Over the past few years there has been a lot of controversy and opinions regarding the life of Stanley "Tookie" Williams.

So just who is Stanley "Tookie" Williams?

Williams, now in his 50s is currently on California's Death Row. He was born in Shreveport, La. and moved to South Central Los Angeles with his divorced mother. It was in his teenage years that Williams befriended Raymond "Truck" Washington and several others local teens in the neighborhood. Williams has similar interest as the other group, including avoiding school, running the streets, drinking and at the age 13, sniffing glue.

At the age of 16-years-old, a time when most play after school sports, learn to drive and chase girls, Williams chose another path. He helped co-found a gang we now know as the Crips. Shortly later, he became addicted to the mind-alerting drug PCP.

Over the next several years, William continued his criminal lifestyle, as he said in a media interview later, he could have been a victim or an aggressor. He chose to be an aggressor. In 1979, the same year Washington was murdered, Williams became what some would define as a serial killer.

On February 28, 1979, around 4 AM, Williams had his eye on a 7-Eleven store. After two already unsuccessful robbery attempts, Williams found the store clerk, Albert Owens, out front sweeping the parking lot. Owens, who now would have been a grandfather, was ordered back into the store where Williams told him to lie on the floor. It was after Williams collected less then $122.00, Williams shot Owens execution style in the back. He then shared the spoils of the crime with three others, who would later provide information about the crime to the police.

After the robbery Williams was quoted as having told his brother "You should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him!" Williams then made a growling noise and laughed hysterically.

A little over a month later on March 11, young Robert Yang woke up to the sound of screaming and gunfire. Robert lived with his family in a modest motel they owned on South Vermont Street in Los Angeles. Robert woke as Williams was robbing the hotel of $600.00. Before leaving, Williams murdered Robert's father, mother and his sister to prevent being identified. Williams used the same gun that he was identified as purchasing years earlier.

A decade later, after attempting to escape prison, Williams with the encouragement of an author, began writing children's books. He documented his life behind bars and suggested to children to stay away from gangs. Years later, one of William's own lawyers argued in court that it was not Williams who wrote the books, but was done by the author using his name. William's denies that claim.

Ironically, in 2001 Williams was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the message in his books and as a political statement to bring attention to our nation's death penalty laws. As a result, Williams, a four time murderer, continues to receive a lot of positive publicity from a variety of organizations and professionals who are unfamiliar with his life and the circumstances of his crimes.

Many base their opinion after watching the movie Redemption. Did you know that Know Gangs actually provided assistance with some historical information about gangs in the 1970s for the making of this movie? It was after we saw the final version that we became very curious about who Williams was and what the evidence was against him. In the movie, Williams was portrayed as an innocent man wrongly convicted (as was the TV movie about Scott Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his wife and unborn child).

We were very curious as to what type of evidence had been presented against him in court. Based on the amount of publicity he now receives, we initially thought the case against him may be weak or with little evidence.

We were wrong! We actually found the evidence to be quite strong. The shotgun he purchased was used in the murders, he bragged of the killings to several witnesses and even his own friends and roommates testified against him. People who were also involved in the crimes provided evidence against him.

We called lawyers, we called cops, we called correctional officers, we called victim's families, we read court transcripts, we read police reports and we viewed crime scene pictures.

We learned that he had an excellent defense team. His lawyers were able to keep all of his prior gang affiliation out of court. Some of William's supporters feel that Williams was pinned for the crimes by police because they blamed him for the city's gang problem.

In the late 1970s, when these crimes occurred, the Crips were still a relatively small problem. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s when crack cocaine hit, that the Crips and Bloods became known in Las Angeles and it wasn’t until the late 1980s, that anyone outside of Los Angeles knew who the Crips and Bloods were. There were many gangs in Los Angeles long before Stanley “Tookie” Williams. Few officers knew who Williams was, nor did they know of his gang involvement. It wasn't until nearly 20-years-later that Williams put the spotlight on himself by promoting the fact that it was he (along with many others) who created the Crips.

After being sentenced by a racially mixed jury, Williams was convicted and sent to death row. Some William’s supporters claim that his jury was all White, which is not correct. Did you know that one of the jurors overheard Williams say, "I'm going to get each and every one of you mother fuckers!"

Over the past decade Williams' attorneys have attempted a variety of means to get him a new trial, searching for technicalities; the verdict has always been strongly upheld.

