Feature Archives

Death Penalty Focus called for November 14th through 21st to be a Stanley Tookie Williams "Teach-In Week" for teachers, youth organizers, and youth ministries.

On November 18th, Cindy Sheehan, Peter Camejo, Barbara Becnel and Todd Chretien spoke at an event called Turning the Tide Against the War in Iraq and at Home, at UC Berkeley. Photos

A Save the Peacemaker Rally was held on Saturday, November 19th from 10am to 12pm at San Quentin in Marin. Hundreds of people attended. Speakers included rapper Snoop Dogg, Fred Hampton Jr., representatives of the Nation of Islam, religious forces, and grassroots anti-death penalty activists from across the California.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Enemy Combatant Radio provided a live broadcast of the rally.

One of Tookie's lawyers has filed a brief challenging evidence presented in the 1981 murder trial in hopes of postponing the scheduled execution. The 82-page document, which was filed with the California Supreme Court, attacks forensic firearms analysis presented by the prosecution, and suggests that faulty evidence led to Williams' convictions for killing in the three 1979 deaths for which he was convicted. Text of the brief

Stanley "Tookie" Williams has been sentenced by the state to die on Tuesday, December 13th at San Quentin State Prison. He has been nominated several times for Nobel Prizes in Peace & Literature -- for his anti-violence, anti-gang work and nearly a dozen intervention books about gang life. The film "Redemption" stars Jamie Foxx as Mr. Williams. At the premiere for his most recent film, Foxx was asked his reaction to the execution date. December 13th is Foxx's birthday. He is reportedly asking the Governor for a present: clemency for Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Supporters of Williams are asking people to write letters to the governor to request that he grant clemency and save Stanley "Tookie" Williams' life.
"Stop the Execution" PSA and Statement from Tookie

Death Penalty Focus is calling for November 14th through 21st to be a Stanley Tookie Williams "Teach-In Week" for teachers, youth organizers, and youth ministries. Topics that could be discussed during the teach-in week include: gangs, drugs, peer pressure, redemption, civic responsibility, forgiveness, rehabilitation and the death penalty. DPF has developed materials to assist you with the "Teach-in" including: a short biography of Stanley Williams, Stanley's protocol for peace, his apology for co-founding the Crips, his letters to youth, excerpts from his books and sample lesson plans on the death penalty. "Teach-in" materials (pdf) | Read more

Wednesday, November 30th will be "Cities Against the Death Penalty and Global Day of Action." Throughout the world, more than 100 cities will illuminate a symbolic monument as a demonstration of their opposition to the death penalty, including Santa Cruz, CA. Protests against the scheduled execution of Stanley Williams are being organized to coincide with this global day-of-action. Cities will include: Rome, Tokyo, Lyon, Brussels, Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Buenos Aires, Austin, Madrid, Dallas, Antwerp, Vienna, Naples, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Reggio Emilia, Bogotà, Santiago de Chile and more than 100 others. More information on how to involve other cities | More upcoming anti-death penalty events

Campaign to End the Death Penalty's November 30th Organizing tips | SaveTookie.org

CAPS (California Anarchist Prisoner Solidarity) organized a Night of Revolutionary Solidarity for Rob los Ricos. This benefit show was held on November 11th in the Hazmat warehouse in Oakland. Bands that were scheduled to play included: Myth of Progress (Oakland,Ca), All Systems Fail (SLC,Ut), Black Box (Santa Rosa, Ca), Sin Remedio (L.A., Ca), Paxane (Oakland, Ca), and The Last War (Sonoma, Ca). A benefit dinner was also held at the Long Haul on Sunday, November 13th.

Rob los Ricos (Rob Thaxton) is a Tejano Chicano anarchist man who was sentenced to over 7 years for throwing a rock at a police officer during the June 18, 1999 Reclaim the Streets celebration-turned-police-riot in Eugene, Oregon. November 11th through 13th were national Raise a Ruckus for Rob los Ricos days, with events held in many cities to raise funds for Rob's upcoming release, which is scheduled for late June, 2006. In Oregon, parolees are rerpotedly released with nothing but the prison garb on their backs. Other cities in which events will be held include Detroit, Michigan; Eugene and Portland, Oregon; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

November 11th is the anniversary of the day on which four anarchists were hung in Chicago in 1887. These men are often referred to as the "Haymarket Martyrs." These anarchists had been part of a movement to make May 1st International Workers' Day. After their deaths, the US moved Labor Day to the first Monday in September and depoliticized the event. Rob los Ricos wants to reclaim this as an anarchist festival day.

