homesick is no burden a child should carry touched me.
In his letter that barbra read about how the people that were about to kill him he
would except no food, traquilzers etc. from them. It Sounded a bit hateful to me.
But clearly making a statement. The out poor of the people that believed in him was
encouraging Snoops poem was amazing that made me shed a tear for Tookie.
Sadly enough reading that his execution was wrongly with not being able
to locate a vien .. That to me is creepy and sad that this man is lying there waiting to die
and they are jackin him around! URG! That is enraging. To put myself in his
shoes of lying there I would want it to be a sure thing the first time . Enraging as the
fact that blacks seem to get the shaft when it comes to the death penalty. Mostly
cause of funds and the right handling of their cases. That is crap! But bet your bottom
dollar it will continue. what about Ole Govener Arnold what an uneducated imbosile
to say that because tookie did not say sorry that ment he was not reformed. Hey
actions speak louder than words that is for darn sure! I dont think he had to say sorry to
know he was sorry.
In my closing a short sentence. I wish I would have learned more about
Tookies case but, it is never to late. And it may very well set me on my way to
my beliefs about the death penalty Oh yes and the article by Dhoruba al-Mujahid
Bin-wahad that was just very disturbing to me it did more damage for my thought
process that good
October 2, 2006 at 4:40 am
Jereme Robinson page 1
Stanley Tookie Williams
September 29, 2006
Preludekid212@aol.com
Human 6 – Section 1395
Stanley Tookie Williams was born on December 29th, 1953 in a hardcore neighborhood in south central Las Angeles California. Tookie was not a nickname for him as people thought; it was his middle name that his mom gave to him when his father was killed. Tookie lived a rough childhood in south central L.A. with violence always surrounding him. Williams and fellow teen friend Raymond Washington helped create the Los Angeles street gang known as the Crips in the late 1960’s at the age of 16. The Crips gang grew in power throughout the 1970’s and became known as one of America’s most violent street gang. Williams’s childhood friend Raymond was murdered by a rival street gang in Los Angeles, which provoked Tookie in creating more violence and becoming more aggressive to other street gangs. In 1981, Williams was convicted and sentence to death for four murders committed during two separate robberies in 1979. Williams’s bad behavior and continuing violence in prison led to more than six years in solitary confinement. William also went thought 3 state prison before he found his new home at San Quentin. During Williams six years in confinement he realized the error of his ways and pledged to warn others about the downside of the gangster lifestyle. He wrote several books while in prison, including the Tookie Speaks out against Gang Violence book series for children, and a 2005 memoir, Blue Rage and Black Redemption. Williams went through many appeals before his last one on October 11th, 2005 which was denied and sentence to death in December of 2005. Stanley Tookie Williams was put to death by lethal injection just after midnight on December 13th, 2005 at San Quentin State Prison.
Jereme Robinson page 2
Stanley Tookie Williams
Celebrities from Hip-Hop star Snoop Dogg to motivational speaker Tony Robbins attended Williams funeral, which drew hundreds of people to the violent area where Williams founded the murderous Crips gang. Snoop Dogg recited a poem, “Until We Meet Again,” in which he referred to the execution. Snoop Dogg stoke mostly about how Tookie was innocent and what Tookie did for children and young gang member. Snoop said, “Its nine-fifteen on twelve-thirteen and another black king will be taken from the scene.” Later in Snoop Dogg’s speech he said, “I don’t believe Stan Did it,” which drew a wild applause in the Parking lot where about 20 to 30 Crips gang member wearing all blue watch the funeral and flashed gang hand signs. Rev. Jesse Jackson also attended the funeral and was a guest speaker. Jackson spent most of his time speaking against capital punishment and speaking for a great length about why capital punishment in not against the law andinhumane. Rev. Jackson said one comment during the funeral which I found appealing, “Tookie is dead. We’re not safer, we’re not more secure, we’re not more humane.” I believe that Rev. Jackson meant that with Williams dead our world isn’t safer because he was already in prison and we aren’t more humane because Williams took 4 life’s and then we go and take his life. Of the faces in the crowed of the funeral there were other celebrities there to support and remember the life of Tookie Williams.
The article, Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism, really made me upset to read and was hard for to even finish. I hate the racist card that everyone tries to pull. People think of America as white people and no other race so when an African-American gets punished for wrong doing it is racist. This has a relationship to Foucault as he talks about in his articles the racism that occurred in the prison system. He also talks about how there are more Black on death row then there are whites. I truly believe that the color of someone skin has nothing to do with what happens to them in court. For me working in the law enforcement field I treat everyone the same and it doesn’t matter what color you are, if you commit the crime, you will do the time.
