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The Situation Room
Williams Denied Clemency; Early Voting Begins in Iraq
Aired December 12, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arising all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world, to bring you the day's top stories.
Happening now: It's 4:00 p.m. in California, the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, denies clemency to a convicted killer who became an anti-violence activist on death row. His execution is set for eight hours from now. Is Stanley "Tookie" Williams out of options?
In Baghdad, it's 3:00 in the morning. President Bush says Iraq is at a turning point. Can Iraqis prove him right? They are already casting early ballots in an extremely important election.
And it's 11:00 a.m. in Sydney, Australia, where a massive riot is followed by more violent rampages. Is Australia suddenly discovering it has a serious problem with race relations?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Convicted killer Stanley "Tookie" Williams on death watch tonight. His last, best hope for a reprieve dashed by California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. And within the last hour, Williams' attorneys have made a last-ditch effort in an emergency appeal to the United States Supreme Court here in Washington. We're expecting to hear the court's ruling on this matter literally at any moment.
Over at San Quentin prison, a vigil tonight for a gang founder supporters call a changed man who now has about eight hours left to live. CNN's Chris Lawrence is outside the prison. He's joining us now live with the latest -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, right now, Stanley "Tookie" Williams remains inside the walls of the prison right behind me. There is also a small group of supporters of "Tookie" Williams who have camped out just outside the prison walls, and his attorneys have confirmed to me just a few moments ago, they will keep fighting this right to the last moment. They have filed not only a -- filed a briefing with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to stay his execution, but they have also filed an emergency stay with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, based on what they say are three new witnesses that will cast doubt on whether Williams committed the four murders that he is convicted of.
Now, Williams has been convicted of murdering four people. He has said all along that he is innocent and he refuses to apologize for crimes that he did not commit. But in ruling to deny his request for clemency, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said, quote, "without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption. In this case, the one thing that would be the clearest indication of complete remorse and full redemption is the one thing Williams will not do."
There's been a tremendous amount of satisfaction on one side and disappointment on the other. Some of the clearest examples of the difference in how people feel about this can be heard in the stepmother of one of the victims, and from one of the actors who played Williams in a movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: We talked about this country as being a Christian country, and we do everything about God. The first thing that we talk about and the first thing you learn about, about the Bible is forgiveness, about giving people hope and another chance.
LORA OWENS, VICTIM'S STEPMOTHER: I will be standing there in the name of Albert and his father, watching that execution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: And again, that execution is scheduled just after midnight. Right now, Tookie Williams has about two hours left to visit with his visitors, at which point they'll be asked to leave and the death watch will begin. But as I said, we spoke with his attorneys, and they are trying every avenue possible to stop this execution at the last moment -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Chris, thanks very much. Chris Lawrence, outside San Quentin prison for us.
Tookie Williams may be running out of options, as we just heard, but his lawyers have made a final appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who hears emergency appeals for the 9th District Circuit has just referred the case to the full court. We're hearing the court's decision in this matter could come at any moment. We'll bring it to you as soon as that happens. The U.S. Supreme Court hearing this last-ditch appeal.
Stanley "Tookie" Williams will be strapped to a gurney and then just after midnight California time, he will be given a deadly injection. CNN's Brian Todd is joining us now live with more on how all of this will play out -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we keep hearing that one time mentioned for this execution, just after midnight Tuesday morning Pacific Time. But for Tookie Williams, this day has many other critical deadlines, and we spoke to a prison official about what that entails.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Even before Tookie Williams woke up on Monday, according to a prison official, all of the more than 600 other prisoners on San Quentin's death row have been in tight lock down.
SGT. ERIC MESSICK, SAN QUENTIN STATE PRISON: The ultimate punishment is being carried out, and we try to keep it structured.
TODD: Williams is allowed visitors for most of the day. Then, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time, he's moved to a special death watch cell next to the execution chamber.
11:30 p.m. Pacific, he's given a new pair of blue jeans and a new blue work shirt to wear.
11:45, the first group of witnesses is led to the witness viewing area of the death chamber.
