08/08/12 08/08/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> these are young people who study in our schools, play and our neighborhoods, our friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. they are americans in their hearts, minds, and every single way but one -- on paper. >> two months after president obama announces on halting deportations of some undocumented youth, a group of immigrant activists have

infiltrated the nation's immigration jails and say they have found dozens of young people being held who should be released. we will speak with dream activist marco saavedra just released from detention. in richmond, california, over 900 residents have sought medical care after a massive fire at a chevron oil refinery. we will speak with the richmond mayor, one of the only green party mayors in the country, as well as local activist andres soto. >> the richmond refinery is the single largest refinery -- producer of greenhouse gases in the state of california. gases move through the streets, go into the central valley. >> texas executes marvin wilson. his iq is just 61. >> this is a pattern in texas. they have resisted the supreme court's ruling on mental retardation for decades.

in this case, usurped the supreme court's ruling by defining mental retardation in their own way, outside of the scientific community. >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the former girlfriend of the gunman who carried out the massacre of the sikh temple in oak creek, wisconsin senate has been detained after an unauthorized gun was allegedly found in her home. mr. cook, a 31-year-old waitress and nursing student with reported ties to what supremacist groups, worked at a restaurant a block from the temple where her ex-boyfriend, wade michael page, killed six people. she and page reportedly broke up earlier this summer. she was arrested tuesday on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. pictures show her posing with members of a why supremacist

group and wearing one of their t-shirts. there reportedly were active in online message forum for white supremacist groups. a researcher who studied wade michael page while researching which music in southern california several years ago has provided new details about the shooter's background. in an interview published on huffington post, a criminology professor said page had a drinking problem and often struggle to get to work and pay his share of rent and food. he emphasized the importance of music in his life describing him as a neo-nazi skinhead is on its musical involvement as his main form of activism. and email exchange with the shooter to the 9/11 attacks, he said page appeared to take very angry about muslims and says something to the fact that american meeting to go over to the middle east and bomb 'em all." is that it was typically toward non-jewish people, specifically

african-american. he saw whites in the army as victims of reverse discrimination. page reportedly told him -- arizona shooter jared loughner has pleaded guilty of the rampage in tucson last year the killed six people and wounded 13 others, including former democratic congressmember gabrielle giffords. under a plea deal, loughner will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole. the arizona district attorney john leonardo said prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty due to the state of loughner's mental health. >> the doctors have treated and observed mr. loughner since the shooting agree that he suffered from severe mental illness, severe schizophrenia, at the time of the shooting and before the shooting. mr. loughner's condition was not

diagnosed nor treated. in deciding to allow this plea agreement, not only the defendant's past and current mental state but also the fragility of his continued competency to stand trial was taken into the account id >> loughner was initially declared unfit to stand trial after undergoing psychiatric violations. prosecutors said it reached a plea deal in consultation of the shooting survivors and victims' families. shooting victim suzi hileman said she backed the plea deal. >> it makes me proud to be an american. this is the system doing its best. it is not a perfect solution. the perfect solution is one we cannot have. what we want is not available to us. this is the best that can be expected. >> new details have been released on the warnings from

the university of colorado psychiatrist about our shooting suspect james holmes. doctor lynne fenton has previously said she warned university of colorado officials about holmes, whom she treated before he wound up dropping out of school. according to abc news, fenton also claims she alerted a campus police officer. the university of colorado has hired a former federal prosecutor to review its handling of the case before the shooting took place. james holmes is accused of killing 12 and wounding dozens more in a shooting rampage at an aurora movie theater last month. syrian government forces have launched a long-awaited ground assault on the besieged city of aleppo after weeks of clashes. heavy fighting has already broken out in the frontline district of salaheddine. on tuesday, the head of the u.n. supervision mission in syria said the fighting in aleppo has forced international observers to temporarily pull back.

