Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gang member and
spree killer
A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations ...
who co-founded and led the
Crips
The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...
gang in Los Angeles. He and
Raymond Washington
Raymond Lee Washington (August 14, 1953 – August 9, 1979) was an American gangster, known as the founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles. Washington formed the Crips as a minor street gang in the late 1960s in South Los Angeles, becoming a pr ...
formed an alliance in 1971 that established the Crips as Los Angeles' first major African-American street gang. During the 1970s, Williams was the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' leader of the Crips and the prominent
crime boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
in
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
.
Williams' activities with the Crips ended in 1979 when he was arrested for the murder of four people during two robberies. Convicted of the murders in 1981 and
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, he spent over two decades on death row until he was executed by
lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
in 2005. The highly publicized trial of Williams and extensive appeals for
clemency
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
sparked debate on the status of the death penalty in California.
Early years
Williams was born on December 29, 1953, in
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
. His father abandoned the family when Williams was one year old. In 1959, Williams moved with his mother, Louisiana Williams, to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and settled in the city's
South Central region.
As Williams' mother worked several jobs to support them, Williams was a
latchkey kid
A latchkey kid, or latchkey child, is a child who returns to an empty home after school (or other activities) or a child who is often left at home with no supervision, supervision because their parents are away at work. Such a child can be any age ...
and often engaged in mischief on the streets. He recalled that, as a child, he would hang out in abandoned houses and
vacant lots around his neighborhood in South Central where he would watch adults get drunk,
abuse drugs,
gamble
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...
and engage in dog fights. Williams stated that after the adults finished the dog fighting they would make the children fight each other, including himself. Williams began to participate in these
street fights
Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fig ...
regularly as a child, where adults would bet on him and give him part of the proceeds for winning his fights. Williams was often the target of older bullies and street thugs in his neighborhood and, by the age of twelve, began carrying a
switchblade
A switchblade (aka switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, Stiletto, flick blade, or spring knife (Sprenger,Benson, Ragnar (1989). ''Switchblade: The Ace of Blades''. Paladin Press. pp. 1–14. . The sw ...
in order to protect himself. By the time Williams was a teenager he had gained a reputation in South Central's West Side as a vicious street fighter. Williams was expelled from
George Washington Preparatory High School
George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year high school in the Westmont section of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California. Founded in 1926, the school has a Los Angeles address but is not located in the city limits of L ...
and was blackballed by several other high schools in the South Central area for fighting, and eventually began doing stints in
Central Juvenile Hall
Central Juvenile Hall (also known as Eastlake Juvenile Hall or Central) is a youth detention center in Los Angeles County. Central houses both boys and girls. The Central Juvenile Hall complex was originally established in 1912 as the first juv ...
.
Gang activity
In the late 1960s,
juvenile crime
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...
increased in South Central as older gangs disbanded to join the
Black Power Movement, most notably as part of the
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
, initially to protect black people from
police brutality
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
and corruption in the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
. Increasingly violent youth gangs formed in their place, which Williams initially despised as predatory but because of his viciousness and willingness to fight older youths Williams earned the respect of many gangsters on the West Side. These gangs were mostly small-time neighborhood cliques that operated independently from each other and therefore leadership was not chosen but determined naturally. At age fifteen, Williams was invited into a small West Side clique after he befriended a local teenager, Donald "Doc/Sweetback" Archie. Williams soon earned the clique's respect after beating up one of their members for insulting his mother. Williams became the unofficial leader of this clique as his violent reputation began to spread across South Central.
In 1969, at age sixteen, Williams was arrested in
Inglewood for car theft and was sent to the Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in
Downey Downey may refer to:
People
*Downey (surname)
*Robert Downey Jr.
Places
*Downey, California, US
*Downey, Idaho, US
*Downey, Iowa, US
Businesses
*W. & D. Downey, photographic studio
*Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant
Schools
* ...
. While doing time at the detention center, Williams was introduced to
Olympic weightlifting
Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...
by the facility's gym coach and this experience would spark an interest in
bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
. By his release from custody in early 1971, aged seventeen, Williams was physically bigger and stronger. According to Williams, upon his release from custody the review board asked him what he planned to do after being released, to which he replied "being the leader of the biggest gang in the world."