11:55 p.m., media witnesses are escorted in.
At exactly midnight Pacific Time, final calls are made to see if any last-minute stays have been ordered.
12:01 a.m., three guards lead Williams into the green execution chamber. Williams is helped into the modified dentist's chair, and the three guards secure his arms and legs.
The guards leave the room. Then, a medic and an assistant enter, and attach a cardiac monitor and needles into each arm.
Williams is free to say any last words.
Then, from behind the chambers' walls and out of view of the witnesses, three buttons are pushed in succession, releasing the chemicals that will kill Tookie Williams. A prison official would not comment when we asked if just one person would push the buttons, but one expert says in other executions in the U.S., that job, like many others in this process, is often handled by different people.
RICHARD DIETER, DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER: No one would have the ultimate responsibility for certain that they had killed a human being. And there's a long history of this in our executions.
TODD: Once a doctor determines that Williams is dead, the curtains close between the chamber and the witness area. A prison official writes up a short notice that the execution is over.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Now, in giving us this timetable, an official at San Quentin stressed the entire schedule can be delayed depending on any action by the courts throughout the night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian, the guards who implement this execution, it's a very difficult, very painful ordeal, I'm sure for them, as well. Are they given special counseling?
TODD: Well, San Quentin officials said everyone involved in the process is offered counseling, but since that prison, San Quentin, resumed executions in 1992, he said, none of those people has asked for counseling.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Brian, thank you very much.
Stanley "Tookie" Williams is the third death row inmate to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger for clemency since he became governor. All three requests were denied.
Clemency for convicted killers is relatively rare in California. Ronald Reagan was the last governor to grant a reprieve sparing a mentally ill killer way back in 1967.
So what does the Williams case mean for Schwarzenegger's future? Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is watching that part of the story. What are the political ramifications for the governor, Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, everyone I talked to over the past couple of weeks and today has said -- wanted to make clear, first of all, that they don't believe, don't want to believe and do not believe that this was a political decision on the part of the governor.
Having said that, there are always political ramifications to anything a politician does. It does not seem that over the course of time this will have a huge impact. The governor, as you know, has been in some hot water on a lot of counts, both with conservatives in California and with liberals. The general thinking is that perhaps this would hurt him with liberals, but they're generally people who would not have voted for him in the first place.
California has a 68 percent approval rating for the death penalty. Supported as much of the country does. So there doesn't seem to be any sort of immediate price that will be paid by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the political sense.
A lot of the people we talked to had said the reverse, had he granted clemency, would have been a problem for him politically, because he would have been in such trouble with the conservative base that's already pretty unhappy with him.
BLITZER: Candy Crowley, our senior political correspondent. Candy, thank you very much.
Our Zain Verjee is standing by over at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at some other stories making news. Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. It's already earned an ethics rebuke for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Now the controversial Texas redistricting that DeLay engineered is headed to the Supreme Court. The court agreed today to hear a case alleging that the new congressional map violates the Voting Rights Act by effectively disenfranchising minorities.
The nation's top transportation security agent is offering condolences to the family of a man shot dead by federal air marshals in Miami last week. TSA Director Edmund Hawley says the incident is regrettable, but he adds that he believes the marshals acted correctly when they shot the man who claimed to have a bomb and refused commands to get to the ground.
Police divers in New York City are searching for a cabby who drove his car into the Hudson River this afternoon. Police say the cab plunged off a pier and into the icy water after a parks officer asked the driver to move the vehicle.
And this weekend's fast-moving snowstorm did more than just knock out power and make roads slippery on Cape Cod. The storm is also being blamed for the deaths of nine whales and 24 dolphins. Officials say that the high winds and unpredictable tides caused the marine mammals to beach themselves. Wolf, back to you in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And Jack. You're back.
BLITZER: Jack is definitely back. He is standing by in New York. Welcome back to both of you.
VERJEE: We missed you terribly, Jack. Don't do that. Don't do that to me again.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What do you mean you missed me? You weren't here last Friday. Where were you?
VERJEE: Wolf invited me to Washington. He didn't invite you?