>> concerned about the continued violence in syria, a significant deterioration in that area and the impact on the population. i urge the parties to protect civilians and live under obligations of the humanitarian law. i want to strongly stress civilians must not be subjected to shelling. >> the intensified fighting comes as the zirin regime received public backing tuesday from visiting iranian senior official. at a meeting with syrian president bashar al-assad, the first public appearance in two weeks, he called the fighting in syria a battle against regional and global enemies. speaking in south africa, secretary of state clinton repeated her calls for a political transition in syria. >> it is a very difficult time

for the people of syria who are caught in this terrible violence, but i hope we will look at the urgent tasks that i think confront the people of syria and the international community, and think through how we can address them first. we must figure out ways to hasten the day when the bloodshed in and the political the -- bloodshed in the political transition begins. >> at least 20 people have been killed close to the border with israel. egypt says it is acting against militants killed 16 border guards along the border on sunday as they ate a meal, breaking the ramadan fast. in rain, 15 police officers have been charged with mistreatment of medics during u.s.-backed crackdown on opposition protests. in june, the sentences were upheld for nine medics were part

of an original group of 20 sentenced for treating demonstrators. there were handed jail terms of between one month to five years. the new charges against the officers stems from a government-backed probe convened following heavy international criticism. in the philippines, tens of thousands have fled the capital manila to escape a devastating flood. heavy waters have submerged most of the city with over 80% of manila affected. thousands have been displaced so far. president obama unveiled an additional $30 million in federal aid to combat the nation's worst drought in 25 years. nearly two-thirds of the contiguous united states has been found to be in moderate to exceptional drought, ravaging fields and driving up the price of basic staples. on tuesday, president obama unveiled the new aid and called on congress to approve a farm bill assisting rural areas. >> it is having a profound effect on farmers and ranchers all across many states.

at my direction, the department of agriculture, led by secretary vilsack, has been working with every other agency across the federal government to make sure we're taking every single possible step to help farmers and ranchers to fight back and recover from this disaster. congress has a role here. congress needs to pass a farm bill that will not only provide disaster relief tools but necessary reforms and give farmers the certainty that they deserve. >> the private military firm formerly known as blackwater has agreed to a fine of $7.5 million to settle a number of federal criminal charges surrounding weapons smuggling worldwide. blackwater, now known as academi, was accused of violations including possessing unregistered automatic weapons, lying to arms regulators about foreign sales, and illegal

shipments overseas. two years ago, blackwater paid a $42 million fine for actions including illegal weapons exports to afghanistan, making unauthorized proposals to train troops in south sudan, and providing sniper training for taiwanese police officers. in a news release announcing the payment of the fines, blackwater initially claimed the settlement -- after being reminded of a clause barring it from contradicting any aspect of the agreement publicly, blackwater issued a clarification, saying -- instructor with u.s. air force has been sentenced to 30 days in jail after being convicted of improper sexual misconduct amidst the worst military sex and all the more than 15 years. technical sergeant christopher smith is one of seven trainers at lackland air force base in san antonio, texas to be accused of sexual misconduct with

charges ranging from rape to fraternizing with female trainees. smith was convicted last week of seeking an intimate relationship with a female trainee and fraternizing with another. he was acquitted of other counts, including obstructing justice. and the most serious of the charges stemming from the investigation, a military jury gave staff sergeant luis walker a 20-year sentence last month for rape and sexual assault. occupy wall street activists and a group calling itself -- held a direct action yesterday to support the mexican movement and condemn the mexican business and make carlos slim. juan pablo sáenz was among the protesters calling for u.s. activists to join the movement against slam. >> all we want is to ask american people to join our effort to stop predatory practices, which is causing great suffering and great

underdevelopment to the nation of mexico. >> the protests kicked off a week of actions against carlos slim, the world's richest men in mexico. occupy wall street protesters are targeting businesses in new york city that slim bones portions of, including saks the avenue and the new york times. and activists said it is part of occupy wall street solidarity with movements around the world. >> occupy wall street has been working with a lot of community groups around the world. i think the action today is just part of a larger solidarity building between different action groups, unions. finding ways to target wealthy individuals, institutions, and other practices that need serious modification or real radical change. >> those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. >> welcome to all our listeners

and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today with a look of a new policy that could stop the deportation of as many as 1.3 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the united states as children. people can start to apply for the new status starting next wednesday, august 15. president obama first announced the so-called deferred action for top rivals program back in june. >> young people who study in our schools, slater neighborhoods, our friends with our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag. they are americans in their hearts, minds, and every single way but one -- on paper. let's be clear. this is not amnesty, this is not immunity. this is not a path to citizenship. it is not a permanent fix.

