You may know him as the infamous gangster who co-founded the Crips (street) gang. He was tried and convicted on four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of robbery. As a result, he was sentenced to death and sent to San Quentin State Prison's death row. After two years in solitary confinement for multiple assaults on guards and fellow inmates, he started to examine his life choices, and repented for his past actions. Before his execution in 2005, he began to speak out against gang violence, and published books mostly aimed at kids with the intentions to warn them away from following his life of crime. This is the story of Stanley "Tookie" Williams.
Stanley "Tookie" Williams III was born on December 29th, 1953, in New Orleans, Louisiana to a teen mother who was left to raise him on her own after his father abandoned the family. In 1959, Williams, then 6, and his mother left New Orleans and moved to Los Angeles, California in hopes of living a better life, but as the new kid on the block, Williams had to quickly learn how to defend himself from neighborhood bullies. Williams made several friends through fighting; one of those friends was Raymond Washington. Williams and Washington formed an alliance that became known as the "Crips." According to Williams, the Crips was initially created in order to protect their neighborhood from other gangs. But by 1979, Williams, then 26, and Washington lost control of the group as it evolved into a statewide organization.
On February 28th, 1979, Williams murdered Albert Lewis Owens, 26, a husband and father of two daughters, during a robbery at Owens' place of employment at a 7-Eleven. The robbery and murder of Owens netted Williams approximately $120.00. On March 11th, 1979, Williams murdered three members of the Yang family at their family-owned motel. Williams killed Yen-Yi Yang, 76, his wife, Tsai-Shai Yang, 63, and their daughter, Ye-Chen Lin, 43. The robbery and murder of the three members of the Yang family netted Williams approximately $100.00. In 1981, Williams, then 28, was tried and convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of robbery; he was sentenced to death. On April 20 of that year, he was sent to San Quentin's death row. Williams did not adjust well to prison life, so he was given a six and a half year stay in solitary confinement for multiple assaults on guards and fellow inmates. After two years in solitary confinement, Williams started to examine his life choices, and repented for his past actions; he began speaking out against gang violence.
On February 28th, 1979, Williams murdered Albert Lewis Owens, 26, a husband and father of two daughters, during a robbery at Owens' place of employment at a 7-Eleven. The robbery and murder of Owens netted Williams approximately $120.00. On March 11th, 1979, Williams murdered three members of the Yang family at their family-owned motel. Williams killed Yen-Yi Yang, 76, his wife, Tsai-Shai Yang, 63, and their daughter, Ye-Chen Lin, 43. The robbery and murder of the three members of the Yang family netted Williams approximately $100.00. In 1981, Williams, then 28, was tried and convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of robbery; he was sentenced to death. On April 20 of that year, he was sent to San Quentin's death row. Williams did not adjust well to prison life, so he was given a six and a half year stay in solitary confinement for multiple assaults on guards and fellow inmates. After two years in solitary confinement, Williams started to examine his life choices, and repented for his past actions; he began speaking out against gang violence.
With a new mindset and with the help of co-author Barbara Cottman Becnel, he published numerous books such as: Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence (an anti-gang books aimed at children); Life in Prison (a short non-fiction work explaining the horrors of prison). During this time, Williams, then 49, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his work against gang violence. In 2004, Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir (written with intentions to warn kids away from following his life of crime) was published. That same year, his story was also turned into a movie, Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story, starring Jamie Foxx. In 2005, Williams, then 52, petitioned (again) for clemency, but unfortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger denied Williams' bid for clemency, citing that the forensic evidence linked him to the killings in 1979.
After many years trying to reverse the damage which he has created and warning kids away from following his life of crime, Williams was executed by lethal injection on December 13th, 2005, at San Quentin State Prison; he was 52. Williams' execution was marked as the first execution for a gang member in the state of California.
The death of Williams is a controversial case. He is known as a man who has created havoc across the nation; many agree, disagree or agree to disagree on whether Williams still should have been executed after he examined his life choices, and repented on his past actions (to read what others think about Williams' execution, visit: http://usliberals.about.com/u/ua/deathpenalty/StanleyWilliamsDeathPenalty.01.htm). I believe Williams should NOT have been executed, solely on the fact that he realized what he did was wrong, and worked on preventing kids from following his path. Yes, I understand the people which he killed will not be able to celebrate birthdays, holidays, or special occasions, but at the same time, if he were to still be alive up to this day, he would not have much of a life to live being incarcerated for the rest of his life.
To read more about Williams' case, visit: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/williams1003.htm.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.