California Anarchist Prisoner Solidarity | Rob los Ricos: Anarchist Political Prisoner

A rally will be held at 12pm on Tuesday, November 1st in front of San Jose City Hall (200 E. Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA 95113) to protest delaying tactics by the City of San Jose in the case of the killing of Bich Cau Thi Tran. The City of San Jose has filed a Notice of Appeal in Tran v. City of San Jose. A trial date had originally been scheduled for November 1, 2005, and it was later rescheduled for December 2005. The delaying tactics by the City of San Jose may effectively deny the Tran family their day in court for 18 months to 2 years. Members of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, or CJA, demand that the City of San Jose negotiate in good faith with the attorneys for the Tran family and allow justice to be heard by agreeing to a trial date in December of this year. CJA formed in 2003 following the death of Ms. Tran and has advocated for justice in the Tran case and for changes in police practices. Read more

Past Indybay Coverage of the Bich Cau Thi Tran case

Saturday, October 22nd, 2005 was the 10th Annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. Police continue to brutally beat and kill people all over the United States, including in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. Muslim, Arab, and South Asian immigrants are still being arrested, detained, and deported. Every year, people wear black on October 22nd to remember people who have died at the hands of the police. The October 22nd Coalition is part of the Stolen Lives Project, which documents cases of people who have died at the hands of law enforcement, and it says that murder by police is increasing. The "Presente" tradition of October 22nd | List of endorsers for October 22nd, 2005

In San Jose, some 75 people gathered for a rally and march in Emma Prusch Farm Park. Photos The protest was held in San Jose because over a dozen people have been killed by law enforcement in Santa Clara County in the two years since Cau Bich Tran was fatally shot by the San Jose police in 2003. New Stolen Lives Wall panels were made to include many of the people who have died in the last several years.

In Fresno, a Vigil For Lives Stolen by Police in the Valley was held on Saturday at 5:30 pm, at the park in front of the Main Library. Photos: 1 | 2
On Sunday, October 23rd, a Civil Rights Cookout was held at the Idriss Stelley Foundation offices in San Francisco. Report
On October 22nd, a Copwatch conference San Diego was attended by nearly 100 people. In Los Angeles, over 300 people attended a march that was stalled by a bomb scare. At around 4:00, there was a conflict between demonstrators and the police. Two teenagers were arrested. March organizers said, "It is time to hold the murdering police accountable for the stolen lives of our loved ones! We must stand up against this system’s war on the people here in Los Angeles and all over the world! It is time to demand justice for all Stolen Lives!" There was also a march to the police department in Santa Ana. The march was met by police on horses. Report and Photos
In New York City, 100 people braved the rain forecast to carry on with the scheduled protest. Photos Many carried hand-drawn signs with photos of loved ones who had been killed by police.

Many other cities held October 22nd protests: Greensboro, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Washington, DC; Cleveland, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin were amongst them. Read more on the National October 22nd website

Past Indybay Coverage of October 22nd Protests

Juanita Young was found not guilty last month in Bronx Supreme Court by Judge P. Benitez after a four day trial that took place more than two years after the initial incident in question. Young is a well known and outspoken anti-police brutality activist who first came into the political spotlight after the police killing of her son, Malcolm Ferguson, in March 2000 in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Juanita has since been a member of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality and of the Justice Committee of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights.