this is a temporary stopgap measure. >> students aged 30 or younger who are enrolled in school on the day they apply will be eligible for a two-year reprieve from deportation if they demonstrate the came to the u.s. before their 16th birthday, the chair for the past five years, and have not been convicted of certain crimes and do not pose a national security threat. on tuesday, the citizenship and immigration services director met with advocates to answer questions about who will be eligible and how to comply. advocates say many people who qualify for the new policy are still being deported right now. last week, "democracy now!" spoke with a 26-year-old undocumented immigrant named viridiana martinez who infiltrated the brower the traditional center in florida and found dozens of immigrants who she said should be released. she was speaking from inside the detention center. >> i have found several eligible people here.

last thursday one was released after three months. another was also release last week. but the damage is already done, you know? although they are released, the damage is already done because they have been detained. i think that is [unintelligible] the administration is saying they are not detaining or reporting, but here i am. >> on friday, viridiana martinez and fellow activist marco saavedra were released from detention, only to be arrested again over the weekend during a protest calling for the release of the low party detainees inside the board transitional center or detention center. marco saavedra joins us now on your. he just returned to the city, where he grew up after immigrating to the u.s. with his family when it was 3 years old in 1993.

talk about why you chose to get deported to get inside broward. >> once again, my name is marco and i am a dream-of eligible students. we knew we could somewhat comfortably go into this center, go public with the status with the fact of what we had done. we knew we had a way to release and we were asked basically to leave, if not expelled, from the center. in brief, that is what we did. >> tell us what you found inside. ?ho did you find four >> many, many detainee's who qualify as low priority for deportation, including the case of an argentinian father who is on his 17th day of his hunkers strike -- hunger strike.

the worst is already happened to me, being separated for the past six months he said. he is using his body as an example of the facsacrifice his already endured. he was taken from broward to another facility in order to be removed from the other the '20 detainee's you're beginning to -- you're beginning to resist. he would be a perfect candidate. he was detained with his son years ago after a minor traffic infraction. there were tried to enter a port and didn't have valid identification. he and his son were both detained for months. he received 120 days to

the the country, but dissipated because he would rather stick with his family and provide -- disobeyed because he preferred to stay with his family and provide for them. >> there's a petition submitted on his behalf, correct? >> correct. we have already filed or his attorney has filed i believe two stays of removal to reopen his case. he does not have the right to see a judge. but there is also an online activist petition online if folks want to sign on. we found about 30 live editions of different stories for folks to are calling on the revision of all 600 cases. we know the number is high. >> can you say a little about how you managed to end the trade the facility? what did get to do?

>> ironically, it was rather difficult. we first went to the port where the man and his son were detained two years ago then we went to the fort lauderdale airport and try to speak to the border patrol. i was very blatant about being without papers. on the third attempt, we went to a border patrol station under the pretense of looking for a friend that i was undocumented and had come with my alleged cousin through the border. upon that realization, the agent apprehended me, which i guess was the way to into the center. >> how many young people did you find at the broward detention facility who you believe would be eligible under the new obama lot? >> under the new rule, specifically there are five and a lot. the most blatant case is a man

who was deported in february for driving without a license. upon retreat from a hamas, >> what do you mean? >> an 1 assists u.s. government in closing out a criminal proceedings case, and is the paperwork to demonstrate that, he and a fellow passenger but testified against their human trafficker, the man that was captain of the boats tried to enter florida via the bahamas. the person is an eligible for -- i don't know board specifically for human trafficking. >> [unintelligible] >> due to the fact is below security detention center, a lot are there with little to none criminal record. a lot were caught with either

without a driver's license or passenger at a checkpoint or fishing without a license or at worked or of a home depot -- or at work or at home depot. people were stopped on street corners for minimal misdemeanors such as dui or open containers. those are the more harder cases, but the ones without any criminal history are very favorable for discretion. >> marco, how sure read that you would not be deported yourself? what did they do when they figured out what you were doing in jail? >> we never filed any paper work or had a tree representation while in detention. against the history of civil disobedience to our group demonstrates the but public action due to the publicity of the nature of them, none of the now over 100 participants, not just dream act students but

parents, have ever been put in removal. silent action is going undercover. publicly, we could never access a detention center after being apprehended by the police. without filing any legal claims are talking to deportation officers, we were asked to leave i think as soon as national media began to pick up on the story with "democracy now!" interviewing us. we were given a paper that said we might be eligible for the new ruling by president obama >> we will talk about that in a moment we're talking to an undocumented activist marco saavedra who infiltrated broward detention center who was released on friday, only to be arrested again. he came to the u.s. with his family when he was 3 years old from mexico. we will be joined by marco and an attorney talking about what the process is that these obama

rules have been laid out for young immigrants to seek a stay of deportation or not go to the process at all. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. our guests are marco saavedra who is a young activist, dream activist, who was detained this weekend and used his presence in the board transitional center, the reason he got arrested, to investigate whether other people in the jail should be released. also joined by tom shea, director of training and technical assistance at new york immigration coalition. we just heard marco's story.