Shortly after his release from prison, Williams was approached by
Raymond Washington
Raymond Lee Washington (August 14, 1953 – August 9, 1979) was an American gangster, known as the founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles. Washington formed the Crips as a minor street gang in the late 1960s in South Los Angeles, becoming a pr ...
at
Washington Preparatory High School
George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year high school in the Westmont section of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California. Founded in 1926, the school has a Los Angeles address but is not located in the city limits of Lo ...
after hearing of Williams through a mutual friend of both young men. The friend had informed Washington of Williams' toughness and his willingness to fight members of larger, more established street gangs such as the L.A. Brims and the Chain Gang. According to Williams' account of the meeting, what struck him about Washington was that, besides being incredibly muscular, he and his cohort were dressed similar to Williams and his clique, wearing leather jackets with starched
Levi's
Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...
jeans and
suspenders
Suspenders (American English, Canadian English), or braces (British English, Australian English) are fabric or leather straps worn over the shoulders to hold up skirts or trousers. The straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attach ...
. Washington was from South Central's East Side, where he was a prominent gangster similar to Williams, and proposed they use their influence in their respective regions to form the larger
Crips
The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...
street gang. The purpose for creating the gang initially was to eliminate all street gangs and create a "bull force"
neighborhood watch
A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood.
The aim of neig ...
in South Central. Williams said: "We started out—at least my intent was to, in a sense, address all of the so-called neighboring gangs in the area and to put, in a sense—I thought 'I can cleanse the neighborhood of all these, you know, marauding gangs.' But I was totally wrong. And eventually, we morphed into the monster we were addressing." Williams has stated that he founded the Crips not with the intention of eliminating other gangs, but to create a force powerful enough to protect local black people from racism, corruption and brutality at the hands of the police. At the time of the Crips' initial formation there were only three Crip sets: Washington's East Side Crips (later called East Coast Crips), Williams' West Side Crips (later would become the Eight Tray Gangster Crips), and the
Compton
Compton may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district
* Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton
* Compton, Que ...
Crips, led by a teenager named Mac Thomas. Williams formed the West Side Crips using his own influence, having befriended so many clique leaders and street thugs on the West Side. Washington, Williams and Thomas went on an aggressive and violent recruitment campaign throughout the black ghettos of Los Angeles, where they challenged the leaders of other gangs to one-on-one street fights. This process resulted in most gangs agreeing to join the Crips, and they were converted from small independent cliques into subgroups (''sets'') of a gang within the larger gang. The Crips quickly became the biggest street gang in South Central by both numbers and territory, however, numerous gangs still resisted losing their independence. These hold-out gangs formed a similar alliance to combat the Crips' influence, branding themselves as the
Bloods
The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includin ...
, and would become their fiercest rivals. Williams' former rivals, the L.A. Brims and the Chain Gang, joined the Blood alliance and became The Brims and The Inglewood Family Bloods, respectively.
As leader of the West Side Crips, Williams became the
archetype
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...
of the new wave of Los Angeles gang members that would engage in random acts of violence against rival gang members and innocent people alike. Williams and his best friend, Curtis "Buddha" Morrow, would noticeably participate in these activities, striking fear into both street criminals and the residents of South Central,
Watts
Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power.
Watts may also refer to:
People
*Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters
*Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful''
*Watts family, six chara ...
, Inglewood, and Compton. Williams' violent acts became legendary in southern Los Angeles'
criminal underworld
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
as on numerous occasions
criminal charges
A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can ...
brought against him ended in disarray, and
prosecutors
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
were unable to convict him due to lack of evidence.
Crips leader
Soon after the foundation of the Crips, other leaders were either murdered or
incarcerated
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
and Williams became regarded as the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' leader. In 1974, Raymond Washington was arrested for 2nd degree
robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
and served five years in prison in
Tracy. Raymond was soon murdered after his release from prison. On February 23, 1973, Curtis "Buddha" Morrow was shot to death in South Central following a petty argument. Mac Thomas was murdered under mysterious circumstances in the mid-1970s. Williams began to live an ironic
double life
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...
, where he worked in a legal job as an anti-gang
youth counselor in Compton
while also serving as the overboss for one of the largest gangs in Los Angeles. Williams would work as a counselor and study
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
at
Compton College
Compton College is a public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after the partnership ...
during working hours, then spend his free time participating in numerous violent attacks against the Bloods.
