Stanley 'Tookie' Williams

Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, co-founder of the Crip street gang in LosAngeles, was executed in San Quentin Prison on December 13 just aftermidnight.By his own account, Williams co-founded the Crips street gang in LosAngeles. He was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death in 1981.Whatever Williams may or may not have done in the gang life, he hasmaintained his innocence in the case that sent him to Death Row--a casebased on circumstantial evidence and testimony by witnesses who were facingfelony charges including fraud, rape, murder, and mutilation. Even the 9thCircuit Court of Appeals admitted in a September 10, 2002 ruling that thewitnesses in Williams' case had incentives to lie in order to obtainleniency from the state in either charging or sentencing.There is an cruel, sick irony in the fact that Stanley Williams is facingexecution. By the system's own standards he has been a model prisoner. Hehas spoken out against gang violence, and written Tookie Speaks Out AgainstGang Violence--a series of eight books that are in schools, libraries, andjuvenile correctional facilities throughout the nation and around the world.The television movie starring Jamie Foxx, Redemption, was based on his life.Williams has received numerous awards including five nominations for theNobel Peace Prize.Williams played an important role in promoting the gang truce movement,which emerged especially out of the fires of the L.A. rebellion in 1992.When other gang leaders in Watts asked him to voice his support for the gangPeace Treaty in 1993, Williams sent a videotaped message upholding thetreaty to a gang summit.The U.S. just executed the 1,000th person since the Supreme Courtre-legalized the death penalty in 1976. A majority of people on Death Roware people of color--including 77% of all federal death row prisoners. Thedeath penalty in this society is a ruthless enforcement of oppression.California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger coldly and callously refused togrant him clemency, saying that the facts do not justify overturning thecourt decision. Even though Tookie Williams had changed and became a veryoutspoken advocate against gang violence and for peace. They showed him nomercy. But it is deeper than this. In a highly political statement,Schwarzenegger also said that Tookie Williams' 1998 book Life In Prison wasdedicated to people like Assata Shakur, Mumia Abu Jamal and particularlyBlack militant George Jackson which, according to Schwarzenegger, is asignificant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still seesviolence and lawlessness as legitimate means to address societal problems.George Jackson and the other prominent Black figures mentioned inSchwarzeneggers statement are heroes to a lot of Black people and people ofall races and nationalities because of their revolutionary stance. This isproof that this is a politically motivated execution.It does not matter to Schwarzenegger and the powers-that-be that StanleyWilliams has changed. That he has consistently spoken out against gangviolence. Or that the evidence which led to his conviction of four murdersin 1981 was circumstantial and that the testimony against him came frompeople facing felony charges of fraud, rape, murder, and mutilation. Or thathe had consistently and repeatedly said that he is innocent.Since his final appeal was denied, the powers-that-be have put StanleyWilliams execution on a fast track. They moved it up ahead of people who hadtheir final appeals rejected before him.This represents a leap in the vicious, racist, and genocidal program theyhave for the masses of people in the inner cities. Many of the youth of theinner city have no jobs and no prospects of ever being employed. The systemhas no productive use for them. The working of this capitalist systems putspeople in desperate situations where crime becomes the only option for many,many of them to live. Then, Black and other oppressed youth are attacked andmaligned and demonized. William Bennett, a former adviser to Ronald Reagan,has said: If you want to get rid of crime you could abort all Black babiesand the crime rate would go down. Thats genocide.The execution of Tookie Williams comes on the heels of Hurricane Katrina,where tens of thousands of Black people were left to die. The Bush regime ismaking it LOUD AND CLEAR.Look at what they did. People in New Orleans did not have to die. But thepowers that be left thousands of people to suffer and die needlessly, whileat the same time demonizing them and sending in the National Guard tosuppress them. Didnt Bush himself issue an order to shoot to killanyone whowas caught looting, no questions asked? The system's well-oiled propagandamachine spewed out lies about Black people raping babies and robbing andmurdering each other. The very clear message was: the masses of Black peoplein New Orleans were demons and deserved to die.Hundreds and even thousands of people who tried to get into New Orleans torescue, feed and give medical aid to people were stopped by the army andpolice and prevented them from helping people. A congressman from Louisianasaid they had been trying to get rid of the projects in New Orleans foryears and god decided to do them a favor by getting rid of them.Again the message was that Black people are bad seeds who do not deserve tolive.Pat Robertson, one of Bushs Christian Fascist advisors, has called for abiblical model for crime and punishment which suggests genocide against themasses of people in the inner cities as well as preparation to use extremerepression and even execution against people who do things which are minorcrimes or in many cases no crime at all.What kind of system is this that does these things? It is one that cries outfor proletarian revolution..Although Stanley Tookie Williams was not a revolutionary, he dedicated hisbook Blue Rage, Black Redemption in this way: To poor people, prisoners,slaves and the disenfranchised everywhere through faith and theories putinto practice you bend the most oppressive circumstances to your will, tomake the impossible possible.

Written by Joe Vaele taken from the Revolution website rwor.org