tom, if you could talk about what is happening on august 15. >> on august 15, the people who arrived in the u.s. as children would be a look apply for deferred action. the formal name is called deferred action for childhood arrivals. the application form is not out yet. the united states citizenship and immigration services says the would posted to the website by august 15. we have not seen the form yet. we do not know what the application will look like. in order to apply for deferred action for childhood arrivals, the person must have arrived in the u.s. before their 16th birthday, had to have in tenuously resided in u.s. cents to 52,007 to present, and it entered illegally or if legally, been an unlawful status as of

june 15, 2012. that to show the or physically present in the u.s. on june 152012 up to the time this amid the request for deferred action. >> what should people know about this? and how different it is from with the dream act is, what -- legally. >> it is not a path with the legalization, a green card or citizenship. if congress had passed the dream act, it would be a packed with people getting their green card. deferred action for child of arrivals is a determination by the immigration authorities that we're not going to deport you. we could, but we're not one to start proceedings. if you're in deportation proceedings, we will stop them. >> for how long? >> two years. during that time you think it work permit. >> a want to play a part of president of in his comments

from june 15 when he announced the deferred action plan for certain and immigrants, and called on congress to take further action. >> there's still time for congress to pass the dream act this year because these kids deserve to plan their lives in more than two-year increments. we still comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our 21st century economic and security needs. a form that gives our farmers and ranchers certainty about the workers they will have, reform that gives our science and technology sectors certainty that the young people who come here to earn their ph.d. s will not be forced to leave and start new businesses and other countries. reform the continues to improve our border security and lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and immigrants. just six years ago, the unlikely trio of john mccain, ted kennedy, and president bush came together to champion this kind

of reform. i was proud to join 23 republicans in voting for it. there is no reason we cannot come together and get this done. >> that was president obama announcing the new rule. marco saavedra, he graduated this year and attended georgetown. president obama is encouraging congress to pass the dream act. what are you doing about getting the dream act passed? >> correct. again, speaking as a member of our alliance, which is a collection of grassroots efforts across the country largely student led, our efforts have always been to be politically involved but primarily coming from our base in our communities. we start abdicating our communities, the week that the accountability necessary to hold politicians to their promises.

we're hoping to advance the agenda. speaking more to the broward transitional center, though it may be coincidental, it is in florida and an opportune political time to be in that state because it is such a key electoral votes to win. we're trying to highlight that and calling attention and accountability -- today, there will be activist civil disobedience to day is there. good as the agenda in order to hold them accountable and demonstrate committed the strength exists through organizing, i guess it is always good to escalate and pushed the timetable mako what you are in the detention center, what is the average length of time people have been inside? some people have been there for over a year. >> by large, people are there for months at a time. the long as i heard was a group

of sri lanka men asking for asylum to two [unintelligible] they had been there for 20 months. many other from sri lanka through the center had been given asylum in the u.s.. by and large, a lot of the men [unintelligible] there is only one judge for 600 men. it may take months at a time. if you do not want to pay $2,000 for attorney who could maybe find a bond hearing free for $5,000, some just brisket and go back to america and say they could pay coyote $3,000 to go across the border in risk death. >> tom shea, where do people go to apply on august 15? >> where the new york immigration coalition holding an orientation that day. you can get more information on

our website. the orientation will have immigration attorneys there who will prescreen people to see if they qualify. there will make appointments with local nonprofit immigration services. >> this is a national show. what do people do all over the country? north dakota, california, arizona? >> it is hard for me to say. >> do they go to an immigration office? >> i would go to a nonprofit illegal immigrant center. they're authorized to provide legal services. i recommend going to immigration attorneys to the nonprofit immigration services. >> but not directly to immigration? >> yes. is that we're trying to ask me? >> will you be going? >> i think so. [unintelligible]