In 1976, Williams was wounded in a
drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
while sitting on the porch of his house in Compton. The shooting was committed by members of the Bloods, who shot at Williams from their car as he was letting his dog out for a walk in the evening. Attempting to avoid getting hit, Williams dove to the ground from the porch, but was shot in both of his legs. Williams was told by doctors that he would never walk again, but after a nearly year-long process of
physical rehabilitation
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
and an intense workout regimen, he ultimately regained his ability to walk. After the shooting, Williams re-developed a substance abuse problem when he began smoking
PCP. Williams had begun dabbling in street drugs around the age of twelve, and as a preteen befriended a neighborhood
pimp
Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
who, in return for performing errands for him, would reward Williams with money and drugs, particularly
Quaaludes
Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...
,
barbiturate
Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as we ...
s (then known as "Red Devils") or
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
. Williams' personal life began to unravel: his maternal grandmother, with whom he was very close, died in 1976. He lost his counseling job in 1977 after being implicated in a robbery that was committed by two youths from a
group home
A group home, congregate living facility, or care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English) is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children ...
that Williams supervised. He was denied an opportunity to compete in an amateur bodybuilding contest after it was discovered that he was a gang leader (Williams would later appear on the 1970s variety show ''
The Gong Show
''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...
'' performing a
posedown
In bodybuilding and physique, a posedown is a free for all posing round in a bodybuilding or physique competition where the participants strike various poses, highlighting specific muscles and their overall physique. Posedowns are usually the fina ...
routine). Eventually his gangster lifestyle was beginning to take a mental toll on him, which included a brief stay in the
psychiatric ward
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
of a hospital after Williams experienced a bad
trip
Trip may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character
* Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers''
* Trip, in the 2013 film ''Metallica Through th ...
while high on PCP. With each of these setbacks Williams increasingly found himself using PCP and supported his drug habit by intimidating and robbing drug dealers in South Central.
Murder convictions
In 1981, Williams was convicted of four counts of murder committed in two of three separate incidents. Williams always maintained his innocence, though subsequent court reviews concluded that there was no compelling reason to grant a
retrial
A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...
.
The prosecution stated that Williams met with a man identified in court documents only as "Darryl" late on Tuesday evening, February 28, 1979.
Williams introduced Darryl to friends of his, Alfred "Blackie" Coward and to Bernard "Whitie" Trudeau, and a short time after the initial meeting, Darryl, driving a brown
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
and accompanied by Williams and Coward drove to the home of James Garret. Williams frequently stayed and kept some possessions at Garret's home, including a
12-gauge
The gauge (or commonly bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) of the barrel.
Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the f ...
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
, and after about 10 minutes inside, Williams returned with the shotgun. Williams, Darryl and Coward then went to the home of Tony Sims in
Pomona, where they discussed possible locations to obtain money through robbery. Afterwards, they went to another residence where Williams left the others and returned with a
.22-caliber pistol, and placed it in the station wagon. Darryl and Williams entered the station wagon, Coward and Sims entered another vehicle, and then embarked on the freeway. Both vehicles exited the freeway at
California State Route 72
State Route 72 (SR 72) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The route runs along Whittier Boulevard in the Los Angeles area from SR 39 in La Habra to Interstate 605 in Whittier. SR 72 forms part of El Camino Real.
Rou ...
(
Whittier Boulevard
Whittier Boulevard known as Stephenson Avenue (before 1920) is an arterial street that runs from the Los Angeles River (where it continues into Downtown Los Angeles as 6th Street) to Brea, California. The street is one of the main thoroughfares in ...
). The first incident occurred at a nearby
Stop-N-Go supermarket, where Darryl and Sims, at the request of Williams, entered the store with the apparent intention of robbing it. Darryl was carrying the .22 pistol that Williams had deposited in the station wagon earlier, and also had a
rifle
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
in the trunk of the car, along with two
semi-automatic handguns. The clerk at the Stop-N-Go market, Johnny Garcia, had just finished mopping the floor when he observed a station wagon and the four men at the door to the market. Two of the men entered the market and one of the men went down an aisle, while the other approached Garcia asking for a cigarette. Garcia gave the man a cigarette and lit it for him. After approximately three to four minutes, the men left the market without carrying out the planned robbery.