October 2, 2006 at 4:44 am
Ben Basque
9/30/06
Human 6 1395
Tookie Williams #6
I started this assignment by reading Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism. Dhoruba al- mujahid bin –wahad has a very one sided view of being black and American. I can see where some of it comes from, but I feel that it is missing the bigger picture. Bin-wahad states “there is not one legal or “constitutional” right African people have in America that white folks don’t have the veto over”.(Tookie Williams & Black Nationalism) (4) This statement is true, but I feel that it is not just a black/white issue and buy trying to make it that simple it looses it’s credibility.
The issue for me is really politics and who is in the majority. I believe that there is a right wing, ultra conservative political structure that is afraid of “anything/one” that is different than what they know. I have many naiveté’s about our judicial system, but politics and politicians I have a great distrust for. I don’t care what color they are, I believe that politics lead even strong moral people to become dishonest and self-serving. I don’t see a whole lot of difference between any of the political parties except for their election propaganda. When we vote we are trying to vote for the lesser of the evils. We are not necessarily voting for a good choice, just a better choice.
Ai-mujahid bin-wahad missed the mark. Tookie Williams’s execution was not just about color, it was about power. Yes, color plays a part in this, poverty, education and fear of change also plays a part in this execution.
Tookie Williams was villianized by some of the press and he was made a hero by others. From what I can tell, he was just a man, a man who made some horrible choices. Through growth, maturity and education he made positive changes in himself. “I’ve lived a pathetic life, and I believe it was education that helped me to change. It was through education that I was able to create common sense and use reasoning. And it was through this that I developed a conscience that led to redemption.” (Gangs and Self Esteem: Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence)
I can’t debate his guilt or innocence regarding the murders because only Williams, the victims and God really know what happened. I am going to focus on his crime of being a gangster. This is not in dispute; he admits it and regrets it. (www.survivingthesystem.com/williams)
Tookie Williams grew up in a rough part of East L.A. at time when he was small he was victimized. He states in his speech from the funeral that you “can be the victim or the victimizer.” At age 17 he was clearly no longer the victim, he founded the gang the “crips”. “it was initially started to eliminate all street gangs and create a “bull force”
Ben Basque
Human 6
Pg. 2
neighborhood watch…..I thought I could cleanse the neighborhood of all these, you know, .marauding gangs. I was totally wrong; we morphed into the monster we were
addressing.” (Wikipedia.org) Tookie Williams did not have age or education to use the reasoning of “two wrongs don’t make aright”, but it is still impressive that someone so young could have so much power and influence e over other people. Yes, it was a miss use of power and influence; I can only imagine what a good role model he could have been, had he made different and better choices.
The speakers at the funeral talked about youth gaining power from education and Tookie Williams himself said to incarcerated youth” I suggest that you strive to educate and discipline your mind. If you get access to a library, read every relevant book that you can get your hands on. Educate yourselves about history, world religions, math, English spirituality and your culture.” (www.tookie.com/letter). This is not just a “black” issue it is an issue of poverty. Yes, more people of color live in poverty, not just blacks. With poverty you have a lack of education and with out education you have a sense of hopelessness. “ I am confident enough to say to all of you today that if the death penalty is objectively investigated, it will be exposed for what it is, a racist, inhumane and disproportionately allocated system used primarily for poor people. I don’t know about any of you, but personally, I can’t name one millionaire or billionaire on death row. Can you?” (www.survivingthesystem.com/williams)
I will not say that the death penalty is not racist, but it is a bigger issue than race. I think that the racism started far earlier than our judicial system. The judicial system and ultimately the death penalty are the end of the line with the racism. The racism in this country is not just about black and white it goes even farther back than before slavery. The white colonials oppressed the Native Americans and still do. The racism in this country is about anyone who is different than the majority. Caucasians hold the “power” in our government because they are the ones whole originally set the rules. As income and education of people of color raises, so does their influence in the government.
I believe that Manson and Williams earned the same punishment, Manson was sentenced to death, but he “dodged the bullet” when the Supreme Courts declared the California Death Penalty unconstitutional. Williams was sentenced to death because of timing. California needs to abolish all executions and start reforming the application on laws and punishments so that they are equally applied.
I feel that Williams’s messages to the youth about gang life and the need to better themselves carried a huge impact for change and I hope that his message will continue to spread and not lose momentum.
