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US court denies appeal by death row
inmate
October 11, 2005 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to review the case of a California death-row inmate whose attorneys argued that the prosecutor had racially discriminated in selecting the jury for his trial.Without comment or recorded dissent, the justices denied the appeal of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the black founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles who was convicted on four counts of robbery and murder arising from two separate incidents in 1979. Williams could be executed as early as next month, a state spokesman said, but a prominent supporter of Williams vowed to keep fighting death sentence. "Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is OK for a white district attorney to kick all of the minorities off of a jury," said Barbara Becnel, who wrote nine children's books with Williams. "This is an outrage for all Americans and we will fight," she said. The court's denial of Williams' appeal does not amount to a ruling on the legal merits of the case. A California jury convicted Williams in 1981 and imposed the death penalty. In one incident, Williams was convicted of killing a white convenience store clerk while in the other one he was convicted of killing three Asian-American members of a family that owned a hotel in Los Angeles. Attorneys for Williams argued that the prosecutor deliberately removed all potential jurors who were black. But a federal appeals court in California rejected his appeal, and he asked the Supreme Court to review his case in a request supported by civil rights and other groups. Becnel said the high court under new Chief Justice John Roberts had shown itself insensitive to racial issues in refusing to take the case. "Today the new Roberts court has sent a powerful and compelling message and that message is we don't give a damn about minorities in this country," she said. Nathan Barankin, spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, disagreed with Becnel's characterization of the jury as having no minorities and said the panel including an African American and a Hispanic member. "All that that they were able to say was that the district attorney removed three African American jurors," Barankin said. Becnel, who has frequently visited Williams at San Quentin prison north of San Francisco, said his lawyers were preparing last-minute legal briefs to the federal appeals court to argue his innocence. They will also appeal for clemency to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. While in prison, Williams has renounced his gang past and has written a series of books urging youth not to get involved with gangs. He has always maintained that he is innocent.
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