The prosecution stated that next Coward and Sims followed Williams and Darryl to the 7-Eleven market located at 10437 Whittier Boulevard in
Whittier. The store clerk, 26-year-old Albert Lewis Owens, was sweeping the store's parking lot at 7:42 p.m. when Darryl and Sims entered the 7-Eleven. Owens put the
broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
and
dustpan
A dustpan, the small version of which is also known as a "hearth brush and shovel” (from its use of cleaning the fireplace hearth), is a cleaning utensil. The dustpan is commonly used in combination with a broom or long brush. The small dustpa ...
he was using on the hood of his car and entered the store to serve them, and was followed in by Williams and Coward. As Darryl and Sims walked to the counter area to take money from the cash register, Williams walked behind Owens, pulled the shotgun from under his jacket and told Owens to "shut up and keep walking".
While pointing the shotgun at Owens' back, Williams directed him to a back storage room and ordered him to lie down. Coward said that he next heard the sound of a round being
chambered into the shotgun, then heard a shot and glass breaking, followed by two more shots. Williams had shot at a
security monitor and then killed Owens, shooting him twice in the back at
point-blank range
Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...
as he lay prone on the storage room floor.
The next incident occurred at the Brookhaven Motel located at 10411 South Vermont Avenue in South Central Los Angeles, which was run by 76-year-old Yen-Yi Yang and his wife, 63-year old Tsai-Shai C. Yang, their daughter, 43-year-old Yu-Chin Yang Lin, and their son, Robert. The Yangs were immigrants from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and Yu-Chin had recently joined them in the United States to run the hotel. According to the prosecutors, at approximately 5:00 a.m. on March 11, 1979, Williams entered the Brookhaven Motel lobby and then broke down the door that led to the private office. Inside the office, Williams shot and killed Yen-Yi, Tsai-Shai, and Yu-Chin, after which he emptied the cash register and fled the scene. Robert, asleep with his wife in their bedroom at the motel, was awakened by the sound of somebody breaking down the door to the motel's office. Shortly thereafter he heard a female scream, followed by gunshots. Robert entered the motel office and found that his mother, his sister, and his father had all been shot, and the cash register was empty. The forensic pathologist testified that Yen-Yi Yang suffered two close range shotgun wounds, one to his left arm and abdomen, and one to the lower left chest. Tsai-Shai also received two close range wounds, one to the
tailbone
The coccyx ( : coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horses. In tailless primates (e.g. humans and othe ...
, and the other to the front of the
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
, entering at the navel. Yu-Chin Yang Lin was shot once in the upper left face area at a distance of a few
feet
The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
. Witnesses testified that Williams referred to the victims in conversations with friends as "
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
-heads".
Trial
Williams was convicted in 1981 of all four murders with aggravating circumstances on each count of felony murder (robbery) as well as multiple murder in the case of the Brookhaven event. The jury also convicted him of robbery in both cases, and found that he personally used a firearm in the commission of the crimes. The jury returned a verdict of Guilty, and the judge
sentenced him to death.
From the beginning of his sentence, Williams maintained his innocence regarding the four murders, alleging
prosecutorial misconduct
In jurisprudence, prosecutorial misconduct or prosecutorial overreach is "an illegal act or failing to act, on the part of a prosecutor, especially an attempt to sway the jury to wrongly convict a defendant or to impose a harsher than appropri ...
, exclusion of
exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence is evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial that exonerates or tends to exonerate the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to present guilt.
In many countries, including ...
, ineffective
assistance of counsel, biased jury selection, and the misuse of
jailhouse
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
and government
informants
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
. Williams claimed that the police found "not a shred of tangible evidence, no fingerprints, no crime scenes of bloody boot prints. They didn't match my boots, nor eyewitnesses. Even the shotgun shells found conveniently at each crime scene didn't match the shotgun shells that I owned." However, the prosecution's firearms expert, a
sheriff's deputy
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, testified during trial that the shotgun shell recovered from the Brookhaven Motel crime scene matched test shells from the shotgun owned by Stanley Williams. No second examiner verified his findings, and the defense claimed this expert's methodology was "
junk science
The expression junk science is used to describe scientific data, research, or analysis considered by the person using the phrase to be spurious or fraudulent. The concept is often invoked in political and legal contexts where facts and scientifi ...
at best".
Williams' gun was found in the home of a couple with whom he occasionally stayed. According to the
District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
, the husband was undergoing sentencing for receiving stolen property and tried for
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
. Williams' lawyers have claimed that the District Attorney quashed a murder investigation in exchange for their testimony. The two shells recovered from the 7-Eleven crime scene were consistent with shells fired from this gun, with no exclusionary markings. The shell recovered from the Brookhaven Motel crime scene was conclusively matched to Williams' weapon "to the exclusion of all other firearms."