CAFFERTY: No.
VERJEE: Oh. Oh well.
CAFFERTY: Does that surprise you?
VERJEE: No. Actually it doesn't.
BLITZER: Jack, what is your question?
CAFFERTY: Given the choice. Look at the monitors for god's sake. You know what I'm saying?
VERJEE: But you have -- you have so much more wit and charm, Jack.
CAFFERTY: That's about all that's left. It's been little over three months now since Hurricane Katrina hit and some New Orleans evacuees think it's too soon to party. They're protesting the city's plans to hold 150th annual Mardi Gras celebration next February.
Critics say it's insensitive to hold the celebration next year. They worry that the agencies helping New Orleans with its recovery process will stop if they see party goers in the French Quarter. New Orleans' tourism industry will be relying heavily on events like Mardi Gras and Jazzfest to bring visitors back to the city.
Here's the question. Should Mardi Gras go on as usual next year in New Orleans?
You can e-mail us your thoughts at caffertyfile@cnn.com or you can go to cnn.com/caffertyfile.
One thing to keep in mind, Wolf, is within six or seven hours of arriving in town, most of the folks that go to Mardi Gras have no idea what city they're in. Probably really won't make a lot of difference.
BLITZER: Mardi Gras is Mardi Gras. Thanks very much, Jack. We'll get back to you soon.
Coming up. Race riots, anti-immigrant hatred turns violent. We have the story. That's coming up.
Also, reservist mom called up after 20 years. A single mother faces being sent to Iraq.
And President Bush on the offensive. He takes on his critics as Iraqis cast their first votes for a new government. You are in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: It's late Tuesday morning in Australia. Bracing for a possible third night of unrest. Racially tinged violence rocked the country both Sunday and Monday night. Keir Simmons of Britain's ITV reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEIR SIMMONS, ITV NEWS (voice over): Viciously set upon. A young woman is attacked by a racist white mob. The police officer attempts to protect a Lebanese man by bundling him away. Spraying mace into the eyes of rioters.
This is the ugly underbelly of Australia. Far removed from tourist images of beaches and surfing. The young Australians shouting racist slogans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not welcome. This is our land. Get the hell out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what our grandfathers fought for. To protect this to enjoy it. We don't need the Lebanese or whoever to take it away from us.
(cheering)
SIMMONS: Here, a mob are trying to break into a surfing club. The police rescue the people hiding inside. The terrified group of Middle-Eastern appearance. They are attacked with bottles as they retreat.
The violence follows reports that two life guards have been attacked by Lebanese men. Rumors combined with long-standing tensions causing a racist riot that's left the Australian prime minister having to defend his country's culture.
JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country.
SIMMONS: Still, these pictures will not help Australia persuade the world that its people have broken away from past prejudices. Keir Simmons ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: What a shocking story, indeed that is.
She was shocked by the news, but certainly not in awe. A single mom called up to serve in Iraq even though she's been inactive for 20 years. Now she's forced to balance the love for her son with the love for her country.
CNN's Mary Snow is joining us live from New York with details. Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we are in Medford, New York, and this suburban community, as you probably see behind me, is gearing up for the holidays. But Patricia Ardnt is gearing up to once again wear her military uniform.
She says, even though she has served as a reservist, she is still in disbelief.
SNOW (voice over): Outside her Medford, New York home, Patricia Ardnt puts up Christmas decorations, even though she plans to sell the house next week. She says she is trying to put up a good front for her 13-year-old son, Shane.
PATRICIA ARDNT, SINGLE MOTHER CALLED TO ACTIVE DUTY: Operation Iraqi Freedom.
SNOW: The 43 year old single mother has been called up for active duty in Iraq, 20 years after she was last an active duty soldier.
Shock. You never thought, especially after all these years, especially with my rank. Especially my status.
SNOW: Ardnt is a master sergeant. She first enlisted in the Army in 1982. After serving four years of active duty, she entered the reserves.
Last year, she was switched to the individual ready reserve, a unit she refers to as the "Just in Case Unit," since they are usually the last to be called to fill vacancies.
