`Tookie' Williams denied Clemancy!

Schwarzenegger Refuses
to Grant Clemency
to `Tookie' Williams
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg)
-- California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger refused
to stop tomorrow's scheduled
execution of
Stanley ``Tookie'' Williams, a former gang leader and
convicted murderer who had won the support of celebrities
and Nobel Prize nominations after he renounced violence.
Schwarzenegger denied Williams's bid for clemency,
according to a statement today.
Williams, a former gang leader sentenced to death in
1981 for four shootings, had asked the governor to spare
his life, saying has helped thousands of young people
avoid gang activity through his books and other efforts.
In the last two days, the California Supreme Court and a
federal appeals court also rejected requests to block
the execution.
The decision is a victory for relatives of Williams's victims
and Los Angeles prosecutors, who said Williams was
a ``cold-blooded killer'' who didn't deserve clemency.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, rapper Snoop Dogg
and other celebrities had asked the governor to spare
Williams' life.
``The facts do not justify overturning the jury's verdict or
the decisions of the courts in this case,'' Schwarzenegger
said in a statement.
A jury convicted Williams of four murders in 1981 for
shooting a 26-year-old 7-Eleven store night clerk, a hotel
owner and his wife and daughter, during two robberies.
He was sentenced to death by a jury. Williams denies
committing the crimes and has said the evidence
used to convict him was faulty.
Williams has written several children's books warning kids
about gangs, started an anti-gang Internet project and has
been nominated by admirers for the Nobel Peace Prize
and the Nobel Prize for literature. His autobiography was
made into a movie last year starring Jamie Foxx, who also
supports Williams's bid for clemency.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 12, 2005 15:39 EST