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 Dog, 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 | Updates about Tookie's case can be found on Indybay's Police and Prisons News Page

On November 8th, Bill O'Reilly went on KNEW-910AM and used the public airwaves to condone a terrorist strike on San Francisco. He suggested that Al Qaeda specifically blow up Coit Tower - which is dedicated as a memorial to fallen firefighters. O'Reilly said, "And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not gonna do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You wanna blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead." These comments were roundly criticized by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisors Daly and Peskin, John Hanley (President of the San Francisco Firefighters Union Local 798), local journalists at KRON, the SF Chronicle, CBS-5, and many community activists.

Media activists feel that this is one more reason why people should take action now to deny KNEW's license renewal. This can be done by going to http://www.bethemedia.org to print, sign and mail an Informal Objection to the FCC and the Station Owner before November 30, 2005. These letters can help to make the FCC aware of Clear Channel/KNEW's pattern of broadcasting anti-American hate speech on the public airwaves. The Be the Media Website also has sample letters and background about struggles against Clear Channel.

Read more | Why Bill O'Reilly Hates San Francisco
Osama Bin O'Reilly Issues Fatwa Against San Francisco: Photos | Video

Protests against the Bohemian Grove took place from Friday, July 15th through Sunday, July 17th in the Sonoma County Russian River community of Monte Rio. (Report) Every year, elite members of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco gather for two weeks of revelry and "throwing off the cares of the marketplace" among the redwood groves along Sonoma County's Russian River. The club's members include many Presidents, past and present. George H.W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld are both members, as well as the late Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, and every Republican President since Herbert Hoover, except the current inhabitant.