>> do you have information on your web site for where people can go around the country? >> closer to august 15, i think we will upload information. for now, we're counseling folks to consult with the certified of turning ayla approved request a want to clarify, if an application for deferred action is denied, what is the consequence of that? when a person be deported? >> it depends. do not listed citizenship and immigration has said it denied request for the nor be a charging document. they would not outright say they will not put some in deportation proceedings. if you do not have a criminal

background, they determine you're not a national security threat or risk to public safety, there will follow the policies. low priority will not be issued the nta to be put in deportation proceedings. >> which is why is critical to go to an immigration organization before you apply. >> and avoid gratitude immigration consultants that will scam people out of their money. they're not licensed to practice law the often submit applications that are not well prepared. >> what is that? tickets for being with us, tom shea -- thank you for being with us, tom shea and marco saavedra. you serve it to your own life on the record and on the line to document what is happening to immigrants around the country. he infiltrated the broward

transitional center in florida by getting arrested. after he got out, he was arrested again, calling for the release of others in detention. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. we mouflon to our next segment. >> we go to richmond, california, where over 900 people have sought medical treatment of local hospitals following a massive fire and a chevron refinery, the second- largest in the state. a series of blasts erupted early monday evening sparking the blazing fires that sent more large -- large plumes of smoke to the sky. tens of thousands of residents of richmond, north richmond and san pablo were ordered to stay in their homes with the windows and doors closed to avoid breathing in hazardous fumes. local authorities issued a level 3 warning for fire, meaning it can cause eye, skin, nose or respiratory irritation. residents interviewed by a news

as reported health issues connected to the fire. >> feeling like tightness in the chest, watery eyes, my son is complaining about his throat and nose through >> the chevron fire in richmond is the latest in a series of fires at the more than 100-year old richmond plant. analysts say the most recent offer will push gas prices over the $4 mark on the west coast. chevron says the situation is under control. in answering message on the company's richmond community hotline yesterday said the fire has been fully contained. >> this is the chevron general of permission hotline for richmond, california for monday, august 6 at 11:30 p.m. we would like to apologize to the community for the fire and smoke that occurred this evening at our refinery. the fire began at approximately 6:30 in the number for crude unit. the fire is fully contained at this time. the shelter and is warning has been lifted by the health

services department. we're working closely with local state and pro-government agencies who are on site to determine the exact cause of the incident and address any current issues and concerns. >> chevron occupies over 13% of richmond's land, and according to the california air resources board, emits more greenhouse gas pollution than any other facility in california. many who grew up in the refinery's shadow have memories of illnesses caused by spills. community activists have also accused chevron of using its local economic clout to minimize taxes and skirt environmental regulations. chevron says it is a good neighbor that bolsters the economy of richmond and its surroundings. we invited chevron to be on the show, but they didn't respond to our repeated phone calls. for more go to berkeley, california, where we are joined by gayle mclaughlin of richmond,

california, a member of the green party. she is seeking a full investigation from both chevron and independent sources into the fire. we're also joined by andres soto, a richmond organizer for communities that has previously sued chevron. there was a fiery meeting last night with hundreds of residents demanding answers from chevron and local authorities. can you talk about what is happening now and what it is you are demanding? >> thank you for having me. this situation is totally unacceptable that every few years we have these disastrous situations with fires and impact on the health of our community. last night, chevron held a town hall meeting in response to residents' concerns, concerns about the fact that to shelter in place for hours, through the night, and monday evening and into tuesday morning.

the meeting showed people were extremely upset. people were voicing their empowerment, stating they needed to hear from chevron what are the causes or what were the root causes of the situation and how the were going to implement a more safe refinery and how the community warning system could work better. what i am calling for, and this is something i have been calling for throughout this process, is a full transparent investigation not only by chevron, but by independent sources so that we can get a full analysis of what caused this fire and now we can assure the safety of our community that has suffered for decades from environmental and justice. our efforts are going to be strong, a continuous, and as a progressive elected official along with a couple of other progressives on the city

council, we are there to stand for the residents. we have the big 1% in our community. it is clear that we are still in battle with them, and will continue to be until they understand they cannot make -- they have to do better by our community and make sure that our community is safe from any harm. >> for the audience who don't know, can you describe the demographic in richmond, mayor gayle mclaughlin? >> we have a predominantly people of color community. we have almost 40% of our community is latino, close to 30% is african-american, with an aging population, native american population. particularly around the refinery, we have people of color, a low-income community. the community has suffered

