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2nd look at Bush service award White House panel unaware honoree was on Death Row Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, August 6, 2005 A White House council on volunteerism said Friday it's taking another look at how the President's Call to Service Award -- accompanied by a laudatory letter from President Bush -- was issued to Stanley "Tookie" Williams, a California Death Row inmate who has written a series of books warning young people against the gang life. A spokesman for the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation said that neither the council nor Bush had any way of knowing that the person they were honoring was a condemned multiple murderer. "We're reviewing the case," said the spokesman, Sandy Scott. "We're looking at who he is, how he got the award and what the organization is that certified him for the award. "We've never had anything like this before," Scott said. Williams, 51, a co-founder of the Crips street gang, was sentenced to death for four 1979 murders in the Los Angeles area, crimes which he denies committing. He renounced gangs after eight years in prison and has since written 10 books for children and youths. Admirers have nominated him for the Nobel Prize in both peace and literature. A cable network aired a movie about his life last year called "Redemption." Co-author Barbara Becnel, executive director of the Neighborhood House of North Richmond, said that about 60,000 e-mails have been sent to his Web site, www.tookie.com, and that he has been credited with saving or turning around countless lives. A federal appeals court has upheld Williams' conviction and death sentence, despite commenting that his "good works and accomplishments since incarceration" might be grounds for clemency from the governor. His lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review claims that the prosecutor displayed racial bias by removing three African Americans from the jury and by comparing Williams in the courtroom to a "Bengal tiger in captivity in the zoo. " If he loses the appeal, an execution date could be set before the end of this year. The presidential citation, which arrived last week, was a lifetime award for more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service. Williams was nominated by William Harrison, an archbishop in the Old Catholic Orthodox Church in West Monroe, La. The letter signed by Bush said, in part, "Through service to others, you demonstrate the outstanding character of America and help strengthen our country. ... Americans continue to serve and are part of the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness and decency that are changing America, one heart and soul at a time. Your actions contribute to this change." The White House council was created by Bush in 2003 to promote volunteering and is chaired by former pro football star Darrell Green and former Sens. Bob Dole and John Glenn, who signed a separate letter congratulating Williams. Scott, the council spokesman, said the awards are reviewed only by the nominating organizations -- 11,000 churches, schools, businesses and civic groups -- and not by the council or the White House. He said more than 267, 000 awards have been presented in two years, though most are for a year of service rather than the lifetime award given to Williams. The identity of the recipient would not be a reason to invalidate an award, Scott said, if the hours of service and the nominating organization are legitimate. But a California victims'-rights advocate said Bush should withdraw the award. "What kind of message are we sending out as a role model?" asked Harriet Salarno, president of Crime Victims United of California. A lawyer for a pro-prosecution organization predicted the publicity would prompt changes in the council. "When you give out awards like this, particularly with the president's name on it, you have to be more careful," said attorney Charles Hobson of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Sacramento. "I'm sure they will be more careful in the future." News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | Contact

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