[Marxism] Another Execution Before the One Tookie Williams Faces

[Brian Shannon <Brian_Shannon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

If you are unfamiliar with the pleas for clemency regarding Tookie
Williams, you can find a great deal on line. Williams, one of the
founders of the Crips gang, has been praised for his anti-crime
activity while in prison. He also maintains that he is innocent of the
slayings for which he was convicted.

Brian Shannon
______________________

PROSECUTOR IN WILLIAMS' CASE FACES SUIT IN FATAL SHOOTING
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer
Last Updated 2:13 pm PST Sunday, December 11, 2005

LOS ANGELES (AP) - As he presses for Stanley Tookie Williams' execution
for four murders, a top county prosecutor faces legal troubles of his
own for killing a man he confronted while working as a reserve
sheriff's deputy.

Deputy District Attorney John Monaghan, 53, urged Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger on Thursday to deny the Crips gang co-founder clemency,
saying he committed senseless and brutal slayings in Los Angeles
County.

In February 2003, Monaghan shot and killed an unarmed driver he had
pulled over while working as a San Bernardino County sheriff's reserve
deputy. The defense argues Monaghan acted in self-defense after a foot
chase.

The Sheriff's Department ruled the shooting of Jose Luis Perea, 47, was
within the department's policy guidelines, and prosecutors found
insufficient evidence to charge Monaghan with a crime. But Perea's
family filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit.

In September, a federal magistrate judge dismissed much of the lawsuit
but let two claims - excessive force and negligence - move forward. The
court questioned some of Monaghan's account of the shooting.

After the traffic stop, Monaghan has said he chased Perea through a
pallet yard in Fontana. He said he was forced to open fire out of fear
that the suspect might have a weapon.

The judge was unconvinced.

Though he broke the law by fleeing, Perea was unarmed and didn't appear
to pose a threat despite his erratic behavior, the judge said.

During the chase, Perea was not running as fast as he could, stopped
several times and seemed to be holding up his pants or holding
something inside them. He threw an eyeglasses container and then a
baseball cap at Monaghan.

"Flying baseball caps and eyeglass containers are not the stuff of
which hardened or violent suspects are made," U.S. Magistrate Judge
Stephen G. Larson wrote.

"A reasonable officer simply would not believe a fleeing suspect's
first choice would be to throw a baseball cap ... if that suspect has a
far more deadly weapon, say a gun or even a rock ... ," Larson added.

Monaghan's defense attorney, Eugene Ramirez, argued that the actions
and background of Perea, a parolee who might have had personal
problems, suggest he was attempting to commit "suicide by cop."

"All of that seemed to indicate that he was going to do what he could
to engage law enforcement in a shooting," Ramirez said, adding his
client could not see Perea's hands when he fired.

Monaghan worked as a San Bernardino County prosecutor before joining
the Los Angeles County office. He was not available for comment, said
Jane Robison, a district attorney's spokeswoman, said Friday.

Calls to the plaintiff's attorney placed over the weekend were not
immediately returned.

In arguing against clemency, Monaghan has labeled the former gang
leader a "cold-blooded killer" and said he does not believe Williams
has redeemed himself.

Williams is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday by lethal injection
at San Quentin State Prison. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet to
decide whether to grant clemency for the 1979 murders.

Williams, 51, was convicted of killing Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen
Yang, 63, and Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, in a robbery at a Los Angeles motel
the family owned. Albert Owens, 26, a 7-Eleven clerk, was gunned down
in a separate robbery.

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