Ben Basque
Human 6
Tookie Williams
Pg. 3
Governor Schwarzenegger’s denial of clemency for Williams was based on his belief that Williams did not redeem himself. I believe that he has. He acknowledged that he deserved to be incarcerated for horrendous crimes and he worked hard to get a message for change across to people. Yes, he was an angry young man, but he came to terms with whom and what he was as Williams said “redemption is tailor-made for the wretched, and that’s what I used to be……..that is what I want the world to remember me. That is how I would like my legacy to be remembered: as a redemptive transition, something that I believe is not exclusive just for the so called sanctimonious, the elitist. It is not predicated on color or one’s religious background, it’s accessible for everybody.” (www.wikipedia.org/stanley_willims)
October 2, 2006 at 4:44 am
Dina – yeah that that same quote when i was watching the film really caught my attention. I have never heard that statement but when you analyze it and see what Rev. Jackson meant it really does make sense. I am for the death penalty but at this statement I looked at the other side and I see where he is coming from.
October 2, 2006 at 4:49 am
Todd – I agree with what you are saying about Jana’s Statement. I believe as well he meant to turn all the small gangs into one big Crips gang where he would have power of everyone. I also really don’t by what he is saying as well…..I mean come on a peaceful gang in south central L.A. everyone knows that’s impossible. I truly think that Tookie knew exactly what he was starting when he started the Crips gang.
October 2, 2006 at 4:50 am
Dina,
I think that Williams was claerly sorry for the violence, pain and suffering that he caused people. I think that he started out a very angry young man who was not willing to take responsibilty for his actions and that over time he was able to see that violence only brought more violence. I believe that he was sincere in his desire to make change from the vitimizer of others to a peaceful, loving individual.
October 2, 2006 at 4:54 am
In terms of a peaceful gang, it does seem an oxymoron, but the Panthers original goal was to help the underserved, they started the free food programs for kids that is now run by the US governement, so if he was using the Panthers as his model I can see how he could start by thinking good and having it all go bad, remember he was a kid when he founded the crips, not the time when you have a world of knowledge about action and reactions.
October 2, 2006 at 5:34 am
Missy Cook
Tookie Williams
Oct 1, 2006
eskimomissy@comcast.net
Human 6 1395
Before this assignment Tookie Williams was a name that I heard briefly before. I heard his name when Snoop Dog was protesting at Tookie’s execution. I didn’t know why Tookie was on death row or any information about him. After doing some research and watching the memorial service on the internet I am a little overwhelmed. I feel as if my eyes and mind are being opened a little more with each assignment in this class.
I first read the Tookie Williams and Black Nationalism article by Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad who had a lot of strong opinions. I read the article once, watched the memorial service, did some research and read the article again. After all this, I have to agree and disagree with some statements in the article. Bin-Wahad starts the article by stating that “Tookie Williams was a product of the African experience in racist America.” He then states that “there are scores of born again Negroes out there who don’t believe that the nation-state of America is their enemy, but history and recent events emphatically substantiate the racist character and morality of America.” I do believe that Tookie may have not seen any other way to survive at the time he started the Crips. He lived in South Central Los Angles and was surrounded by violence and poverty. To him turning to a gang was survival. I however do not believe that the nation-state of America is anyone’s enemy. I grew up poor and in a neighborhood with many nationalities. I am half Eskimo and half white, and I was never taught that there were people better than me or that I was better than anyone else. To me we are all equal. To me the enemy is more the fact of being poor and not being able to afford the education that can better your life and the generations of life after you. I feel fortunate to be a full time student in college and receiving the education that I am receiving. I know that if I work hard enough that I will graduate and receive my certificate and diploma and have a good job to help support my family and have a decent way of life.
The memorial service was very moving. There were many great speakers and even though it was long, I wanted to watch more and hear what they had to say. I was glad that I had done some research before watching the service so I knew a little about some of the speakers and about Tookie Williams before hand. What I got out of the memorial service that I didn’t get out of the article was the difference in Tookie’s life and how he really became a changed man in prison. He did a complete turn around. He wrote 9 children books and the Peace Protocol, both projects trying to stop gangs and promote peace instead. In the end Tookie life was all about peace and spreading the love.