In June of 2003, Juanita Young and her family were illegally evicted, and she and her children were left homeless for three months. At the time of her arrest, NYPD cop Hernandez told her, "No rallies for you today." Young was also manhandled and brutalized in the course of her illegal eviction and arrest and continues to suffer from those injuries sustained on that day over two years ago. In September of 2005, Judge Benitez declared that Juanita Young was not trespassing when she was arrested in her own home on the morning of June 7, 2003, in the eviction that had been engineered by her landlord and carried out by the NYPD. Members of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality had long held that the illegal eviction of Juanita Young was politically motivated one, and that it was directed at silencing dissent in the post-911 political climate. Juanita Young was represented by Geoffrey Stewart of the Stewart Law Offices. A victory dinner and legal fundraiser for Lynne Stewart and Geoff Stewart were held in New York on October 16th. Photos | Read more about the trial | Resistance: When is Enough Enough? by Juanita Young

Refuse and Resist Statement about 2002 police harassment of Young | New York October 22nd Coalition | Justice for Lynne Stewart website

Stanley "Tookie' Williams was convicted in 1981 of murdering four people during two robberies, and sentenced to San Quentin State Prison's death row. Although he was a founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles, he has said that he regrets his gang involvement. He also has said that he is innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted. No physical evidence pointed to Williams as a killer. He has been nominated for multiple Nobel Peace Prizes as a result of his writing of childrens' books.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Stanley "Tookie" Williams' appeal to investigate the racism and discrimination at the heart of the case, as well as Tookie's innocence issues. One issue highlighted the fact that the prosecutor in Tookie's original case removed all of the Black jurors from the jury, leaving an all-white jury to deliberate the case. During the trial, this prosecutor made racially-coded remarks during his closing argument, comparing Williams to a Bengal tiger in a zoo, and stating that a black community - South Central Los Angeles - was equivalent to the natural "habitat" of a Bengal Tiger. The California State Supreme Court had twice censured this prosecutor for discriminatory behavior. The all-white jurors may not have been the defendant's "peers," since Williams is African-American and the jurors may not have understood the challenges that people of color living in an oppressed neighborhood experience.

The Supreme Court's refusal to investigate racism in this case establishes as "case law" for the nation the right for prosecutors to exclude jurors on the basis of race and to denigrate minority defendants in front of all-white juries. Supporters of Williams feel that this ruling is a frontal attack on the civil rights of all Americans. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posited in 2002 that Tookie's prison writings, in which he renounces his former life as a gangster, could be grounds for the California governor to grant him clemency. Williams could be given an execution date as soon as January 2006. Clemency Petition

Campaign to End the Death Penalty is sponsoring a "Voices from Death Row" speaking tour. It includes Tookie's friend and advocate, Barbara Becnel, and there were events in San Francisco and Berkeley on October 11th, and in Los Angeles on October 29th. Read more The Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarians will be screening the movie "Redemption", which is about Tookie's life, on Friday, October 21st, at 7:00 pm, at 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita Ave. in Berkeley. The California Attorney General has set a December 13th execution date for Tookie Williams.

Read more about the October 11th decision | 9th Circuit Decision from February 2, 2005 | Past Indybay Coverage of the Williams Case | Tookie's Statement Against the Death Penalty | California Department of "Corrections and Rehabilitation"

Bay Area Police Watch reports that a 22 year-old man died early Wednesday morning on September 21st, in the custody of San Francisco police. Craig Holden of San Pablo was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after midnight at the Bayview Police Station where he was being held.

While he had been in custody, Holden had complained of trouble breathing and was treated at the station by paramedics at around 10:45 p.m., Tuesday. The paramedic crew left at 11 p.m., but was called back to the scene at 11:23 p.m., when police officers reportedly noticed Holden slumped on a bench "in distress". After they tried to revive him for more than 40 minutes, he was pronounced dead at 12:09 a.m. A police spokesperson later said that officers had had to "physically subdue" Holden because he had been resisting arrest, but he was not specific about the type of force that had been used.

At present, autopsy results have not been released and information about the specific circumstances of Holden's death remains vague. Bay Area Police Watch and the Idriss Stelley Foundation both have questions about the circumstances of Holden's death and are calling for an investigation. A Justice4CraigHolden yahoogroup has been formed to organize for justice for Craig Holden.

Bay Area Police Watch statement | Idriss Stelley Foundation statement