But the U.S. Army says it's called up 5,000 members of the I.R.R., as it's called. It says the bulk has been notified since the summer of 2004. Ardnt is appealing for an exemption. She says the army isn't giving her enough time to find a home for her son and get everything in order. ARDNT: It is a moral dilemma for me. I love my son. I love my country. It's tough. You know? I have to choose between the two. It is not an easy decision.
SNOW: The army is considering her appeal. In a statement, a spokesman says, "Four years into the global war on terror, a Mater Sergeant in the U.S. Army understands her obligations."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (on camera): The U.S. Army says, of the 5,000 members of the I.R.R who have appealed for a delay, it says about 40 of them have been either delayed or been exempt. Patricia Ardnt is hoping she is one of them before she has to report for duty February, 5th. Wolf?
WOLF: Thank you very much. What a dilemma that is.
Still to come, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a life and death decision. Stanley "Tookie" Williams to be executed a few hours from now. We'll hear from the man who put him behind bars.
Plus, inside the insurgency in Iraq. Find out what impact this week's vote may have on the violence.
We're watching the news live with you. Stay with us. This is THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Once again, let's head down to the CNN Center in Atlanta. Zain Verjee standing by with a closer look at some other stories making news around the world. Zain?
VERJEE: Wolf, he spent months in France fearing assassination. Today, just a day after returning to Lebanon, journalist and lawmaker, Gibran Tueni, a strong critic of Syria, was killed in a car bombing.
A previously unknown group has claimed responsibility, but many Lebanese are blaming Syria. And the killing came just hours before U.N. investigators said that they have evidence to reinforce earlier findings of Syrian involvement in the February bombing, which killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri. And Syria denying any role in either of the killings.
British firefighters are still battling the flames, nearly two days after a series of massive explosions at a fuel depot north of London. France's National Weather Service says a huge cloud of toxic smoke from the fire is just drifting over northwestern France and heading for Spain. Initial word from investigators is that the blasts were probably accidental.
Sudan's government is dismissing a report suggesting that high- level officials in Khartoum may be responsible for genocide in the Darfur region in the west of the country. A Human Rights Watch report names the country's president as among those who should be investigated for war crimes for ordering, condoning or carrying out atrocities against civilians. Rights groups say that tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced . The senior Sudanese official called the report, quote, "ridiculous."
Two months after a devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan, another major quake in the region. This time, the 6.7-magnitude quake was centered in the Hindu Kush region of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. It could be felt as far away Islamabad and even some reports suggest as far as India. The remote and mountainous region is very sparsely populated, but there are no immediate reports of any casualties. In October, a 7.6-magnitude quake killed an estimated 73,000 people in the region. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Zain, thank you very much.
Let's get some more now on the earthquake that occurred just a few hours ago. Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton is monitoring the situation online. Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, Web sites around the world tracking this earthquake. Here, at the U.S. Geological Survey information on today's 6.7 quake, but also a history of that region. This map shows you here that region of eastern Afghanistan, how prone it is to earthquakes. According to the USGS, this region experiences three or four earthquakes a year above magnitude five. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Abbi, thank you very much. Abbi Tatton with the latest on that.
Just ahead, a surprise in President Bush's latest speech on Iraq. Does he have his numbers straight? We'll talk about the situation on the ground with a reporter who's been there.
And more on our top stories, Stanley "Tookie" Williams, just hours away from execution. Human rights advocate Bianca Jagger and columnist Debra Saunders, they'll be here. Very different perspectives. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Early voting's underway right now in Iraq in advance of Thursday's major election. Meanwhile, we've got brand new poll numbers on the conflict over in Iraq. Thirty-nine percent of the Americans questioned in our CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll approve of how the president's handling the situation in Iraq, that's up four points from last month.
That jump on Iraq seems to be helping the president's overall popularity. Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating rose four points as well, to 42 percent in our new poll.
