Protesters call for L.A. gang founder's life to be spared

Nov 20, 2005, 14:44 GMT

San Francisco - Rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg led hundreds of protesters Saturday in urging clemency for the co-founder of Los Angeles' notorious Crips gang, who is due to be executed next month.

At issue is whether Stanley 'Tookie' Williams is still a cold- blooded killer - or a reformed man whose teachings have led poor youth away from violence.

With California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger considering a last- ditch appeal for clemency, Snoop Dogg told protesters gathered outside San Quentin State Prison that Williams, 51, is an 'inspiration' who must stay alive.

Williams founded the Crips together with a school friend in 1971. In urban warfare between the rival Bloods clan and Los Angeles drug traders, hundreds of victims were killed.

He was sentenced to death in 1981 after being convicted of killing four people during two robberies, and is set to die by lethal injection on December 13 at San Quentin, near San Francisco.

Williams has become a cause celebre of death penalty opponents after appearing to turn away from his life of violence. He has written several children's books steering disadvantaged youths away from gang violence.

His story was taken up in a recent television film, 'Redemption,' starring Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx. Williams says he has received thousands of e-mails from former gang members who say he turned their lives around.

In August, he received a President's Call to Service Award for his good deeds on death row, complete with a letter from U.S. President George W. Bush praising him for demonstrating 'the outstanding character of America'.

Snoop Dogg, 33, a one-time Crips member who now works to keep urban youth from drifting into crime, credited Williams with turning him onto a better path.

Activist Barbara Becnel, who has helped Williams get his books published, said his execution would be a loss for young people.

'We are not demanding Tookie's release, only that his life be spared,' she said.