It seems very wrong to me that Tookie Williams was executed. Especially since the evidence used to convict him was later found out to be tainted. According to one internet source there was physical evidence but none pointed to Stanly Tookie Williams. There were finger prints at the crime scene, but not Tookie’s. There was a bloody footprint, that wasn’t his. The shot gun that was used was registered to Tookie five years earlier and was found under the bed of two people. These two people were also under investigation of murder but never convicted and the murder investigation was dropped after they testified that Tookie “volunteered” a confession to them of the crimes. The star witness was later found out to be a paid police informant. He was a white man on death row who was given a copy of the police murder file to study overnight then testified at Tookie’s court hearings against him and also testified that Tookie “volunteered” a confession. In return for his testimony he was given a lesser sentence that allowed a possibility of parole and freedom. It seemed as if there was and is a bigger force at work here that put Tookie to death. Especially when people like Charles Manson are still sitting on death row, who is a known murder not presumed as Tookie was. I guess I just feel sad that Tookie really was a changed man who did not get the justice he deserved. I’m not saying he should have been a free man but simply allowed to live. Especially since his message in the end was about stopping the violence and spreading the love. It is stated in many of the articles that he has helped save over 150,000 youth by his message. I hope that it will continue and reach many more.
October 2, 2006 at 5:34 am
Dawn Rash
Tookie Williams
September 28, 2006
Dawnkrash@hotmail.com
Humanities 6 online
I have been sitting here starring at this empty screen for about ten minutes. I have watched the funeral of Tookie Williams and read numerous articles on the Internet over the past few days. I feel quite overwhelmed by emotions from all of the information that I am trying to process. I have a great sense of sadness that the system of justice failed in the case of Tookie Williams. I don’t condone any acts of violence committed by anyone, but Tookie Williams clearly turned his life around and did not deserve to die in my opinion. His positive contribution to society earned his right to live. Manson on the other hand is a mystery to me. Why is that man still alive? I have not researched this subject because frankly I get sick to my stomach just thinking about him. Is Manson protected under some sort of mental health law? I know that he is incarcerated in Vacaville rather than a state prison.
I don’t understand how being faced with thousands of letters and movements geared to spare Tookie’s life that the Governor could have denied clemency. The public was shouting their views and opinions and they were ignored. It’s a sad state of affairs when a man voted in by the public doesn’t act on public opinion. I agree with Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad when he asks “defies Who’s reason?” in response to Scharzenegger’s reason for denying clemency to Tookie.. I don’t feel that justice is served by giving one man the power to make the decision of another person’s life. That’s is giving too much power to one person who will be naturally biased by his or her own life experience. In this case the governor heaped a huge helping of oppression on inner city youth by sending the message that redemption counts for nothing. The governor counteracted all of the good that Tookie was
Dawn Rash-Tookie Williams
trying to promote in these communities filled with destruction. That is power. In an article written in a San Francisco newspaper, one man posed the question, “Who’s going to stop the killing now?” In reading the many articles surrounding Tookie’s execution, there were people who believed an eye for an eye theory, but the majority of people voiced the opinion that execution was wrong in this case.
While all of the speakers at Tookie’s funeral were passionate and full of praise for his dedication to public service and ability to transform himself while in prison, I was most affected by Tookie’s own words. Tookie said that his transition and redemption began with himself and that he had to determine whether he would be man or beast. He chose to refuse animalistic behavior in his treatment of others or accept that treatment himself. He battled his demons and triumphed. He believed in education and peace. He also believed that his soul could not die. His final words were of forgiveness and that redemption and faith in God sustains him. The most important thing was that he was no longer a man of war, that he would die a man of peace. This is clearly not the same person who viewed life as two choices, victim or victimizer. Knowing full well that his supporters would react with rage to his execution, he asked for people to refrain from killing or being killed in his name. I feel that this man achieved and surpassed the goals of rehabilitation that the prison system is supposed to be trying to promote. In my opinion, nothing was gained by executing Tookie Williams. I think that in the opinion of power, removing a positive role model and leader for the people in oppressed situations is a great triumph in maintaining power and public manipulation. The governor could have sent the message that redemption is rewarded and valued, but he chose to execute his power instead. This is crushing
Dawn Rash-Tookie Williams
to people who have little hope as it is. Had Tookie been granted clemency, his work and positive influence would have continued from a jail cell, not in a state of freedom.
October 2, 2006 at 5:41 am
Diana- I also wrote down that same quote from Rev. Jesse Jackson. It is a very powerful statement. With Tookie dead, we are not safer, we are not more secure, we are not more humane. How can his death or anyone else’s for that matter better us? Before this class I was pro- death penalty. I am slowly chaning my mind.