The president was in Philadelphia today speaking out on Iraq, the third in a series of appearances aimed at trying to boost support for his Iraq policy. But this speech was a little bit different. He agreed to answer some questions and here's what he said when asked about the number of Iraqis who have died since the U.S.-led invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war? I would say 30,000, more or less, have died, as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis. We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Presidential aides later said that is an unofficial number, the number of Iraqis dead.
Meantime, Democrats complained that Mr. Bush still hasn't told the American people enough about how the U.S. mission in Iraq will end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JACK REED (D), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Everyone I meet around the country are concerned that he doesn't have a plan. That he hasn't articulated how long we'll be there, the course for our engagement there. And, frankly, what will be the result.
These speeches are designed to do that, but so far I don't think he's laid out in some detail enough to assuage the American public as to where he's going, where we should go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: President Bush says this weeks election in Iraq marks a turning point, but as the violence continues there, the voting brings both hope and fear for the future.
Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Baghdad--Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, voting has already begun. The Iraqi Army went to polls today because on Thursday they'll be protecting the public as they cast ballots in this very important election.
This is now going to be the election for the first permanent post-Saddam, post-U.S. invasion government. It will be a government that should last for four years. It may take sometime after the election, December 15th, to actually get a government together if the last round is anything to go by. It took three months after the January elections to actually get a government.
But the most significant thing that people are very concerned about is the violence and is the prospect of Iraq splintering off into extreme factional fighting and civil war.
The Sunnis are who everybody has their eye on because it's trying to get the Sunnis into the process that is so exceptionally difficult and important.
President Bush has touted the fact that the Sunnis turned out in great numbers over the referendum. But what he hasn't actually said is they overwhelmingly rejected the constitution in October because they believe, they say, that it sows the seeds for civil war.
In fact, they rejected it in such numbers as to almost block the entire document. And now, they're trying -- they are going to go to the polls, they say, the Sunnis, because they want to voice now in the next national assembly.
And they are extremely concerned that the next national assembly not be dominated, by what they call, religious Islamist Shias or otherwise. They want a secular, nationalistic government, and they say that might help tamp down the insurgency, but nobody right now is betting on that any time soon.
In fact, whoever you talk to here, Wolf, whether it be American generals, officers here, whether it be Iraqis, they always give a long term prognosis to any kind of reduction in the level of the insurgency, which, in fact, does get worse because the killings keep getting worse and increasing.
Back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour, thank you very much. Christiane will be covering the elections all of this week in Iraq.
And another question about Iraq's future, what's the likelihood of a civil war erupting in Iraq? Earlier today I posed that question to "Time Magazine's" Baghdad bureau chief, Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Michael Ware, thanks, once again, for joining us.
On this issue of a civil war erupting in Iraq, the president says, he doesn't believe those fears are justified. In his words, so long as we don't abandon the Iraqi people in their hour of need.
What is your sense on the possibility of a civil war erupting in Iraq no matter what the U.S. does or doesn't do?
MICHAEL WARE, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, to some degree, Wolf, there's already to the minds of many Iraqis an undeclared civil war underway at night here in Iraq. It's certainly true to say that there are rival death squads that run the streets and the countryside here.
Sunni death squads hunting Shia, religious and community leaders and government figures and Shia death squads, largely cloaked in government uniforms, who arrive at the homes of Sunnis, many of them innocent, in the middle of the night flashing legitimate government identification and taking them away to government torture centers hidden from the eyes of the U.S. Military and the world.
These people are never heard of again or appear in the morgues where officials say they're taking anything between 20 and 50 bodies per day as a result of these nighttime death squad attacks.
BLITZER: Is that going to stop no matter what happens during these upcoming elections?
WARE: No.
The elections are going to have little to no bearing on this. In fact, in some ways, the electoral processes that we have seen so far and the electoral process that we're about to enter into within the next few days, deepen the divides along the sectarian lines.
I mean, what we see is an entrenching of the divisions within this country. Indeed, seeing the U.S. Military intelligence officials told me just last week that should we see a return to power of this government or something close to it, the U.S. Military intelligence apparatus would see that as a problem, as this would be a return of those who are pursuing sectarian divisions.
