Stanley Tookie Williams III

When he was a young child Stanley Tookie Williams III moved to a rough South Central West Side Los Angeles neighborhood.

Stanley Tookie Williams is not the original founder of the Crips. Raymond "Truck" Washington formed the Eastside Crips near Fremont High School in 1969. Washington is the original founder of the Crips.

In 1971, Williams was the "general" of a rough neighborhood in South Central West Side Los Angeles. Small gangs were prevelent but their crimes usually consisted of stealing usually from from women or children.

Williams joined Crips founder, Raymond Lee Washington, in a crusade to reduce violence through community protection and through ending police brutality.

By 1979, the powerful, rapidly growing, Crips were widespread throughout California, terrorizing their own neighborhoods. They were far deadlier than the small gangs they once claimed set out to defend themselves against. Then the Crips lost both their founding leaders. Washington was murdered by a rival gang member and Williams was incacerated until his execution.

At around 10:30 p.m. on February 28, 1979, Williams, 25, and "Blackie" (Alfred Coward) needed money. Blackie took Williams to where he was staying (with James Garrett) to get a sawed off shot gun. Darryl joined them. They smoked phencyclidine (PCP), picked up Tony Sims, then made another stop where Williams returned to the car with a .22 caliber pistol, smoked more PCP, as they planned to rob a Stop-N-Go Market in Pomona. Coward and Sims in a Cadillac followed Darryl and Williams in a station wagon.

With Darryl carrying the .22 pistol, he Sims and Darryl watched Johnny Garcia, the Stop-N-Go clerk mopping. When it was evident they had been, they entered the store. As the clerk lit Darryl's cigarette, Sims noticed a person in the back of the store, so they returned to the car.

Upset that Darryl and Sims didn't followed the plan, Williams said he would show the how it its done. Then they headed off to Pico Rivera.

Williams bragged about the shooting and laughed as mimicked Owens’ death rattles:

Immigrants from Taiwan, Yen-Yi Yang, 76, his wife Tsai-Shai Yang, 63, and their daughter Yee-Chen Lin, 43, owned Brookhaven Motel in South Central Los Angeles. Yen-Yi and Tsai-Shai's son, Robert Yang, and his wife stayed at the motel. Williams armed with a gun, and a companion entered the motel lobby at 5:00 a.m. on March 11, 1979.

Robert and his wife woke up to the sounds of a door being busted down, screams, and gunshots.

Williams shot Yen-Yi Yang, at close range, in the lower left chest, abdomen, and left arm. Tsai-Shai, was shot at close range in the tailbone and navel. Yee-Chen Lin was shot in the face at close range. All three were killed.

Williams Talks

James Garrett, a friend Williams frequently stayed with, claims Williams admitted to him on March 13, 1979, that he was responsible for the motel killing of the Yang family and had knowledge of details not yet released.

Williams told Garrett he wanted to kill Alfred Coward.

In April 1979, the District Attorney claimed Williams admitted to inmate, George Ogelsby, that he shot a man, a woman and child, and robbed people.

Intimidating Witnesses

Williams didn't want robbery victims to live to testify against him. When he suggested a motel robbery, Garrett told him not to discuss it around so many people. Williams replied, "No problem, I'll blow them away like I blew them away in the motel."

While incarcerated Williams made elaborate escape plans so he could kill a potential witness against him. His plans included disarming a guard between jail and court,or blowing up the court transfer bus on June 12, 1979, according to notes between Ogelsby and Williams. These plans were scratched since it wasn't possible to have to get Williams and Ogelsby transported to court at the same time.

The Evidence

Police state two shotgun shells from Williams' shotgun in the Yang shootings matched the shells from Owens shooting.

Williams argues:

"not a shred of tangible evidence, no fingerprints, no crime scenes, or bloody prints that matched his boots, no eyewitnesses, the shotgun shells found conveniently at each crime scene didn't match the shotgun shells that I owned."

