ACTION ALERT: Facing Execution for Killing His Abusers
Have you heard about the Terry Williams case? As Democracy Now reports (view the whole video segment here):
Advocates for child victims of sexual abuse are calling on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to grant clemency to Terrance "Terry" Williams, who is scheduled to be executed on October 3. In 1986, Williams was convicted of killing Amos Norwood. What the jury in that case did not know is that Norwood had sexually abused Williams and had allegedly violently raped him the night before. Furthermore, Williams had suffered years of physical and sexual abuse by older males. Most recently, evidence has emerged that prosecutors tried to make robbery seem like the motive for the murder, even though Williams’ co-defendant knew about the sexual abuse. A hearing on this part of the case is set to take place today in Philadelphia. Now, as Williams’ execution is set to take place in less than a month, five of the jurors in his case have since come forward to say they believe life without parole would have been the appropriate sentence because they did not know all the facts.
I know lots of us BPFers are deeply involved in anti-death-penalty work, and while certain cases draw major media attention and sympathy, many tragic domestic state killings do not receive the same coverage. Clemency is no abolition.
Still, what can we do to intervene in support of Terry's life? Does anyone know of grassroots solidarity work goin down in their area? Let's round up Facebook groups, petitions, phone numbers, and calls to action. Here's a few I've found so far; will keep updating the list. Please add yours in comments!
Take Action
- Terry Williams Clemency (terrywilliamsclemency.com)
- Change.org: Grant Clemency (363,138 signed, 136,862 NEEDED)
- Amnesty International: Stop The Execution
love,katie