So we're seeing the extremes on both sides of this community looking to deepen the divide between the sects here in Iraq. There's very little to be American Military so far has been able to do except to keep a lid on this violence at least on the surface. But underneath, it is boiling away.
BLITZER: In the long term, what do you sense is the bigger threat to a vibrant, stable, Democratic secular government in Iraq? The insurgents, who are largely Sunni led or the Islamic fundamentalists, the Shia, who want to be aligned, let's say, with Iran?
WARE: Well, I have to argue it is the Islamist fundamentalists on both sides. It is the al Qaeda inspired extremists among the Sunni community who want to bring about a pure Islamic state within the vision of al Qaeda. It's also the Shia extremists who are looking to bring about a very particular type of Iraqi Islamic state. It won't resemble the Taliban of Afghanistan but it will be a very particular Iraqi kind of religious society.
Something these groups very much are driving Iraq towards that kind of end state. So the insurgents, themselves, by and large, even as President Bush admits by dubbing them rejectionist, which itself just shows the misunderstandings of these men fighting American soldier.
These insurgents are not opposed to Democracy. They see the fight that they are conducting is a part of a broader political and military strategy, as the insurgent commanders, themselves,say to me, this is a part of a bullets strategy. They have no problem with democracy per se.
BLITZER: Michael Ware, we got to leave it right there. Thanks very much as usual for joining us.
WARE: Wolf, it is my pleasure. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And up next, the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams now less than seven and a half hours away.
I'll ask human rights activist, Bianca Jagger, why she is opposed to the execution. She is standing by to join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Plus, thousands of trailers ordered to house hurricane victims in New Orleans still sitting empty. We'll tell you what's going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: After decades in jail and a flurry of legal maneuvers, Stanley "Tookie" Williams is just hours away from being put to death.
We're waiting to see if the United States Supreme Court grants Williams an emergency stay. Legal experts say it's unlikely. Word, though, could come at any moment. We'll bring it to you as soon as we get it.
Here to assess his life and crimes, our two guests, Debra Saunders is a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle, Bianca Jagger is a well known human rights advocate. Ladies thanks to both of you for joining us.
In rejecting clemency, Bianca, the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, said, among other things, "Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption. In this case, the one thing that would be the clearest indication of complete remorse and full redemption, Williams will not do."
Twenty-four years later, all the appeals rejected. He's about to die. Your reaction?
BIANCA JAGGER, HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE: My reaction is exactly what he said when I went to visit. And he said, I cannot apologize for a crime I did not commit. He said to me, I know that by doing so it may cause me my life. However, I cannot lie in order to live.
And what we need to understand, Wolf, is that people, when they look at the death penalty and the justice system in this country, they should look at the fact that there have been more than a hundred wrongful convictions of people who have walked out of the death penalty when they have been sometimes for 25 years. And that were hours from being executed
BLITZER: But, Bianca, didn't he get plenty of opportunity for due process?
JAGGER: No. He did not. I mean, let me tell you something. You had early on in the program, you had Robert Martin, the prosecutor.
And what shocked me is that this man who the California Supreme Court has reversed two of his cases. And that have said that he engaged in a pattern of discrimination when composing a jury. Who dismissed three of the jurors from the case of Stanley "Tookie" Williams because they were black. Who had a very inadequate counsel representing him at the time. I mean, and who, by the way, there was no DNA --
BLITZER: All right. Let's let Debra respond to all of that. Debra, go ahead.
DEBRA SAUNDERS, COLUMNIST, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Well, first of all, this idea that he's so -- he has so much character he won't admit to something he's not guilty for, Stanley Williams' lawyers filed appeals saying he was brain damaged at the time of the crimes or during the trial.
The idea he's too -- he has too much character to admit to something he didn't do, it's bologna. His advocates have been trying to have it both ways. They say he's redeemed himself and apologized, but he hasn't for killing these four people.
BLITZER: If he says he didn't commit the murders, how could he apologize?
SAUNDERS: Well, look it. As I said, his lawyers have also said that when he committed them he was brain damaged. What version do you want to buy?