October 2, 2006 at 5:43 am
I find it very hard to relate the Black Panthers to any gang. They were educated and had more political affairs. They spoke for themselves against government. This I think has nothing to do with gangs now days. They are considered the same grouping of outspoken minds, but one has a goal for righteousness the other distruction.
October 2, 2006 at 6:04 am
Ryan I totally agree with you as far as the actual groups are concerned and the intentions of both. Also I have a tatoo of a black panther on my stomach and did research on the meaning of the cat before I got it. It refers most to the female black cat that is dangerously protective over her offspring. I think that in a a way the crips are dangerously protective over their “Brothers.”
October 2, 2006 at 9:35 am
Anita Vanderberg
Week 5: Tookie Williams
Sunday – October 1, 2006
Anita_Vanderberg@comcast.net
ONLINE Section 1395, Fall 2006
Stanley Tookie Williams/Black Nationalism and Funeral
I guess for me one of the most important statements was made by Rev. Jesse Jackson, “Tookie is dead, we’re not safer, we’re not more secure, we’re not more humane. We must kill the idea of killing to stop killing.” The message this hopefully gave to those who came to pay respects was to leave with peace in their hearts and continue Williams’ legacy.
A baby boy is born on Dec. 29, 1953 in New Orleans Charity Hospital. He is named Stanley Tookie Williams III and his mother is a 17-year-old girl and his father will desert the family before Williams’ turns one year old. A harsh life lay ahead and at the age of 13 the tough street life had lead him to co-found the “Crips” street gang.
What makes a young man angry? I cannot help but think that if we addressed the damaging factors in a childhood we could prevent so much of the hatred and sorrow in our world. Was there ever a police officers that saw Tookie at age ten and made an effort to see if he was okay? Did anyone bother to help a young mother at 17 years old raise this baby, help her get an education and make sure she was given the right to have her child live in a safe environment. Probably not!
Tookie was strong and fierce and a product of “our” society. Instead of offering a life to him to achieve, we put groups of people in poverty and expect that they will kill each other and quietly go away. It is like in prison the goal is to have the prisoners fight each other so that the focus is off the guards. If you create a monster, one must consider that they will come after you or your loved ones any given day.
Was Mr. Williams guilty or innocent of the four murders? It is hard to consider him guilty beyond reasonable doubt due to lack of fingerprints, tangible evidence, bloody boot prints and I guess my attitude goes along with the thoughts of this blog on http://smokingmirrors.blogspot.com/2005/12/quo-vadis-tookie-williams.html . “The question you have to ask yourself is, “Would the head of what came to be the largest, most organized gang in the United States really go out and small time murder for chump change? If you asked me, “Did the LA police department set him up based on the rational that he’s guilty of it somewhere?” I would have to say; “That seems the most likely scenario.”
Anita Vanderberg
Week 5: Tookie Williams
A long time ago a friend of mine said to me in regards to the police in New York City, “you don’t need to worry about what they will take out of your car, it is what they will put into your vehicle.” I had many friends who were detectives and police officers and I still feel like I can see both sides of the street. There are good and bad people everywhere, and some misinformed souls.
As a person who has lost a loved one to violence, I feel that if the dark hearted man who took away something so precious to me, the opportunity for me or my children to ever spend five minutes with my father or their grandfather, I would rather he find some positive way to redeem himself than have someone murder him. What better way than to reach out to children who are suffering the same poverty, lack of education, lack of opportunities, daily fear in their neighborhoods, and show them a different path.
If Mr. Williams was nominated for the Nobel Peach Prize each year from 2001 to 2005 that surely must give some merits to display value in this mans life. Can we return life once taken, of course not, but it is better to not have died in vain. If a man who lived with such violence can perchance make an effort to teach others a better way to live, what do we as a society gain by killing him?
A description by Rudy Langlais, the producer of the film “Redemption”, the story of Mr. Williams life, of his visit with the former Crip on his last day. He found him with his hands and feet shackled and a chain, which bolted him to a chair. It seems to me that this would be cruel and unusual punishment. What is the point? The truth I see is as Farrakhan had said, “They saw in Stanley Tookie Williams a potential threat, strong, muscular, fierce, a warrior. He will be greater in death than he ever was in life. He paid a price, not just for his redemption, but for ours.” If he had not died, I would not be reading this or have had the opportunity to be in this class. If enough people begin to see the injustice of the system EVENTUALLY a change will occur.
