Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the notorious co-founder of the Crips street gang who led an anti-gang crusade from his death row prison cell at San Quentin, was executed early Tuesday morning, leaving behind a spirited debate over what constitutes justice and redemption.
After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected a second last-ditch legal appeal at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday Monday, Williams, 51, was killed by lethal injection at 2:35 a.m., CST. A crowd estimated at 1,000 to 2,500 stood vigil outside of the prison as Williams made the short walk from a nearby holding cell for a somber, highly publicized event that took 36 minutes and 15 seconds.
According to news accounts, there was a 12-minute delay because the execution team had difficulty finding a vein in Williams’ left arm. At one point, Williams winced, lifted his head from the gurney and appeared to say, “Still can’t find it?” witnesses said. There were 39 witnesses, including victims’ relatives, Williams’ lawyers and supporters and journalists.
Lora Owens, the stepmother of one of the murdered victims, Albert Owens, appeared shaken by the execution and at one point was comforted by another woman, witnesses said. Before leaving for San Quentin to witness the execution, she told CNN: “I’m just glad that we’re almost to the end of this. I’m glad that finally Albert is going to have the justice he deserves.”
Williams’ supporters blew kisses at him and said “I love you” as Williams faced his impending death. Prison officials said Williams spent his last day reading mail from around the world and watching TV. He rejected the tradition last meal before his execution. Williams died still denying that he had murdered four people.
He was convicted of killing Albert L. Owens, 26, a clerk at a 7-Eleven store on Feb. 28, 1979. He was convicted of killing Yen-I Yang, 76; his wife, Tsai-Shai Yang, 63, and their daughter, Yee-Chen Lin, 43, during a motel robbery in south Los Angeles on March 11, 1979. A total of $220 was taken in both robberies.
A jury in Torrance, Calif. convicted Williams of murder in 1981, leading to his capital punishment sentence. By 1992, Williams said he had changed and regretted his gangster past. He issued an open apology for his actions on April 13, 1997, a copy of which appears on his Web site, www.tookie.com.
“Twenty-five years ago when I created the Crips youth gang with Raymond Lee Washington in South Central Los Angeles, I never imagined Crips membership would one day spread throughout California, would spread to much of the rest of the nation and to cities in South Africa, where Crips copycat gangs have formed. I also didn’t expect the Crips end up ruining the lives of so many young people, especially young black men who have hurt other young black men. Raymond was murdered in 1979. But if he were here, I believe he would be as troubled as I am by the Crips legacy.”
Williams continued, “So today I apologize to you all – the children of America and South Africa – who must cope every day with dangerous street gangs. I no longer participate in the so-called gangster lifestyle, and I deeply regret that I ever did.”
The former gang leader wrote a series of children’s books with Barbara Becnel, urging young people to stay away from drugs, and brokered gang truces in Los Angeles and New Jersey. Williams’ life was the subject of a movie, “Redemption,” starring Jamie Foxx.
On death row, Williams became a cause celebre, attracting supporters as diverse as South African Bishop Desmond Tutu and rapper Snoop Dogg as well as Jesse Jackson and NAACP President Bruce Gordon.
Earlier Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a strongly worded 5-page statement rejecting Williams’ request for clemency.
-George Curry, NNPA editor in chief