Arguments have been made by his attorney's that he was brain damaged and not capable of knowing right from wrong at the time of the crime. They said he was too high at the to know what he was doing.

In June of 2001, California Department of Corrections released a report that they received information Williams was still maintaining ties with the Crips and was attempting to exercise leadership over the prison factions of the gang, although there was not much to support this information they received.

We have received a lot of opinions regarding Williams, so here is ours...

We don't look as Williams as an icon regarding the nation's death penalty laws. We understand the argument on both sides.

We don't look at the conviction of Williams as a race related issue as some of our emailers have suggested. The victims were of mixed races, it was a mixed jury and the witnesses who testified against him were of different races. Williams received a fair trial and was convicted by a jury of his peers.

So that brings us to our main point. We believe Williams is guilty of these 4 murders. We believe that Williams did plan to have a witness murdered. We believe Williams planned on killing correctional officers in an escape attempt. We believe that the woman who was caught smuggling in a hacksaw on a prison visit was to be used by Williams for an escape attempt. We base our opinion on the facts and evidence presented in court. We base our opinion on the many witnesses and his own friends, who told the truth and testified against him in court.

So if you think he was guilty, then read on. If you think he was wrongly convicted and feel so strongly that you want to email us your opinion, please let us know why you feel that way. Let us know what steps you have taken to examine the evidence against him. We hope you have done a little more then base your opinion off of a movie or a book. We will read your email with an open mind.

If you believe Williams was guilty, the next question would be--Has he really had a change of heart? We agree that people can and do change. Those familiar with prison (either that work there or have been there) know that most of the inmates very much regret committing the crimes that got them arrested.

We agree although no one knows for sure what is in William's heart, we do believe that he has probably changed. He has taken self study courses in politics, psychology, sociology, Black history and even studies the dictionary everyday. (Remember that nearly every prison gang teaches it’s members a second language and requires members to educate themselves.)

Does he sincerely want kids to stay away from gangs? We believe so. Even most hardcore gang members we have spoken to, strongly encourage young kids to stay away from gangs and drugs and not to make their mistakes.

But, we ask...why hasn't Williams ever expressed sorrow or remorse for the family of his victims? Why hasn't he ever expressed remorse for murdering four people? Why hasn't he ever expressed remorse for attempting to escape from prison or wanting to have a witness murdered? Why hasn't he expressed remorse when he told a court appointed psychologist that he enjoyed the feelings he got after hurting people (it's in the court documents).

Many professionals want to use Williams as a role model for our nation's youth. And that's where we strongly disagree! Many have argued that because he was so heavily involved in gangs, that there is no one better qualified at educating our nation's youth. We could probably use that same argument to say that we should have child molesters teach our children about good touch/bad touch or those convicted of domestic violence to teach sensitivity courses.

We agree that William's life is a powerful lesson for many young teens. If you murder someone, no matter what positive things you may do in life later, it will never make up for the sorrow and destruction you have caused. Williams has taught our teens that if you commit a crime, you will have to one day pay for what you have done. If you smoke marijuana, in many areas means you will never be allowed to enter the field of law enforcement. If you steal, even as a juvenile (your juvenile record isn't as hidden as people think), it may preclude you from getting certain jobs in the future. If you sell drugs to save money to go to college or to become a rap artist, yes, one day you might go to college or have your own CD and accomplish something good in your life, but one day you will have to pay for your crimes.

His crimes were not self-defense such as defending himself from a rival gang. His crimes were the mostly cowardly and despicable possible--he murdered four innocent, defenseless souls. This was all done so he could get money for drugs.

We can't argue with someone's opinion, but we hope that if that is your belief differs from ours, we hope you have taken the time to examine the evidence enabling the police to arrest him, the district attorney to prosecute him and the judge and jury to convict him.

Know Gangs would like to remind all, for every one person like Williams, there are hundreds of others who grew up in the same environment with the same problems, struggles and trials, who instead dedicated their lives to helping others rather than gangs, drugs and victimizing the weak. It is those people who escaped the gang infested neighborhoods that deserve our respect and support not a four-time murderer.

Know Gangs would like to extend our praise to all those who escaped the gang lifestyle without choosing the same path as Williams. No matter how many books are written, no matter how sincere Williams might regret his past, there is no act that will make up for the damage Williams has done and the devastation he has caused. Why not find a better role model for our children?

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