I thought a comment by Malik Spellman of the LA Weekly was pretty demented. It was that “It’s kind of a shame the most popular thing to do in Los Angeles on a Monday night is not watching NFL football but going to a mortuary.” Football is a very frivolous past time and really does not belong in the same sentence with someone’s death in my opinion.
I understand that Schwarzenegger is pretty solid on the attitude that if someone has been convicted of a crime there is no redemption. From a man who is actually a drug addict and abuser from his days as a body builder I find this intriguing. He could have just as easily found himself behind bars in his youth in the world today.
Anita Vanderberg
Week 5: Tookie Williams
I was happy to find Sister Helen Prejean present who compared his death penalty to “gang justice.” As she so aptly phrased it “Gang justice is, if you kill a member of our gang, we kill you — and don’t tell me anything about how you changed your life or what you’re going to do,” she said. “You kill, and we kill you. And that’s what the United States of America is doing with this.”
I totally see a correlation between racism, lynching and the destruction of the young black, Latino male. However it is we decide to destroy a human life by, the greater odds are that poor uneducated men are at risk. I so appreciate the fact that Dhouruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad notes “thanks to The Patriot Act even white citizens are potential criminals before they are law abiding citizens.” I think we all need to “feel” the danger of uncertainty, to realize that police are not our friends anymore per se. As a 50-year-old woman who has lived in several different states and for the first time ever, I have distrust of my local police department. The manner in which they appear to be trained seems to fall into the Nazi mindset and that just sets off an alarm that should ring loud. How must a young poor black or Latino teenager feel?
October 3, 2006 at 9:05 am
Sarah – I agree with most of what you said about Stanley Williams’ choosing to kill people and organize one of the bloodiest gangs ever. I know it’s easy for most people to say that he was tried, convicted and eventually killed because he was African-American but I don’t believe that’s true. Maybe it’s my law enforcement background coming to the forefront but I just can’t believe that he was convicted solely because of his skin color. I have to go with evidence and witness accounts. I know that America has its problems and that even today we are a country teeming with racists – but it’s not just white against black or white against hispanic. Racism is everywhere – even among people of the same race.
October 3, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Missy:
“It seems very wrong to me that Tookie Williams was executed. Especially since the evidence used to convict him was later found out to be tainted. According to one internet source there was physical evidence but none pointed to Stanly Tookie Williams. There were finger prints at the crime scene, but not Tookie’s. There was a bloody footprint, that wasn’t his.”
I felt that Tookie was not executed based on his crimes that he committed. It seemed to me the State of California was using their power to bring him down, make an example of him. I wonder if he would still be on death row had he not been the Crips Co-Founder.
October 4, 2006 at 1:58 am
Jane dant
I wanted to thank you for the web sites you provided they helped me out alot
shalome
October 4, 2006 at 2:02 am
Anita
What struck me immeditely about your paper was your first paragragh stating I guess for me one of the most important statements was made by Rev. Jesse Jackson, “Tookie is dead, we’re not safer, we’re not more secure, we’re not more humane. We must kill the idea of killing to stop killing.” This is so true and I totally over looked that in my paper and research and my thought also I saw the same video and read the same material but it did not affect me like that until you said it again and also how you hoped that the message was held and carried out by those who came to morn him. Nice pointing that out to me thanks!
shalome
October 5, 2006 at 8:35 am
Desire Black
Tookie Williams
10/4/06
Section 1395
Foucault said that “people know what they do, but that they don’t know what they do do does”. In the case of Stanley Tookie Williams, he did not know that cofounding the Crips gang would cause so much pain. He didn’t know the consequences of his actions would be so widespread and deadly. He created the gang from a sense of disconnection with society and the need for family, protection, and acceptance. He also tried to change the ways of his past by setting a new example for people to follow; through love and self discipline. I thought it was so interesting that in his letters and writings he didn’t single out blacks as being his audience; he was talking to everyone when he wrote. He was not treated equally, but he treated others equally.
Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin-Wahad states in his comments that Tookie Williams should have been judged and punish by African-America. But that the African- American community couldn’t because it is “incapable of holding its citizens accountable.” He chooses to blame the lack of an institution that can take in young black people and move them in the positive direction. He has many complaints, but no solutions. One by one, he belittles the efforts of the black communities and excuses the actions of misguided blacks because they have no other alternative. Making your own perfect little society does not count for a resolution to the massive worldwide problem with gangs and violence. Tookie Williams was once a major contributor to the terrible violence in our country by founding the Crips, but he conceived a new attainable solution. He gave communities a way to come together through his Protocol for Peace. Williams wrote to young people in a powerful way that was easy to understand, but moved the soul. He tried to show the youth that they do have choices through his Letters to Incarcerated Youth.
