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12/6/2005: A federal jury on Tuesday failed to return a single guilty verdict on any of the 51 criminal counts against former Florida professor, Sami Al-Arian and three co-defendants accused of helping to lead a Palestinian terrorist group. He remains in jail and awaits the decision of the prosecutors on whether or not to retry him on the deadlocked charges.

Until his arrest, Al-Arian was one of the most prominent Palestinian academics and activists in the United States. His indictment in 2003 was hailed by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft as one of the first triumphs of the Patriot Act. The prosecution took nearly five months to present its case, presenting hundreds of documents, including thousands of hours of wiretapped telephone calls, intercepted e-mails and faxes and bank records gathered over a decade. Al-Arian didn't call a single witness on his behalf. After months of prosecution "evidence", the sole response by Al-Arian's attorney was "On behalf of Dr. Al-Arian, the defense rests."

Democracy Now On The Acquital | Sami Al-Arian Acquitted | US court clears Sami al-Arian of terrorism
Previous Coverage: Free Sami Al-Arians | The Case of Sami al-Arian | End The Silence (video) | Alleged Islamic Jihad boss was Bush guest | Sami Al-Arian's side of the story in his own words (audio) | A.N.S.W.E.R. statement on the arrest of Al-Arian | Labor Video Project: Free Speech Silenced (video) | Sami Al-Arian at Berkeley Palestinian Solidarity Conference (Audio) | College staff find chilling free speech climate

The legal saga of Bich Cau Thi Tran ended last Tuesday with the announcement of a $1.8 million settlement of a federal lawsuit. Over two years ago, Tran, a petite 25 year-old Vietnamese woman, was shot and killed in her kitchen by a San Jose police officer. In exchange for the payment of the settlement to Tran's estate, all claims against officer Chad Marshall, former police chief William Lansdowne, then-assistant police chief Tom Wheatley, and current Chief Rob Davis will be dropped with no admissions of liability. The settlement was reportedly reached after two mediation conferences. The city council approved the $1.8 million payment Tuesday, The agreement had to then be submitted to U.S. District Court Judge James Ware for approval.

The settlement is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in Northern California. The payment was to include $800,000 that will be invested in an annuity for Tran's two sons; $200,000 for housing or to be used as a down payment for a home for the boys; $630,000 in attorney's fees; and money for Tran's parents and previous attorneys. Read more

Concern for Tragedy, or All Talk and No Walk by independent reporter Junya | Previous Indybay coverage of the Tran case

Updates to this story

The execution of Stanley Tookie Williams is scheduled to take place at 12:01am on Tuesday, December 13th. Supporters of Williams are denouncing Governor Schwarzenegger'sl denial of clemency, which would change the death sentence in this case to a sentence of life in prison. (Statement from Death Penalty Focus | Statement from Campaign to End the Death Penalty Attorneys for Williams are trying several other options to win a stay of execution. Late Sunday night, the California Supreme Court rejected Tookie's attorneys' request that they grant a stay of execution to examine several issues in the case.
A vigil at San Quentin began at 8:00pm on Monday and will last until Williams's execution has been carried out just after midnight. Directions to San Quentin and list of vigils statewide

Before the clemency decision was announced on December 12th, the Walk for Abolition of the Death Penalty began at the Palace of Legion of Honor in San Francisco at 7:00am. It ended at the gates of San Quentin Prison around 6pm, well after word of the decision had come out. Photos | Video Also on December 12th, a 4:00pm March for Tookie was held, going from the Mission Church in Santa Clara University to the Cathedral on Market Street in San Jose. An 8:30pm rally and vigil took place on San Francisco City Hall's Polk Street steps; people then proceeded by bus at 9PM to San Quentin Prison's East Gate, and will return by 1AM. A vigil was held in Fresno on Monday. Photos Vigils and events were also held in Sacramento, Tiburon, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Southern California, and all over the US. Details can be found on Savetookie.org 12/11 update from Campaign to End the Death Penalty. Read about more events on Indybay's California News Page

On December 8th, Governor Schwarzenegger held a clemency hearing for Stanley "Tookie" Williams with defense lawyers, Los Angeles County prosecutors and other involved parties. The Governor set a 30-minute time limit for each side to argue its position on clemency. He did not hold this type of meeting for either of the clemency petitions that he has rejected (those of Kevin Cooper and Donald Beardslee). The importance of this hearing grew this past week when the California Supreme Court refused a request by lawyers for Williams to reopen the case. The People's Clemency Hearing for Stanley Tookie Williams took place on the steps of the State Capitol Building in Sacramento at 10:00am on December 8th (note time change).

Snoop Dogg visited Williams at San Quentin on December 7th. Davey D's interview with Snoop from after the meeting.

There will be rallies and screenings in cities all over the country this week and next, including a screening of "Redemption" at the Long Haul on Saturday night. On December 11th, internationally-known anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean will speak at a 2:00pm ACLU event in San Francisco.

Democracy Now's Interview with Stanley Tookie Williams | Sparing the Crips Founder: The Fight to Save Stanley "Tookie" Williams, by Matt Gonzalez | SaveTookie.org | NCADP's Petition

November 30th was a Statewide Day of Action Against the Scheduled Executions, in conjunction with World Cities Against the Death Penalty Day. Rallies and Press Conferences were held in front of City Halls and other locations across the state of California and in over 300 cities across the world, calling for a halt to all executions. The cities of Santa Cruz, West Hollywood and Berkeley officially signed up as "Cities Against the Death Penalty" and commemorated the day by lighting up city monuments.

