Thursday, November 17, 2005

SNOOP JOINS PROTEST

Snoop Dogg is planning to join a protest rally outside San Quentin jail this Saturday, where the execution is being planned of Stanley Tookie Williams.

Since his conviction for a 1979 multiple murder, Williams has turned his life around to the point where he's received Nobel Peace Prize nominations for his attempts to steer young people away from a life of gangs, leading to a growing campaign for California to not kill him. Curiously, the state's Correction Department has launched an unprecedented counter-campaign, issuing a press release which claims Williams continued to run his (and Snoop's) old gang the Crips from his cell.

The claim was removed after press enquiries about the curious role of the Corrections Depatment in trying to influence a sentence, but then a spokesperson for the prison went even further:

"When you look at the totality of what has been occurring that leads me to seriously question this man of peace," said Vernell Crittendon, who has worked at the prison nearly 30 years and regularly interacts with Williams and said he felt obligated to correct the inmate's public image. "A con always will say one thing to you while the whole time he has another agenda. I'm concerned that possibly this marketing that's going on ... leads the public to hear the words, but not to see that sleight of hand."

It's not recorded if Crittendon then pulled on black leather gloves or wandered off muttering "You're a recidivist, Fletcher". What is clear is that Crittendon didn't really offer anything concrete against Williams, other than the vague "totality of what has been occurring" - the US Prison system is notorious for being full of men who are unable to string a coherent sentence together, but it's slightly surprising to see one of them working as a spokesperson for the staff rather than being slammed up inside.

Snoop has been refused permission to visit Williams in San Quentin, on account of his own past record with guns and violence. After all, you wouldn't want someone like that bringing down the atmosphere inside Death Row, would you?


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Without any comment on this case, please note that *ANYONE* can be nominated for a Nobel peace prize. It is nothing to do with the Nobel committe - you just need enough people.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous...

From wikipedia
Each year there are 100 to 250 nominees for each prize. Although anyone can be nominated, not everyone can nominate someone for a Nobel Prize. For example the website of the Nobel Foundation says that in the case of the peace prize the following people may nominate:

* Members of national assemblies and governments of states
* Members of international courts
* University rectors
* Professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology
* Directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes
* Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
* Board members of organisations who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
* Active and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
* Former advisers appointed by the Norwegian Nobel Institute

Ominously for Mr T, only "living persons" may be nominated...

Anonymous said...

Yes and take the entry "Professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology" - this covers a large number of people with entirely bogus qualifications from degree mills and other sorts of American University. I can assure that it is not hard to get nominated for a Nobel Peace prize. "Members of national assemblies and governments of states" covers a rather large number of rogues too.

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