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Arnold must decide if killer is executed
Schwarzenegger must decide if killer is executed
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Saying he faced a heavy responsibility, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pondered on Friday whether to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, a convicted killer and former Crips gang leader set to be executed next week.
"You just have to have an open mind on that and case by case and look at that and then make up your mind," Schwarzenegger told reporters. "But it is a very heavy responsibility."
Aides said Schwarzenegger would resolve whether to impose a lesser sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole this weekend or on Monday, the day before the scheduled execution.
The governor had heard from defense lawyers and the prosecution in a closed-door clemency hearing on Thursday.
"I'm working on it. I'm looking, studying the whole thing, reading a lot, last night until 11 o'clock, almost to midnight," he said. "And I will be reading and doing all the research on it so we make the right decision."
Little information emerged from the Thursday clemency hearing. "Arnold was a good poker player and didn't give anyone any sense of what he would do," said one person familiar with discussions at the meeting.
Williams, 51, found guilty of slaying four people, has won celebrity supporters and a well-organized publicity campaign after writing a series of books urging youth to avoid following his footsteps and getting involved with violent gangs like the Crips.
PERSONAL FAITH
"My hope lies in God above anything and everything else," Williams told Reuters in an interview at San Quentin State Prison last month. "I have faith and if it doesn't go my way, it doesn't go my way."
"I am not the kind of person to sit around and worry about being executed," he said. "I'm sure there are detractors who would like to hear that I am weeping. ... I fear nothing except God."
The core issue of this clemency is whether a murderer can earn redemption in the eyes of society for his actions after the crime. U.S. governors typically stay executions because of doubts over evidence in the case or fairness of the trial rather than because of perceived redemption.
Prosecutors say Williams acted especially brutally in the 1979 murders in which he killed a shop clerk and, in a separate petty robbery, a family of three running a motel. They also condemn his role with the Crips, a notorious gang that now has thousands of members nationwide.
"Mr. Williams wants out of prison. This has nothing to do with redemption," said John Monaghan, assistant head deputy district attorney in Los Angeles.
Williams maintains that he did not commit the murders and was targeted because of his gang activities, which he has since renounced. Supporters say he is of much more value to society alive than dead because he can continue to warn young people about the dangers of gangs.
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Saying he faced a heavy responsibility, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pondered on Friday whether to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, a convicted killer and former Crips gang leader set to be executed next week."You just have to have an open mind on that and case by case and look at that and then make up your mind," Schwarzenegger told reporters. "But it is a very heavy responsibility."
Aides said Schwarzenegger would resolve whether to impose a lesser sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole this weekend or on Monday, the day before the scheduled execution.
The governor had heard from defense lawyers and the prosecution in a closed-door clemency hearing on Thursday.
"I'm working on it. I'm looking, studying the whole thing, reading a lot, last night until 11 o'clock, almost to midnight," he said. "And I will be reading and doing all the research on it so we make the right decision."
Little information emerged from the Thursday clemency hearing. "Arnold was a good poker player and didn't give anyone any sense of what he would do," said one person familiar with discussions at the meeting.
Williams, 51, found guilty of slaying four people, has won celebrity supporters and a well-organized publicity campaign after writing a series of books urging youth to avoid following his footsteps and getting involved with violent gangs like the Crips.
PERSONAL FAITH
"My hope lies in God above anything and everything else," Williams told Reuters in an interview at San Quentin State Prison last month. "I have faith and if it doesn't go my way, it doesn't go my way."
"I am not the kind of person to sit around and worry about being executed," he said. "I'm sure there are detractors who would like to hear that I am weeping. ... I fear nothing except God."
The core issue of this clemency is whether a murderer can earn redemption in the eyes of society for his actions after the crime. U.S. governors typically stay executions because of doubts over evidence in the case or fairness of the trial rather than because of perceived redemption.
Prosecutors say Williams acted especially brutally in the 1979 murders in which he killed a shop clerk and, in a separate petty robbery, a family of three running a motel. They also condemn his role with the Crips, a notorious gang that now has thousands of members nationwide.
"Mr. Williams wants out of prison. This has nothing to do with redemption," said John Monaghan, assistant head deputy district attorney in Los Angeles.
Williams maintains that he did not commit the murders and was targeted because of his gang activities, which he has since renounced. Supporters say he is of much more value to society alive than dead because he can continue to warn young people about the dangers of gangs.
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