Local cities that held rallies on Wednesday, November 30th at 12pm included San Francisco ( Photos), Sacramento, Santa Cruz ( Photos), Woodland, and San Jose (at 200 East Santa Clara St, between 4th and 6th Streets). Rallies took place in San Rafael at 4:30pm at San Rafael Plaza, and in Fremont outside of Mission San Jose at 7:15am. "Redemption," the film about Tookie Williams, was screened that night at the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley. Angela Davis, Paul Ortiz, and Lance Lindsey, the Executive Director of Death Penalty Focus, spoke at a Forum on the Death Penalty and Stanley Williams that was held at UC Santa Cruz. Pacifica Radio programs such as Democracy Now (extended interview with Williams) and Against the Grain (11/29 show with Save Tookie organizers) featured coverage of Williams during this week. A panel discussion about the death penalty will be held at San Francisco State University at 7:30pm on Thursday, December 1st. "Redemption" will also be shown on Saturday, November 2nd, at 7pm in Palo Alto. On December 4th, "Redemption" will be shown at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco. Danny Glover, Barbara Becnel, and Kevin Epps will speak at the event. Many more events are planned for the remaining two weeks before the scheduled execution of Williams. More local events, from CEDP

Community of Sant'Ejidio's November 30th website | Death Penalty Focus

In two weeks, the Governor and top corrections officials will be revealing their plan for reforming California's abusive and costly youth prison system. Books not Bars says, "The solution is clear: close the youth prisons, starting with the most notorious one, Chad, and replace them with real rehabilitation centers and community programs." On Wednesday, November 16th, a statewide vigil was held at 6:00pm in several cities for the youth who are inside and all the youth who've been lost. The vigils honored youth and families and called on the Governor to take real action now.

In Oakland, the vigil gathered at 400 Broadway and then marched to the State Building. Photos In Sacramento, people gathered at the Sol Arts and Culture Collective for a screening of "System Failure: Violence, Abuse and Neglect in the California Youth Authority". In Fresno, people gathered at the Juvenile Court - 742 S. 10th Street to hear the testimony of a young man who was recently released from Chad. In San Jose, people gathered at the County Building at 70 West Hedding (near Juvenile Hall). Blanca Bosquez from Civil Rights for Children lead a program of speakers and performances. There were also vigils in Los Angeles.

Books Not Bars | Alternatives for Youth Campaign

Radical human rights attorney Lynne Stewart was convicted of helping terrorists. She faces 30 years in prison. Attorneys feel that her arrest was meant as a signal to the defense bar to cease and desist zealous representation of persons criminalized by the government. They say that "With this conviction, the U.S. government attempts to silence dissent, curtail vigorous defense lawyers, and install fear in those who would fight against the U.S. government's racism, seek to help Arabs and Muslims being prosecuted for free speech, and defend the rights of all oppressed people." Stewart's sentencing date will take place on December 22nd, at 9:30am. A 9:00am rally will be held before the sentencing, at Thomas Paine Park, Worth St and Centre in New York City.

The New College National Lawyers Guild Chapter will be holding a "Brown Bag Event" Thursday, November 17th from 12:30pm to 2:00pm at New College of California School of Law, at 50 Fell Street, Room 212 in San Francisco. Speakers will include Jeff Mackler, West Coast Coordinator of the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee and Luke Hiken, from the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild. They will address the constitutional issues that are raised by Stewart's case. Read more

Past Indybay Coverage of Lynne Stewart's Case | Justice for Lynne Stewart website | Flyer

December 3rd, 2005 was the first International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners. There were a number of events in the Bay Area and internationally during the week before and including that date. Filipino political prisoner Donato Continente suggested initiating an International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War as a way to challenge the globalization of repression. People in countries around the world including Palestine, the Philippines, Haiti, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, England, India, and the U.S. marked December 3rd with rallies, marches, and other forms of resistance.

There are tens of thousands of political prisoners held in prisons and jails around the world. The governments that incarcerate and criminalize them hope that the world outside will never know their names or learn why they really are in prison. The United States has some of the longest-held political prisoners in the world – women and men who were part of the American Indian Movement (AIM), the Black Panther Party, MOVE, the Puerto Rican Independence movement and the white anti-imperialist movement, who were fighting for self-determination and social justice in the sixties and seventies. Many were targets of the FBI’s COINTELPRO program which used assassination, disinformation, and frame-ups to crush people’s liberation movements and social dissent. CAPS points out that the same system that has kept these people in prison for over three decades criminalizes and incarcerates over 2 million people in the United States today.

The “Political Convictions: Liberating Political Prisoners” film festival took place on Monday, November 28th and Tuesday, November 29th at the New College of California Cultural Center in San Francisco. The film festival was also held on Wednesday, November 30th and Thursday, December 1st at Laney Community College in Oakland. Films shown on the different evenings included "Behind the Walls," excerpts from "All Power to the People," "Women in Struggle," and more.

There was a Day of Action on Friday, December 2nd at the Oakland Federal Building from 12pm to 2 pm. People hung banners over the 101 Freeway in San Francisco on Friday morning to remind commuters about the hundreds of political prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay for four years without charges. Photos A Day of Solidarity took place on Saturday, December 3rd at the First Unitarian Church in Oakland. This latter event included Kathleen Cleaver (former Black Panther) and Alicia Rodriguez (former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner.) Also on December 3rd, a video screening was held in Sacramento, at 5pm at SOL Collective - Arts & Cultural Center.

The week was sponsored by California Anarchist Prisoner Solidarity, the National Coalition to Free the Cuban Five, Club Knowledge - Laney College, and New College’s Activism and Social Change Program.

Read more about political prisoners and the International Day of Solidarity | California Anarchist Prisoner Solidarity | Bay Area Jericho Movement Statement