state killings to make us safer?!
I still can’t believe that the State killed Stanley “Tookie” Williams… I wrote numerous letters to the Governor, participated in protests and press conferences, and finally decided to join the Walk for Abolition the day before the scheduled execution. On that day, I just didn’t know what else to do.
The walk is an approximately 25 mile walk from San Francisco to the gates of San Quentin to bear witness and post vigil and hopefully send a message of support for abolition of the death penalty. The Rev. Lyle Grosjean organized and has walked in protest and witness of every scheduled execution since 1960.
Many of the people participating in the walk were people of strong faith who don’t believe in taking any life. Others included a youth group, a shelter worker, prison abolitionists, seniors, youth, everyone in between, as well as a man whose son had been murdered earlier this year. He carried a sign with a picture of his son that simply stated, “My son was murdered. He opposed the death penalty. So do I.” We were joined along the way with additional walkers, the occasional celebrity (Jesse Jackson and Joan Baez), and local groups like Marin Seniors for Peace.
At one point somewhere in the north bay mid-morning the the police approached us and directed us to change our course. They said they didn’t want us to walk along the winding road because there was too much traffic (isn’t the point of the walk to raise awareness and voice our dissent by being seen publically opposing the state killing?!) and “it would be unsafe”. The organizers for the walk had never before been asked to change their course during a walk… perhaps this was because of the relatively high profile of this particular execution and vigil? or maybe there were more of us walkers than usual due to the publicity around the case? there was some discussion between a couple of walk coordinators and the police and then the walk coordinators led the group along the alternate path. The mood changed dramatically at this point as people were frustrated at not being able to walk along the more visible route that they’d always used and at not being able to fully understand why/how the whole group was suddenly taking this new path. There was no group discussion at all about whether we should stick to the original plan and walk along the public streets that we have a right to use anyway. Other coordinators were worried that the new route (that nobody was quite sure of — the area was unfamiliar to us all) might make us late for our rendezvous at the next meeting point. The new route wound through a few very quiet wooded residential areas… the only vehicles that passed us during that whole diversion were a UPS delivery truck that passed us twice and maybe two local homeowners.
There was some talk along the way, as some participants knew each other from previous walks or work to abolish the death penalty, and others were coming together feeling some hope for the outcome of the day and the larger group who had assembled in this silent protest at the system. Mostly though, it was a silent and somber crowd — particularly as the day wore on and we received the news that the Governor had denied clemency. I and a few others had held some hope up to that point. Walking the last few miles into San Quentin was more difficult. Night fell. It got cold and damp. The group tensed up considerably and mood grew even more solemn. Cars drove by, eeking through their own rush-hour traffic, many curiously reading our signs, some others honking their horns or raising their hands in support. Throughout the day there were also a handful of vehicles that drove by shouting things like, “go home dirties” or “fry ‘im!”. The organizers and long-time supporters of the walk for abolition alternately answered calls from the press or rendezvous points and speculated about the turnout of walkers. There were more than usual and they wondered at the motivations of these more recent additions — were these people a sign that public sentiment about the death penalty was changing, or just a blip due to the high profile of Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ case?
Coming out of the dim light of twilight and more lightly travelled frontage roads, the first thing you noticed was this intense light from in front of the east gate of San Quentin. It wasn’t just the normal prison lighting but the brightness of the corporate news crew floodlights that caused you to recoil a bit after having been walking along the dim frontage roads for a while. Broadcast antennas dotted the perimeter of the lane leading up to the gate and the inside was full of eager cameras and reporters. Having started our walk at 7am, we arrived in San Quentin a little after 6pm and were among the first witnesses to arrive. The media were hungry for interviews with “the walkers” and immediately surrounded us and pushed in with cameras and lights and microphones. There were also a few (limited in number but very loud and aggressive) reporters from a station in LA harassing us and hurling racist comments and insults. it was overwhelming and a little unreal to break the silence and contemplation of the day by suddenly dropping into this media frenzy.
The vigil at the gates was something else again. The notoriety of this case and the publicity around this particular execution meant the crowds – both in support and in protest — swelled to much bigger proportions than “normal” state executions. Speaker after speaker got up on the stage to address the crowd and provide updates. And then midnight came, and the crowd became still. And then the crowd became restless… there was no news, the minutes passed… what was happening inside? We were scared to find out, but why wasn’t there any news? It was horrible to wait there like that for someone’s life to end. And then we did receive word, and we knew for sure what had happened on the other side of the gate, inside the prison where Stanley Williams had waited to die under the watchful eye of the state for years.
I’m still processing the events. As you know, I feel very strongly about the State, my state, taking another human’s life. I have never understood how this is supposed to right any wrongs. The first California execution i can remember turned my stomach and so has every single one since. I got home very late last night — our group had scattered and a new friend and I were stranded looking for rides home from San Quentin until a thoughtful driver pulled over to pick us up around 2am — and I am still processing the events. It’s unbelievable to me that the state kills people — but I knew I was immersing myself in that issue when the day started and the sun rose behind our group’s initial gathering in San Francisco. What I found harder to believe through the day were the number of people who supported the killing, and also the reasons they voiced behind their oppinions. I didn’t start the day expecting to be insulted or practically physically assaulted by pro-death penalty (or anti-Stanley Williams?) individuals or crowds. I wasn’t really thinking that my day would end, some twenty hours later, with such an immense sense of failure.
As of the time of this writing, AB1121, California Moratorium on Executions Act, is pending in the California legislature. This act would impose just a temporary moratorium while a Commission studies the system for fairness, errors, and flaws. Get in touch with the legislature and the governnor and let them know how you feel about state murders.
Pictures of the walk are here:
http://www.indybay.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=3822&category_id=12
General pictures of the protest and additional coverage can be viewed here:
http://www.indybay.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=3905&category_id=12