JAGGER: He has never said ...
(CROSSTALK)
SAUNDERS: You know, this has just been -- I'm so glad that Governor Schwarzenegger saw through this whole charade of him atoning. It just doesn't work, and this whole thing that he's fighting violence. You know, praising "Tookie" Williams for telling kids not to join gangs is like praising tobacco companies for telling kids not to smoke. This is --
BLITZER: The governor made the point of saying, if he really felt badly about this, he would have cooperated in the investigation on the Crips, his gang, he would have helped in that investigation and he never did.
JAGGER: I mean, the governor dismissed completely what "Tookie" Williams has done. He has absolutely rejected, and he has done everything to bring young people war engaged in violence and crime, and he has written nine books. I mean, he's regarded by thousands of people throughout the country who have been engaging on violence.
BLITZER: All right. Let me let Debra respond to that.
SAUNDERS: I don't know how a man who's brain damaged wrote all those books.
JAGGER: I don't know where you get that.
SAUNDERS: I'm just going to say that if Arnold Schwarzenegger had granted clemency, everybody on death row would be calling a publisher right now. That's a reason I think --
JAGGER: He has never claimed that he was brain damaged.
SAUNDERS: His lawyers have.
JAGGER: No, he has not.
SAUNDERS: I'm sorry. You haven't read the decisions.
BLITZER: That's an issue we're gong to have to leave for another occasion. We are out of time. Bianca Jagger, thank you for joining us. Debra Saunders, thanks to you as well.
Remember, we're only hours away from the decision, the execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams. The governor has denied clemency for "Tookie" Williams. As we approach the 11th hour, activists are going online to stage protests.
Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton is joining us with more on that.
TATTON: Wolf, sites in support of "Tookie" Williams now constantly updating with last minute vigils and the legal maneuvers going on. Here at the NAACP.org, they've been doing a write-in campaign, also urging the people to call the governor earlier today.
Since the denial of clemency, there's a link to that document and also the legal wranglings going on by "Tookie" Williams' lawyers. At the site savetookie.org experiencing very high traffic right now, it's not possible to get on the entire Web site, but telling people of vigil tonight at San Quentin, telling people to bring along warm clothing and flashlights and urging a peaceful protest. Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Abbi. Thank you very much.
Let's find out what's coming up at the top of the hour. Paula Zahn is standing by.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. We are going to be following the "Tookie" Williams story very closely as the clock ticks down towards the execution tonight. Jesse Jackson will be joining us with his reaction tonight. Sharing with us his last conversation with "Tookie" Williams.
We, in addition to that, will be talking to his attorney, as well as a man that sat on death row and later exonerated after it was proven that he was innocent of the crime he served so many years in prison for allegedly committing.
But also at the top of the hour, another person mysteriously vanishes from a cruise ship. What is behind the surprising number of disappearances at sea? We're going to hear from relatives who are desperate for answers from cruise lines. This a particularly busy time of year for cruise ships as people are trying to head on out for the holidays.
BLITZER: Paula, thank you very much. We'll see you in about 12 minutes or so from now.
Up next, just after Hurricane Katrina, FEMA ordered some 20,000 mobile homes for hurricane evacuees. Why are almost all of them, get this, empty? Still now. Certainly not because evacuees don't need them. We'll tell you when's going on.
Should the show go on? New Orleans debates whether or not to have Mardi Gras. Jack Cafferty has your e-mail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's go back to Zain Verjee at the CNN Center in Atlanta with "The Bottom Line"--Zain.
VERJEE: Hi, Wolf.
The country's two largest cable companies are planning to start offering what has been called family friendly programming packages. The head of the main industry trade group says Comcast and Time Warner Cable will likely have the options available by spring.
The announcement comes amid pressure on the cable industry from Congress over programming some labeled indecent. Time Warner, by the way, is our parent company.
The judge in the first federal trial over the recalled pain killed, Vioxx, declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
The case involving the 2001 death of a Florida man will be retried. Vioxx is one of the country's most widely prescribed painkillers. It was pulled from the market last year after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke after 18 months of use.