Critics claim that although he renounced gangs and apologized for his role in co-founding the Crips, Williams continued to associate with Crips members in prison. However, when contacted about Williams' alleged ongoing gang activity, Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman April Harding said there was no evidence of his gang leadership. Opponents also pointed out that he received a significant amount of money from outside sources. They stated that people who appreciate Williams' work sent him money. "It's as simple as that," said Williams' spokeswoman
Barbara Becnel
Barbara Cottman Becnel (born May 30, 1950) is an American author, journalist, and film producer. She was a close friend and advocate for Crips co-founder Stanley Williams (aka "Stan Tookie Williams"; a convicted murderer and former gang leader wh ...
.
The prosecution had removed three black people from serving as jurors in Williams' trial. Williams' lawyers claimed that he was convicted by a jury that had no African-Americans, one
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
, one
Filipino-American
Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...
, and 10
White Americans
White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
. The District Attorney provided proof, however, in the form of a
death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
and the
affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
of another juror, that juror #12, William James McLurkin, was black.
The defense responded that, contrary to the affidavit, McLurkin did not appear black. They maintain that the trial record indicates that none of the lawyers, and particularly the prosecutor, additional evidence in a November 2005 petition for
clemency
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
.
According to the clemency petition, in his closing arguments, prosecuting District Attorney Robert Martin described Williams as a "
Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...
in captivity in a zoo" and said that the jury needed to imagine him in his natural "habitat", which was like "going into the back country, into the hinterlands." In a radio interview, Martin insisted that the analogy was not meant to be racial, and instead was a
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
to the fact that Williams appeared in court dressed in business attire much like an animal in a zoo appears more docile than it would be in the wild. In the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
summary of the case, Williams stated that various jurors misconstrued as a threat a question that he asked defense counsel at the close of the guilt phase. The trial record shows that after the jurors returned their
guilty verdicts, Williams said, "Sons of bitches" in a voice sufficiently loud that the court reporter included it in the trial transcript. On the day that the jury began its penalty-phase deliberations, an alternate juror reported to the bailiff that he was going to get all of them.
Williams became inmate CDC# C29300 at
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
in northern California, and spent 6 years in
solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
in the late 1980s for multiple assaults on guards and fellow inmates.
According to a classification report found on page 8 of filings by his lawyers during the clemency proceedings dated August 5, 2004, Williams had no violations since that time.
In October 1988, Williams was stabbed in the neck and seriously injured by
Tiequon Cox
Tiequon Aundray "Lil Fee" Cox (born December 1, 1965) is a convicted murderer who is incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison.
Cox was one of the prime suspects of a mass murder investigation into the deaths of Ebora Alexander, aged 59, Dietra ...
in San Quentin State Prison.
Appeals
Williams appealed his conviction in the state courts and filed a petition in the federal courts for ''
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
'' relief. The State courts affirmed the conviction, and the lower federal court denied the ''habeas corpus'' petition. In 2001, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
heard Williams' appeal from the lower federal court, and the
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
denied Williams' appeal in 2002, but noted that the federal courts were not his only forum for relief and that he could request clemency from the
Governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
. In late 2005, a campaign began to urge Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
to grant clemency for Williams in consideration of his work as an anti-gang activist, with thousands of people signing
online petitions
An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
calling for Schwarzenegger to
commute
Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to:
* Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work
Mathematics
* Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...
the death sentence. In early November 2005, Williams' attorneys filed his formal petition for
executive clemency, as well as a motion to obtain new evidence. (See
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
for the full text of the documents filed in these proceedings.) California opposed the clemency petition through the office of the
Los Angeles County District Attorney
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is George Gascón.
Some mi ...
, who along with the Los Angeles Police Department and other law enforcement groups, disputed that Williams had reformed. They stated that he refused to inform officials about other gang members or the tactics and communication methods that the gangs used, as Williams said he did not want to be a "
snitch
Snitch may refer to:
* Informant
Film and television
* ''Snitch'' (1998 film) or ''Monument Ave.'', an American crime drama directed by Ted Demme
* ''Snitch'' (2011 film) or ''Witness Insecurity'', an American thriller starring Edward Furlong
...
".