Raymond Washington

By 1979 Raymond Washington, the original founder of the Crips, no longer had any real control over the gang. He wanted to unite warring gangs in peace. He was always against guns which radically increased as part of the gang scene during the 70's. It was decided he should be killed.

In August 1979, a car of people Washington knew pulled up and a passenger shot him. Some believe they wanted him out others believed he was murdered for killings committed by another Crip member. There were no arrests.

Williams Trial

Williams alleged prosecutorial misconduct, exclusion of exculpatory evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel, biased jury selection, and the misuse of informants.

The biased jury selection complaint was regarding how the prosecution eliminated three potential African-Americans jurors, Williams' finaly jury consisted of one Latino, one Filipino-American, and ten Caucasians.

Threats to the Jury

Williams was convicted of four murders with the special circumstances of using a firearm in the commission of felony murder, and robbery. When the verdict was read, Williams called the jurors, “Sons of bitches. ” After the verdicts, he said he was "going to get all of them."

The first day of penalty-phase deliberations, an alternate juror reported that jurors believed Williams was threatening them.

Prosecutor, Robert Martin's controversial closing argument described Williams as a "Bengal tiger in captivity in a zoo" asking the jury to visualize him in his natural habitat as if "going into the back country, into the hinterlands." Martin claimed the analogy wasn't meant to be racial, but a metaphor that Williams appears dressed in business attire much as an animal in a zoo appears more docile than it would be in the wild.

Williams married Bonnie Taylor in 1981, and they had a son Travon, who avoided gangs and stayed out of trouble.

Williams ignored orders to stop assaulting an inmate on June 30, 1981 as he knelt over the body striking him with his fists. He refused to lineup for return to his cell on January 26, 1982, saying:

"you'll get yours boy, I can do anything now because I know what the gunmen will do…one of these days I'll trick you boy."

The following day he again attacked a guard again with chemical substances on January 29, 1982.

Williams continued to beat an inmate with his fists after a guard blew his whistle, and drew his weapon on February 16, 1984.

Williams and a female visitor were engaged in sexual activities on June 8, 1984 when guards reminded the female visitor that sexual activity was against policy, he responded angrily:

"you are looking around too much and that's not your job. I have dusted many officers on the street, one more would not make any difference."

Williams physically pushed himself between a guard and an inmate to assault the inmate on July 4, 1986. He continued until gun officers arrived despite orders to stop.

in 1987, Williams began 6 1/2 years of mostly solitary confinement for planning an escape, refusal to cooperate with gang investigations, and for assaults on guards and inmates. He became introspective about his life, built up his character, got in touch his spirit and humanity. He began to care about children, mothers, fathers, and all those destroyed by the Crips in 42 states and South African cities.

Williams was stabbed on October 10, 1988, by a death row Crips member, Tiequon Aundray Cox (aka Lil Fee), in retaliation for a fight Williams instigated. Williams was placed in Administrative Segregation, for associating with Crips.

October 19, 1988 Guard notes:

"The violations are usually involving batteries on inmates, batteries on staff. But we have also received information that has identified him as an active member of the Crips."

Armed guards fired a warning round, on December 24, 1991, to gain control as Williams fought with an inmate. He was in a major shower fight on July 6, 1993 where a shank of sharpened plastic was used.

Williams & Son Behind Bars

In 1994 Williams' son, Stanley, “Little Tookie” Williams, Jr., a Neighborhood Crip, was convicted of 2nd-degree gang retaliation murder for the shooting of a twenty year-old woman in a Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard alley. Sentenced to sixteen years in prison, he served time in San Quentin with his father.

Willians Apologies

In 1993, Williams apologized for founding the Crips, he called for a "peace protocol," of truces, to end gangs and programs to discourage youth from joining gangs. He renounced gang life in his 1996 book, Gangs and Self Esteem and Gangs and the Abuse of Power.