And a mixed day on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost about 11 points while the Nasdaq and the S&P each posted small gains--Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much.
Federal judges ordering the government to continue paying for hotel rooms for some 40,000 Hurricane Katrina victims through February 7th. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had already extended the deadline several times. Most recently until January 7th.
FEMA does have trailers it ordered to house hurricane victims but more than 10,000 of them are sitting empty right now.
Our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen is joining us now from New Orleans with more on this incredible story--Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what thousands of people in Louisiana and Mississippi are asking is what's the hold up? They have been waiting so long for a FEMA trailer that we found one couple who decided we are going to go ahead and buy a tent and set it up inside our damaged living room.
Wayne and Sharlene Conrad (ph) live St. Bernard Parish. That is near New Orleans. Sharlene told me today that she had never slept in a tent in her life, but that's what they have to do now if they want to be able to fix up their home and live very close there.
The Parish ordered hundreds of travel trailers from a private contractor, but FEMA is refusing to pay for them. And the Parish is broke. It doesn't have the money to pay for those trailers.
So they're sitting now less than ten minutes away from the Conrads live empty and unused. Wolf, a few people have been able to score a FEMA trailer on their own, but between 15 and 20,000 people in St. Bernard Parish want one and don't have one.
BLITZER: Susan Roesgen reporting from New Orleans, welcome to CNN. Our newest addition, Susan, our new Gulf Coast correspondent.
Still ahead, is the party over or should it still go on? They're debating whether or not to have Mardi Gras in New Orleans come February. What do you think? Jack Cafferty has your e-mail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from our friends over at the Associated Press. Pictures likely to be in your hometown newspaper tomorrow.
In Baghdad, early voting. Iraqi solders show off their ink stained fingers.
In Colombia, disarmament. Para-military fighters carry posters of the Virgin Guadalupe. More than 2,000 fighters are laying down their arms.
To Belgrade now, final justice. A Serbian court found 14 men guilty of war crimes for the execution of 200 POWS during the Balkan Wars.
And in Germany, the daughter of a legend. Laila Ali takes a break during a boxing training session. Her big match is on Saturday.
Those are some of today's hot shots. Pictures often worth a thousand words.
Jack Cafferty is always worth a thousand words himself. He is joining us with "The Cafferty File."
CAFFERTY: A thousand might be too many, Wolf.
Been a little over three months since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and some of the evacuees think it's too soon to think about partying. They're protesting the city's plans to hold 150th annual Mardi Gras celebration next February. New Orleans tourism industry relying heavily on events like Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest to bring visitors and money back to the city.
So the question is, should Mardi Gras go on as scheduled next year in New Orleans?
Todd in Allentown, Pa., I think it should go on people need something to look forward to. I don't think it should be as big as it has been in years past. With all the cleaning up and rebuilding that needs to be done, I don't think it's fair to spend a ton of money on a party while people can't even find a place to live.
Chris in Minnesota, Mardi Gras should take place, but all businesses and organization involved should promise or agree together to donate 75 percent of all profits toward reconstruction. This is an excellent way to raise money for the region.
Thelma in Castalia, Ohio, of course not. Common sense tells you they should be concentrating on clearing the ruble and helping people start rebuilding their home. But when have government officials ever used common sense?
Phyllis in San Antonio, Texas, no. No Mardi Gras this year in remembrance of the New Orleans that was lost. Spend the money to get the city back, and then celebrate.
And finally, Bryan in Clearwater, I say let Mardi Gras take place, but let FEMA plan and organize it. That way it won't happen until sometime in the fall giving the city more time to clean up before the celebration.
BLITZER: All right. Bryan in Clearwater has got a good sense of humor.
See you tomorrow, Jack.
CAFFERTY: All right, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much to our viewers. Thanks very much for joining us. Don't forget we are in THE SITUATION ROOM weekdays 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, also, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Until tomorrow thanks very much for joining us.
Let's go to New York. Paula Zahn standing by -- Paula.
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