The clemency petition emphasized the theme of Williams' redemption and
rehabilitation
Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to:
Health
* Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished
* Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
rather than his claim of actual innocence. The ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' writer Bob Egelko doubted this method, based on the courts handling the appeals, and quoted
Austin Sarat
Austin Sarat (born November 2, 1947) is an American political scientist who is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is also a Five College Fortieth Anniversary ...
, professor of law and politics at
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
and author of ''Mercy on Trial'', a book about compassion: Sarat said that actual innocence is "about the only ground in which governors grant clemency in the modern period... I know of no case in which a death row inmate has been spared (solely) based on post-conviction rehabilitation."
On December 8, 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger held a clemency hearing at a one-hour, closed-door meeting, where a crowd consisting of both supporters of Williams and proponents of capital punishment congregated outside the
California State Capitol
The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senate, al ...
in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
. Schwarzenegger described the decision whether to grant clemency as "the toughest thing when you are governor, dealing with someone's life." While the clemency petition was pending before the governor, Williams filed further appeals in the courts. On November 30, 2005, the
California Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
, in a 4–3 decision, refused to reopen Williams' case. On December 11, 2005, the California Supreme Court denied Williams' request for a stay of execution. Supporters of Williams also made another plea directly to Governor Schwarzenegger to stay the execution.
Also during this period, the media, community organizations, and relatives of the victims were speaking out. In mid-November 2005,
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
hosts
John and Ken
''The John and Ken Show'' is an American talk radio show, hosted by ''John Chester Kobylt'' and ''Kenneth Robertson Chiampou''. The show airs Monday thru Friday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time on KFI AM 640, a local Southern California tal ...
of the, ''John and Ken Show'' on
Clear Channel's
KFI
KFI (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel station, clear-channel List of ...
radio in Los Angeles started a "Tookie Must Die (For Killing Four Innocent People)" hour on their show daily until the execution of Williams. During the hour, they interviewed advocates of both sides of the issue and expressed their support for the impending execution. Many anti-death penalty and
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
organizations around the country organized activist campaigns to stop the execution, including the
Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
,
A.N.S.W.E.R.
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States–based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations. Formed in the wake of th ...
, and others. Williams's friend, co-author, and political collaborator, Barbara Becnel, helped to spearhead much of the organizing. Celebrities also joined to stop the execution, including
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
, who appeared at a clemency rally wearing a shirt advertising the Save Tookie website and performed a song he had written for Williams.
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film '' Ray'', for which he won the ...
, noting that Williams' execution date was his birthday, publicly stated that the only birthday present he wanted was clemency for Williams. Other prisoners were also involved in activism to save Williams's life, including Tony Ford, whose death sentence in a disputed case was indefinitely stayed, who helped organize a
prisoners strike in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
protesting the execution. On November 29, 2005, the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
of
Northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
announced that more than 175,000 Californians had signed a petition requesting the temporary suspension of executions in California until the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice could complete its study, due for December 31, 2007. The "California Moratorium on Executions Act", A.B.1121, was scheduled to have its first hearing in January 2006. Press conferences and rallies in more than a dozen California cities called for a halt to all executions. They asked Governor Schwarzenegger to commute Williams' death sentence to
life without parole
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
.
On December 8, 2005, Lora Owens, the stepmother of Albert Owens, made a statement expressing her opinion of Stanley Williams: "I think he
illiamsis the same cold-blooded killer that he was then and he would be now if he had the opportunity again." Owens' two daughters, who were 8 and 5 years old when their father was murdered, also opposed clemency and recalled that they were shocked when they had learned that their father's murderer was nominated for a
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
. By contrast, on December 9, 2005, Linda Owens, Albert Owens' widow, stated support of Williams' efforts to bring an end to gang violence and his call for peace between gangs: "I, Linda Owens want to build upon Mr. Williams' peace initiative. I invite Mr. Williams to join me in sending a message to all communities that we should all unite in peace. This position of peace would honor my husband's memory and Mr. Williams' work."
On December 12, 2005, Governor
Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
denied clemency for Williams. In his denial, Governor Schwarzenegger cited the following:
*"The possible irregularities in Williams' trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury's decisions that he is guilty of these four murders and should pay with his life."
*The basis of his request for clemency is the "personal redemption Stanley Williams has experienced and the positive impact of the message he sends," yet "it is impossible to separate Williams' claim of innocence from his claim of redemption."
*"Cumulatively, the evidence demonstrating Williams is guilty of these murders is strong and compelling … there is no reason to second guess the jury's decision of guilt or raise significant doubts or serious reservations about Williams' convictions and death sentence."