social injustice, economic injustice, racial injustice, environmental and justice. we haven't committed the fighting chevron for a long time. i am proud -- i am proud and honored to stand for that community. >> i want to turn to a local interviewed in san francisco shortly after the chevron fire began. >> we heard some viewers say they heard an explosion around 6:35, 6:40. are you aware of that? >> no, with no understanding in a way of explosions, just the fire that resulted from an unknown source of our crude unit. >> the cruise on the scene immediately were on that at 6:15. were they able to get control of that? is that why we saw things really wrapped around 6:35? >> by the way, we have a world-

class our department on hand. part of the flame being seen is due to our flares and safety devices used to burn off the hydrocarbons and fuels in the units, so they can safely be depressurized. that is some of the smoke and fire people are saying critics -- are seeing. >> explain what it is like to be in richmond. talk about the fire, the chemicals that have been released, what you understand happened, and our residents are responding. >> thank you for having me as well. this was a very dramatic and shocking events, particularly in richmond and san pablo, subject to the shelter in place order. the it started out with these explosions, then a huge mushroom

cloud over the city. at first, there was no news coverage. at least locally, the bay area, the media was not aware of it. all of the sudden, it was on all the television, radio stations with everyone paying attention. by then, the crowd started to spread to the east and over the hills -- the cloud started to spread to the east and over the hills, blanketing neighboring communities. this is one of the most serious environmental disasters that this happened to the bay area. we have seen a couple of shipping disasters and other environmental disasters, but this one with the sirens when they finally went off, it was like living in a war zone. you have this toxic cloud overhead and sirens going off. it was a very scary place to be.

many people started showing up at the hospitals locally, as you reported it is a major trauma to the community. last night at the dog and pony show that chevron put on at the richmond auditorium, it was clear the emotions, the anger that the community was feeling really boiled over. the chevron people heard the voice loud and clear. from moving forward now, they are trying to get approval of their so-called planned a parade they have to go through an approval process of the city of richmond or that includes the city council and planning commission. in the past, they try to push through their approval with an inadequate eir. the judge upheld the action. it was against chevron's desires. now they have to deal with the

city and a new and different fashion. they have attempted to influence local politics and have influenced local politics for a century. in the most recent election in 2010, they spent $1 million alone on three candidates. all three of those candidates lost. they have a very difficult public relations problem with the community of richmond. we're going to hold their feet to the fire as we move ahead. >> chevron says it is fully prepared to deal with the situation. let's turn to another excerpt of the company's voice message on its richmond community hotline yesterday. >> comprehensive plans and procedures in place to respond situations like this one. we are responding to this as quickly as we can, and to plan how the train personnel to assess and manage the situation. currently taking of corporate masters to provide for the safety and security of our -- taking appropriate measures to provide for safety and security.

>> andres soto, could you comment on the chevron spokesperson said? chevron is the largest private employer by far in richmond. >> the history of chevron predates the city of richmond by a few years. it has always been a specter looming within the city. the largest tax payer and largest employer, but right now as it exists, chevron employs less than 5% of local rich and residents. it is a misnomer that our solution to the local job situation. realistically, what we have seen as nothing but spin on the refinery. on the one hand they leave their statements off with an apology, but realistically, they came out and were blaming the same

community and environmentalists for them not being able to modernize and upgrade their operations there at the richmond refinery when in fact, we know this unit that actually caught on fire and blew up, it was never part of that upgrade program. they could have ensured the safety of this thing in general. but it is that mendacity, the misrepresentation of the truth that chevron is engaging in that makes it very difficult to deal with them. they refused to set the table and negotiate in good faith with the committee over a wide range of issues, whether it is fair taxation or environmental and safety and justice. >> andres soto, do you know the chemicals that have been released into the environment? >> what i understand from the

people who study these signs, there's a whole range of hydrocarbons. we suspect this is some of the high sulphur content crude from the canadian tar sands that may have been involved with this. you know, there is exotic metals. it is a talks it stew of chemicals released into the broad environment, and not just local community, but throughout the region. >> i interrupted you talking about chevron bank and international corp. >> right. i mean, this is one of the biggest international, multinational corporations. we have seen how they have dealt with the people in nigeria. in fact, the mouthpiece in richmond was assigned to nigeria before they assign her to richmond. were they have used an algerian army to kill people. and ecuador, they bought the

processing of the oil there, the wells there, and the extraction and have left a toxic mess that was started by texaco and they are ignoring the fine the ecuadorian government has imposed. down in brazil, we see them taking action or they have indicted chevron executives for offshore oil drilling accidents and spills. you know, looking at that, that is a role model. unfortunately here, no one is talking about arresting nigel and his crew for the chevron experience the other day, the environmental disaster was severed. >> i want to ask you more about chevron and ecuador. earlier this year, ecuadorean plaintiffs launched a new effort to recoup the 18 been dollars in damages that chevron has refused to pay for polluting ecuador's

