Schwarzenegger rejects clemency for gang founder

Dec 12, 2005, 21:17 GMT

San Francisco - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refused Monday to stay the execution of condemned murderer and Crips gang founder Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, rebuffing pleas for his life by celebrities and activists.

Williams, 51, has protested his innocence and spent his 25 years in jail writing anti-violence children's books that have gotten him nominated for the Nobel peace and literature prizes.

The decision clears the way for Williams, 51, to die by lethal injection at San Quentin prison near San Francisco at 12:01 a.m. (0801 GMT Tuesday) - barring an unexpected intervention by federal courts who have repeatedly his appeals in the past.

In a case that has gained international attention, Schwarzenegger could have commuted Williams' death sentenced to life in prison. The 'Terminator' actor-turned-politician previously rejected clemency for two other death-row inmates.

Hours earlier, the California Supreme Court denied a last-minute plea by Williams' lawyers to spare his life.

His case has sparked protests and pleas for his life from supporters who said the inmate is a changed man. His backers included Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx, rapper Snoop Doggie Dogg and civil- rights leader the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Williams founded the notorious Crips gang while in high school in Los Angeles in 1971 and was convicted of murdering four people in two robberies in 1979. His attorneys argued before the state high court for a stay of his execution by trying to create doubt about testimony that convicted Williams in 1981.

Hundreds of people were killed in urban warfare between the Crips and the rival Bloods and Los Angeles drug dealers.

Since entering prison, Williams has urged young people to shun street violence and has written children's books. He has expressed regret for being a gang leader in the 1970s, but denies taking part in the robberies and murders.

His attorneys argued to the high court that witnesses who were criminals had wrongly accused him after being given incentives by police.

It was the second refusal by the court to stay the execution. The first came November 30.

The Los Angeles City Council appealed to city residents to stay calm if Williams is executed. Authorities reportedly fear rioting, especially in the South Central neighbourhood where blacks rose up in 1965 and 1992.