*"Williams has written books that instruct readers to avoid the gang lifestyle and to stay out of prison …
has also … tried to preach a message of gang avoidance and peacemaking …
is hard to assess the effect of such efforts in concrete terms, but the continued pervasiveness of gang violence leads one to question the efficacy of Williams' message."
*"The dedication of Williams' book ''Life in Prison'' casts significant doubt on his redemption... the mix of individuals on
he dedicationlist is curious …
t the inclusion of
George Jackson on the list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems."
*"Is Williams' redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise? Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders of the four victims in this case. 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."
Governor Schwarzenegger summarized by basing his denial of clemency on the "totality of circumstances". On the same day that Schwarzenegger denied Williams clemency, Jonathan Harris, a
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
counsel with
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, (known as Curtis), is a New York-headquartered international law firm with 250 attorneys in 19 offices worldwide.
History
The law firm was founded in 1830 in New York City by Connecticut natives and broth ...
LLP, filed a response summarizing new evidence of innocence. It included reference to an affidavit by Gordon Bradbury von Ellerman attesting to belief in Williams' innocence. Dated December 10, it states that he called the NAACP on December 8 after reading in the ''
Daily Breeze
The ''Daily Breeze'' is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of Calif ...
'' that his cellmate, George Oglesby, had testified against Williams. He states that he had observed Oglesby receive police reports on Williams and others. Mr. Oglesby told Von Ellerman that he was using the documents to testify against Williams and others "to gain a reduction or eliminate charges against him." Von Ellerman also observed Oglesby copying from samples of Williams' handwriting to "create incriminating documents that would appear to be written by Mr. Williams." Prosecutors had cited handwritten notes written by Williams about an escape plan that involved the killing of a bus driver and another accomplice.
Execution
On December 13, 2005, sixteen days away from his 52nd birthday, after exhausting all forms of appeal, Williams was executed by
lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
at
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
. ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' reported thousands of protesters outside, most of whom were seeking Williams' clemency. He was the 12th person to be executed by the state of California following the 1976
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
decision of ''
Gregg v. Georgia
''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the use ...
''. Williams provided no last words to the
prison warden
The warden (United States, US, Canada) or governor (United Kingdom, UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison.
Name
In the United States and Canad ...
, but in an interview on
WBAI
WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...
Pacifica radio
Pacifica may refer to:
Art
* ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition
Places
* Pacifica, California, a city in the United States
** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier
* Pacifica, a conceiv ...
hours before the execution, he stated:
Witnesses described the mood in the execution chamber as somber, and Williams showed no resistance as he was led into the
execution chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death ro ...
. After Williams was strapped to the gurney, he struggled against the straps holding him down to look up at the press gallery behind him, and to exchange glances with his supporters. Williams's advocate and editor Barbara Becnel was also a witness to his execution. In the
epilogue
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
of Williams's reprinted memoir, ''Blue Rage, Black Redemption'', Becnel reported that prior to Williams's arrival in the death chamber, he had promised her that "he would find a way to lift his head and smile at me at some point during his execution, no matter what was being done to him. And that is exactly what he did." Williams then rested his head on the gurney while medical technicians began inserting needles in his veins, although
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
reported the staff had difficulty inserting the needles and the usually short process took almost 20 minutes. ''
Contra Costa Times
The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East Bay ...
'' reporter John Simerman added, "They had some trouble with the second I.V., which was in the left arm… Williams, at one point, grimaced or looked almost out of frustration…at the difficulty there…He had his glasses on the whole time. He kept them on, and he kept looking…" With a look of frustration on his face, Williams angrily asked the technicians, "You guys doing that right?" A female guard whispered to him, and a second guard patted Williams' shoulder as if to comfort him. Williams shed one silent tear but otherwise showed no emotion as he was executed.
Members of Albert Owens' family who witnessed the execution were described as stony-faced; however, Lora Owens appeared very upset, according to
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
anchor
Rita Cosby
Rita Cosby (born November 18, 1964) is a television news anchor and correspondent, radio host, and best selling author. She is currently a special correspondent for the CBS syndicated program ''Inside Edition'', specializing in interviewing news ...
.