He maintained his innocence even through the toughest trials of his faith. What kind of world do we live in that can allow calculated cold-blooded evil killers to live because they confess and men that do so much good after being wrongly convicted to be killed because they will not confess. It is the right of Tookie’s will to be free in spirit that the governor wanted to take. It is so painful that the governor could not look into the case one time to see that Williams was so blatantly framed. Even if we were not to look at what Williams may have done in the past; he has certainly proved that he can be a productive part of society through his writings. People cannot change what has already happened, but they can change what happens in the future and Tookie was doing what he could to ensure a better future.
He lived in another lifetime. I once lived in Woodbridge, VA, near D.C. the school I went to had almost four thousand kids, mostly black. But, out of all my AP classes, only government had a black student. I didn’t see that this as important then; I was from a small community of white retirees and loving family that didn’t see race as important to individuality. But I was shocked at the racism of my fellow classmates; I couldn’t believe some of the jokes they told, being from Northern California, I never dealt with racism as applied to blacks. I saw them as equal like any other person, so it hurts me so deeply that it still exists the way it does.
Reading Tookie’s writings on ending the cycle of violence and seeing the affect he has had on others shows me that he truly did deserve to live. The question that I am asking myself is did he deserve what happened to him. He did say that he belonged in prison, but not for the crimes he was convicted of committing. He believed that karma was occurring to him, he was getting what he deserved by being in prison. I also believe in karma, what you do will come back to you. However I do not believe that the government should be the judge of who gets what kind of karma. I think that Tookie Williams was killed unjustly and he did not deserve what happened to him. It is painfully obvious that our system is racist; similar crimes are not treated equally between the races. Charles Manson is a blatant example of such bias. He committed far greater evil than Tookie and he is still alive with no remorse for his crimes. Prison is supposed to be a type of rehabilitation, Tookie had made great efforts in trying to reform, himself and society for the better. Capital punishment is supposed to be a deterrent for others not to commit crimes, but when the government kills men that have taken an honest change in their hearts, it means that there is no mercy in this world and that vengeance and violence are the only effective methods of survival.
October 5, 2006 at 8:53 am
Dina: I really liked your point that Tookie was trying to redeem himself after being “caught” and the question of would he have made this transformation on his own, not in solitary confinement. But I think that his death should have been a result of his actually committing the crimes he was convicted of and not what he was not convicted of.
October 5, 2006 at 5:41 pm
Anna Johnson
September 30, 2006
Human 6 Section 1395
Stanley Tookie Williams
Dhoruba al-Mujahid Bin Wahad’s statements in The Ethics of Black Atonement in Racist America: The Execution of Stanley Tookie Williams were quiet strong and prominent about the execution and Tookie’s influence on Black America. He brought up points about why gangs arose throughout America, what influences the government and Hollywood have on these gangs and the good Tookie could have done if he was spared his life. The point was made that “not one Black institution existed… none spoke the language nor harnessed the energies of our street soldiers.” Gangs became a way for black communities to keep power from the government’s racist actions on the communities. “Black families have been ruined by gang warfare, Black communities have also been occupied by police armies as well- cops who also believe they are the biggest and baddest gang in the ‘hood’ and act accordingly,” Wahad explains in his paper.
I was really affected by the point he made about our own Governor’s past and his manipulation from the characters he portrayed in movies. “The Governor of California in his Hollywood portrayal as the “terminator” and other violent monosyllabic killers is himself a role model for countless thugs, bandits and murders around the globe…” This shows that gangs are not simply the product of colored communities, rather a creation of our society as a whole. Tookie was a part of these gang wars but he was given the opportunity to turn his influence into something better. “If the African community in America hadn’t turned its back on it’s youth by failing to seize control of their own community, its institutions, its economics, and its cultural instruments of self-verification, Tookie Williams could have been another freedom fighter, rather that a redeemed thug who died at the hands of our enemy and their hypocritical system of democratic fascism.” Those are the words I felt summed up the paper and got Wahad’s intentions across. His discussion was very thoughtful and very opinionated about the situation occurring in colored communities all over America.
When Stanley Tookie Williams was set for execution, I didn’t know much about his life or his accomplishments behind bars. I had friends that went to the execution to protest the action but never understood the importance behind it. All I knew was the negative side of his actions; beginning the Crips Gang in Southern California and being convicted of four horrible murders during two robberies. I have done some research and learned that this case goes much deeper than what appears and it holds a huge significance to the issues involving race in this country.