rainforest since the 1970's. amazonian residents won the judgment last year after a long- running case seeking damages for chevron's dumping of toxic oil waste. chevron has helped to avoid the fine by dissolving its assets inside ecuador. in late june, the plaintiffs filed suit against chevron holdings in brazil in a bid to target chevron worldwide. a similar lawsuit was filed in canada in may. juan pablo sáenz, a lawyer in the case, said chevron's actions in the case of that the plant is with no choice but to pursue the company around the globe. >> because chevron is failing to comply with the sentences in ecuador, we're obligated to look for a series of countries where their interests and directly attack those interests to be allowed to collect the amount of money ordered to repair the ecuadorean amazon. >> andres soto? >> chevron is behaving as an international criminal corporation.

last night in richmond, that is what some folks were calling them. this kind of behavior, this irresponsible corporate behavior, and our community, is masked by giving chump change to local nonprofits to keep them quiet, to remove them from the debate. but at the same time, they're not fooling everybody. we see this reckless behavior of the voiding -- avoiding these judgments and other countries went right and our own country, they have been appealing property taxes and were found to owe more taxes than they actually paid. we have seen more than try to evade revealing their energy usage to avoid paying the user's tax locally. they had reached a settlement on that. and still they have millions of dollars to spend on influencing

local politics. this kind of corporate criminal behavior is not fooling the people of richmond. >> i want to go back to mayor mclaughlin. you are one of the only green party mayors in the country. under your watch, the chevron plant has had this major fire. your final comments about what you feel needs to happen? >> absolutely. we have been fighting chevron since i was elected, and by efforts of council members before i was elected, we have the progressive movement in the city of richmond. since our efforts, the progressives on the council, chevron has a long predominated city hall. we have two new progressives running this particular election, and we need to get them on board because we have to the continued councilmembers in

the pockets of chevron. in so many ways we are a leading environmental city based on our initiatives. with a stronger voice, with a super majority of progressives to the rich and progressive alliance on the city council, we will be a to hold chevron totally accountable by our vote, by regulating them, by not giving them a permit for their new proposal unless they put in the highest safety precautions and the highest assurance it will not be refining this dirty, heavy crude that can cause more explosions and cause more home -- harm to our community. we have the political -- >> thank you both for being with us, mayor gayle mclaughlin, seeking a full investigation from both chevron and independent sources into the fire, and andres soto.

we take a brief break and then we will go to texas and to talk about the execution of a man whose iq was 61, marvin wilson. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. >> we in today's show with a follow-up to a story we covered tuesday. last month the state of texas went ahead with this execution of 54-year-old marvin wilson, despite evidence he was mentally retarded. wilson's lawyers argue that an iq test on which the wilson scored 61 -- nine points below the standard for competency -- should have saved him from execution under a 2002 supreme court ruling barring execution of the intellectually disabled. this is attorney lee kovarsky on "democracy now!" >> marvin fits comfortably within any clinical definition of mental retardation. he has significantly sub average intellectual functioning, his adaptive functioning is even worse. if you believe the supreme court's decision in acton's

meant we don't execute mentally retarded offenders because they're less culpable and less capable of mounting defenses that prevent them from being subjected to the death penalty, if you take that ruling seriously, then this is sort of the quintessential case in which he would not impose that. >> last month, the supreme court struck down wilson's final appeal. he was escorted to the death chamber in huntsville shortly before 6:00 p.m. and put to death by new lethal injection method that involves a single drug. for more, we're joined by "democracy now!" producer renée feltz. she has long reported on the death penalty, especially in texas. >> i talked to his attorney lee kovarsky last night and said martin was at peace with god and his family and pronounced dead

at 6:27 last time, leaving the rest of us to wonder how a man could be killed little

how texas compares to other states in dealing with mentally challenged? >> texas needs to pass legislation that hides the courts. if you leave a situation like this in the hands of the courts, you have what happened last night. >> the execution of marvin wilson with an iq of 61 with a single injection. >> that is right. we've heard the difference between the three-drug cocktail and the single-drug cocktail. significantly, it takes almost twice as long to occur and witnesses say you can barely tell when someone has passed

away. >> thank you for being with us, renée feltz. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]