Killer's lawyers file last-ditch appeal

[Aretha]

SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- Hours after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency Monday for convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, lawyers for the Crips street gang co-founder filed a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution.

Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, Williams is scheduled to die by injection at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday (3:01 a.m. ET) at San Quentin State Prison, near San Francisco.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/12/williams.execution/index.html

[roguevalley]

1. THis appalls me. Another strike for the culture of life.

[babylonsister]

2. Welcome to DU, Aretha! nt

[Aretha]

3. Thank you!

:)

[hlthe2b]

4. Can't imagine this would be sucessful....

I wonder what grounds they used to file the US-SC appeal.

Boy, we are a revengeful people... 75% of this poll approve of Schwarzenegger's decision and the numbers voting are high already.

[Aretha]

5. There is absolutely no way that this goes anywhere

The 9th Circuit rejected it unanimously ... but these are the motions that are always gone through in these kinds of cases. Frankly, I think that this sort of extended, prolonged false hope is pretty cruel. I remember when the Supreme Court stayed an execution by one hour (of a man whose sentence should, IMO, have been commuted becasue of serious doubts as to his guilt) before allowing it to proceed. The governor in that case made the amn take a lie detector test only a day or so (I think) before the scheduled execution ... and when he failed, denied clemency. What the hell is the control group for people taking a lie detector test only hours before they're scheduled to die? That whole process seemed gratuitously and unnecessarily cruel. Still, as long as the system allows for any glimmer of hope, the condemned man's counsel can't not pursue it.

[TankLV]

6. I'm against the death penalty, but this guy is scum. Tough choice.

They're all "converts to jeebus" or some other such crap when facing death row - he should have thought of his victum before his crime.

Sorry, bu I have much more important things to spend my energy on.