It is hard to come to a clear decision over whether or not Tookie was the murderer in the two robberies. There is so much evidence that points in different directions and each side has there own strong opinions. The website Tookie.com claims that some of the physical evidence used for the case never pointed to Tookie. The finger prints at both crimes scenes and the bloody footprint were not Tookie’s and had never been identified. The gun was not his but a couple who testified against Tookie, and later their murder charges were dropped. It was also discovered that the “star” witness was a paid police
Anna Johnson
Human 6 Section 1395
Tookie Williams
informant. I want to believe that Tookie didn’t have anything to do with the murders but it hard for an outsider like me to make that call. I have decided that Tookie did deserve to be put behind bars for his involvement in gangs. It was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. Tookie could have very easily continued on his destructive path and cause more gang violence in the community and more destruction to himself. Instead, for a brief moment in time until his execution, his life was revived. He was given the opportunity to make a change in his life for the better, although behind bars, and he chose to do so while reaching out to other young girls and boys facing the same difficulties he did. His sentence of death, however, was not fit for the accomplishments and progress he made from his jail cell.
I think Tookie proved that he understood the trouble he brought upon himself and his community. He progressed towards educating himself and figured out that his exploits cause a lot of pain to the community. He wrote children’s book teaching the prevention of gangs and discussing the issues he faced when he began. He spoke out against his past and mentored schools and young children to avoid the causes and affects of gang life. The list goes on of how many good deeds he did for the youth of America after he was locked up. His death sentence was not appropriate was because of these changes. He did a great amount of work from behind bars and helped a lot of people. It is too hard to compare him to someone like Charles Manson. Manson has no regrets, no improvement, and no sanity. I saw a show called Disorderly Conduct in the Courtroom and sure enough, Manson was on the list. He is crazy. He has no right to be sitting here, alive, speaking of only things he could understand and having no remorse for his victims while men like Tookie are put to death. How can someone like Manson still be afforded his life while not doing any good for human kind, as Tookie was put to death after showing the world that his experiences and change could help so many? Tookie did make a difference when he was behind bars and now that work has been left up to the others who stood by him. They should have kept Tookie behind bars but allowed him his life to continue his redemption.
I watched a few newscast online recorded at the gates of San Quentin during the execution. Snoop spoke outside San Quentin State Prison, saying “his voice needs to be heard.” Jesse Jackson deeply believed in Williams’s integrity and honesty and prayed with him at San Quentin and told him “we are going to fight for you and we are going to win.”(vibe.com) The reporters rarely discussed the side of the opponents to the death of Tookie. Instead they spoke about the actions Tookie made in prison and the difference he was making in young black lives involved in gangs in America and around the world. They seemed to look at Tookie as a benefit to the communities in trouble. The funeral guests were of many supporters that felt Tookie’s execution was an assault on the progression ending racism on society. The rapper and ex-Crips member Snoop Doggy Dog was among the speakers whom maintained Tookie’s innocence stating, “If you’re black like me you are guilty until proven innocent, and furthermore I don’t believe Stan did it.”(sacunion.com) This was the tone for most of the speakers. The amazing loyalty and the miraculous turn out showed that this man should have been spared his life. For so many people to be talking about him and feel that his justice has not been fulfilled shows that the wrong decision was made by the Governor. Tookie’s story is very emotional and intriguing. I feel I have learned a great deal and I have a new look on the redemption of prisoners set on death row. The story is never as simple as it seems and Tookie is one of the few that really turned his situation around to try and better the hurt he cause to so many. Tookie was a good man after all and I believe he did deserve the right to live.
October 8, 2006 at 11:54 pm
Donna,
The point about Stanley Jr. convicted of killing a 20 year old girl struck me. I wonder why he only got 16 yrs? I find that most kids are too busy cutting the apron strings to always hear the message of their parents. Most of us learn the hard way. I bet he is listening now.
Ben,
While I agree with your point to abolish the death penalty until it can be equally inforced with solid evidence, I have to admit that I am still waiting to see Richard Allen Davis, “the nightstalker” Ramirez and Salcido, who killed two of his three daughter leaving the third to die executed. I would hate to see any of these men fall through the cracks ans Manson has.
I also agree with Todd that no amount of redemption can bring back the dead and fill the void in their families. It just seems that in the case of Tookie Williams, life in prison seemed like justice.
April 25, 2007 at 9:32 am
Thank You