Williams posted an apology on his Web site, for his role in creating the Crips in 1997:

"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 to 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. 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. As a contribution to the struggle to end child-on-child brutality and black-on-black brutality, I have written the Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence children's book series. My goal is to reach as many young minds as possible to warn you about the perils of a gang lifestyle. I am no longer "dys-educated" (disease educated). I am no longer part of the problem. Thanks to the Almighty, I am no longer sleepwalking through life. I pray that one day my apology will be accepted. I also pray that your suffering, caused by gang violence, will soon come to an end as more gang members wake up and stop hurting themselves and others. I vow to spend the rest of my life working toward solutions."

Amani (Peace),

Stanley "Tookie" Williams, Surviving Crips Co-Founder, April 13, 1997"

Williams never did officially renounce his own gang affiliation, and continued to associate with the Crips in prison. He received large amounts of money from gang members while behind bars.

Appeals

US District Judge Stephen Wilson stated in 1998, that Williams' conviction was based on circumstantial evidence, and witness credibility problems. There were no witnesses to motel murders, and the only witness to the Owens killing, was an accomplice with much to gain by lying. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stated the prosecution relied on witnesses with "less-than-clean backgrounds" and rewarded them with favorable treatment for testifying against Williams.

Clemency was not possible. Since Williams maintained his innocence he would not apologize for the crimes.

Williams children's books persuaded children not to follow in his footsteps. In 1998 Williams' "Life in Prison" was dedicated to:

"Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars."

Protocol for Peace

Williams message denouncing gang life and promoting peace with rival gangs resulted in a truce. The Tookie Protocol for Peace is credited with settling disputes in New Jersey and in other countries.

Life in Prison. by Stanley "Tookie" Williams, Barbara Cottman Becnel. "The true stories I've written in this book are my living nightmares. My greatest hope is that the lessons the stories offer will help you make better choices than I did." Williams, two decades of incarceration. In this award-winning book, Williams describes the brutal reality of being an inmate. He debunks myths of prisons as "gladiator schools" with stories of homesickness, the terror of solitary confinement, and the humiliation of strip-searches. Williams' words are a challenge to adolescent readers to make intelligent decisions. Ages 9-12. February, 2001.

Internet Project for Street Peace

"Life in Prison" led to the Internet Project for Street Peace, an after-school violence prevention program. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former president of African National Congress Women's League, was so inspired by the Internet project, she visited Williams in 1999.

Gangs and the Abuse of Power (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence.)

Williams tells how gang members abuse the power they have to hurt others and ultimately hurt themselves. Ages 4-8. August 1997.

Gangs and Violence (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gangs.) Ages 9-12

Gangs and Weapons (Williams, Stanley. Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence.) August 1997 Ages 9-12

After a 2004 biographical feature film entitled Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story starring Jamie Foxx, Williams received over ten thousands e-mails, mostly from young gang members claiming his story helped them change their lives.

Williams was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for Blue Rage, Black Redemption. He was nominated from 2001 to 2005; by Mario Fehr, of the Swiss Parliament; by Notre Dame de Namur University Philosophy, four times; Religion Professor Phil Gasper; and Brown University Professor of English Literature, William Keach, for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Owen's daughters who were 5 and 8 years old when their father was murdered were shocked by his Nobel Peace Prize nominations.

On August 5, 2005, Williams, 53, received "The Outstanding Character of America Award" for his work from death row, and a President's Call to Service Award including a letter from President Bush while his case was under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. More than 267,000 people have received this award to honor Americans who inspire volunteerism since its inception in 2003. The award included a certificate of achievement and commendation letters from the president, former Senators Bob Dole, and John Glenn, honorary co-chairs of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.

William A. Harrison, of West Monroe, La., a minister at The Old Catholic Orthodox Church nominated Williams for the award:

Williams' attorneys petitioned for executive clemency on November 8, 2005. His attorney, Verna Wefald, filed a discovery motion, for new evidence the following day.

More than 68,000 people, including Nobel laureates, politicians, and celebrities petitioned Schwarzenegger to commute Williams death sentence to life without parole.

Rallies in California cities on November 30, 2005, called for a halt to all executions.

