ADPSR President's statement on the denail of clemency to Stanley "Tookie" Williams

Architects, Designers & Planners Demand Clemency

for Stanley “Tookie” Williams

 

December 12, 2005

San Francisco, CA 

 

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

 

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) urges you not to execute Stanley “Tookie” Williams tomorrow. Mr. Williams’s many years of dedication to the cause of peaceful coexistence-- made all the more difficult by being in prison-- require recognition and should not be ended by execution. Furthermore, as people of conscience we believe that California’s death penalty is an unjust and wrong state policy, and we urge you to take the first step in re-assessing the death penalty with Mr. Williams’s case. While every human should be offered the lifelong chance at redemption and restoration—a belief on which we base our opposition to the death penalty—Mr. Williams is outstanding in having demonstrated this case by working tirelessly to end gang violence and to provide many at-risk California children with the hope and opportunity that mainstream society owes them but is unable to deliver. Executing Mr. Williams would be a grievous injustice and we deeply hope we will not have to witness this threatening tragedy tomorrow.

 

For your information, ADPSR’s membership includes over 200 design professionals in the state of California—many hold state licenses as architects, engineers, building contractors, and small businesses-- and over 500 across the country.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Raphael Sperry

National President, ADPSR