Kevin Fagan, a reporter for the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'', wrote a detailed description of the execution:
This is the sixth one I have seen here at San Quentin, and I have to say this was very different. The most notable thing was that Williams had supporters at the back of the room... Mrs. Becnel was among them, I understand. We could see them, and throughout the last part of the execution—or preparing him when he was still conscious, they gave what looked like black power salutes several times to him, one man and two women. And most strikingly at the end of the execution, as those three were heading out, they yelled, 'The State of California just killed an innocent
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
man!' which is the first time I ever heard any outburst in the death chamber there.
After Williams was pronounced dead at 12:35 a.m.
PST (08:35
UTC), several reporters who witnessed the execution held a news conference.
Funeral and aftermath
Williams' spokeswoman and co-author
Barbara Becnel
Barbara Cottman Becnel (born May 30, 1950) is an American author, journalist, and film producer. She was a close friend and advocate for Crips co-founder Stanley Williams (aka "Stan Tookie Williams"; a convicted murderer and former gang leader wh ...
said shortly after Williams's death that she is "now on a mission" to obtain justice for Stanley Tookie Williams. Williams directed Becnel to receive his body and Becnel began making the funeral arrangements.
Becnel reacted to Williams' execution by saying, "We are going to prove his innocence, and when we do, we are going to show that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is, in fact, himself a cold blooded murderer."
Williams' body was laid out for viewing on December 19, 2005 and drew 2,000 mourners. A memorial service was held in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
on December 20, 2005, where Becnel read his final wishes. Williams' funeral filled the 1,500-seat Bethel
AME #REDIRECT AME #REDIRECT AME
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
Church and drew a wide variety of people from current gang members to celebrities and religious leaders. On June 25, 2006, Barbara Becnel and Williams' longtime friend, Shirley Neal, sprinkled his ashes into a lake in Thokoza Park in the city of
as Williams had wished.
At his funeral, the last words of Williams echoed from a tape played to mourners, whom he asked to spread a message to loved ones:
Rapper
Williams-Taylor talked to her ex-husband by phone that day. "He was great. He said he was at peace with himself and proud of his son", according to Leslie Fulbright, a staff writer for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Travon is a married father who owns a home and works for a social services agency in the Los Angeles area, said Barbara Becnel, Stanley Williams' co-author.
Travon was the only family member who spoke at the funeral. He "brought the church to its feet" when he promised to teach Schwarzenegger about redemption. He said, "I feel it's my duty to go on a worldwide campaign to show that redemption is real", he said.
* ''Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir (Quality Trade)'' by Stanley Tookie Williams, foreword by Tavis Smiley, epilogue by Barbara Becnel, 2007, (QT)
* ''Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir'' (paperback) by Stanley Tookie Williams, 2005, (PB)
* ''Gangs and Drugs'' (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence,) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, (PB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 9–12
* ''Gangs and Self-Esteem: Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence'' (Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1999, (PB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 4–8
* ''Gangs and the Abuse of Power'' (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence.) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 9–12
* ''Gangs and Violence'' (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gangs.) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, (PB) (HB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 4–8
* ''Gangs and Wanting to Belong'' (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence.) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, (PB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 9–12
* ''Gangs and Weapons'' (Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence) by Stanley Tookie Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, (PB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 9–12
* ''Gangs and Your Friends'' (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gangs.) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, (PB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 4–8
* ''Gangs and Your Neighborhood'' (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence.) by Stanley Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1997, (PB) , 24 pages, Reading level: Ages 4–8
* ''Life in Prison'' by Stanley Tookie Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel, 1998, (PB) , 80 pages, Reading level: Ages 4–8 (royalties donated to the
)
* ''Redemption: From Original Gangster to Nobel Prize Nominee - The Extraordinary Life Story of Stanley Tookie Williams'' paperback) by Stanley Williams, 2004, (HB)
BBC News. December 1, 2005. Retrieved December 1, 2005.
*
.
', streetgangs.com. October 26, 2005. Retrieved December 8, 2005.
.
', streetgangs.com. December 6, 2005.
* Yogis, Jaimal Killing the Death Penalty.
*"Blue Rage – Black Redemption" from the album ''The Beauty and the Beer'' performed by
.
*"Tookie Knows (Interlude)" from the album "Habits & Contradictions" performed by ScHoolboy Q
*"Tookie Knows II" from the album "Blank Face" performed by ScHoolboy Q
. ''
''. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
'', December 10, 2005. Retrieved December 21, 2005.
*
, December 16–22, 2005. Retrieved December 21, 2005.
*