People's Clemency Hearing photos December 8, 2005, Sacramento, CA. -- Williams' supporters and capital punishment opponents gathered as Schwarzenegger held a private clemency hearing with Williams' attorneys and the Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Albert's widow, Linda Owens, issued a very different statement the following day:

The California Supreme Court refused to grant a stay of execution or reopen Williams’s caseon December 11, 2005. The Court denied a plea asserting he had not made a prima facia showing that his claims, individually or in aggregate, met the statutory requirements of due diligence and clear, convincing evidence of actual innocence.

Forty-seven thousand protesters outside the prison claimed Williams was innocent, rehabilitated, and a contributor to society. Joan Baez sang stated, "Tonight is a planned, efficient, calculated, antiseptic, cold-blooded murder." She sane "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

The thirty nine witnesses to the execution included Williams' supporters, five family members of four victims in the front row, seventeen members of the media, and more than a dozen law enforcement and legal officials.

Outside demonstrators cried, yelled, and carried signs but none of this was heard or seen in the execution chamber.

The prison warned all execution witnesses that NO audible sounds (crying, talking, praying, cheering, etc) or gesturing (waving, blowing kisses, etc) will be tolerated in the death chamber. Violators are immediately ejected, without warning.

Around midnight December 13, 2005, Williams, 51, wearing glasses, entered the execution chamber with five guards. His life would end in 36 minutes.

A warrant was read by a prison official proclaiming that the execution of prisoner C29300, sentenced to death, would proceed.

The Chemicals were administered by unseen executioners behind the chamber walls using plungers to send the chemicals through intravenous tubes. During the long time it took to insert the needles correctly Williams asked, "You guys doing that right?"

Williams lips moved in prayer, he shed a tear as he was strapped to a cross-shaped gurney. He fought restraining straps, raised his head and stared at media witnesses for six seconds. Then he lifted his head to stare at his friends for 1-1/2 minutes until the sodium pentothal left him unconscious.

Barbara Becnel with a woman and a man left their assigned seats to stand to look directly into death chamber viewing window to give him the black power salute, gaze into his eyes while repeating, "I love you," and "God bless you." The man quietly cried out for "Tookie." They continued to pray until his eyes closed at 12:20 a.m.

At 12:35 a.m. pancuronium bromide was administered to stop breathing, followed by potassium chloride to stop his heart. His life was over when a voice from behind the walls announced "He's flat lined."

Lora Owens, the stepmother of Albert Owens, burst into tears. The execution wasn't about the innocent victims, it was a celebration of Williams' life.

Thousands of people waited in line to view Williams’ body at the House of Winston Mortuary on December 19 2005. Tookie T-shirts were sold. Crowds of mourners filled the streets with the sound of laughter, drugs were openly used, and there were jovial reunions, of old, new, and former gang members of different Crip groups as they socialized peacefully. Many professionals and families who appreciated his contributions in anti gang strategies for children attended. Parents and grandparents brought their children to honor the man who they felt contributed so much to end gangs.

The following day a large, lavish memorial service was held at Los Angeles Bethel AME Church. The church rapidly filled up 1500 indoor seats. A large screen broadcasting the service to an overflow crowd. Mourners included current gang members, celebrities, and religious leaders. The LAPD kept the funeral surrounded. There were no reports of violence.

Becnel read Williams' final wishes. She then pledged to prove his innocence, and preserve his legacy.

Travon Williams, the only family member to speak at the funeral, vowed to teach Schwarzenegger and the world about redemption:

"I feel it's my duty to go on a worldwide campaign to show that redemption is real."

Rev. Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam Minister celebrated Williams’ redemption and encouraged the community to fight gang violence.

Williams' ashes were to be scattered in South Africa.

Europeans outraged at Williams execution. Disappointed Austrians suggest revoking Schwarzenegger's citizenship.

San Francisco Chronicle, SF Gate, NPR, MSNBC, PBS, Independent Media Center, Democracy Now, Mother Jones, People v. Cox (1991) 53 C3d 618,

Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005)

Stanley Tookie Williams III
(December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005)