How 'Tookie' died

2005-12-13 14:55

California - Seventeen reporters witnessed the execution of convicted killer and gang leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams and gave their accounts afterward, reports CNN.

The process of inserting the IVs to administer the lethal chemicals took about 20 minutes, with staff having particular difficulty getting a needle into Williams' left arm.

Crystal Carreon of the Sacramento Bee newspaper said Williams was restless during the preparations - a sentiment echoed by San Quentin State Prison Warden Steven Ornoski.

"He did seemed frustrated that it didn't go as quickly as he thought it might," Ornoski.

A crowd of demonstrators began gathering outside the gates of the prison early on Monday evening, with celebrities, activists and anti-death-penalty advocates pleading for Williams' life to be spared.

"I am saddened that we are continuing to demean human life by pretending that we are God and making determinations to kill other individuals for what it is claimed they have done," former M*A*S*H star and death penalty opponent Mike Farrell told CNN.

The execution process began at 12:01 in the execution chamber at San Quentin - 34 minutes later, prison officials confirmed Williams had died.

The announcement of Williams' death was punctuated in the witness gallery by three of his invited supporters, who shouted in unison, "The state of Californian just killed an innocent man," as they exited.

Minutes earlier in the gallery, reporters said at least one of the three had given Williams a raised fist salute.

The execution went ahead as scheduled after the United States Supreme Court late Monday rejected a last-ditch appeal.

The high court's ruling followed California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to deny clemency for Williams.

Before Williams went to the execution chamber, the stepmother of one of the men Williams was convicted of killing said she felt "justice is going to be done tonight."

Williams had maintained his innocence since his arrest and conviction in the brutal 1979 slayings. He had denounced gang violence and written children's books with an anti-gang message, donating the proceeds to anti-gang community groups.

As Williams was being moved to a holding cell next to the death chamber Monday evening, his lead attorney, John Harris, had said the convict was "at peace."

Protesters for and against the death penalty gathered outside the gates of San Quentin early on Monday evening.

Williams was sentenced to death in 1981 in the killing of Owens, a 26-year-old Los Angeles convenience store clerk, in February 1979. The clerk was shot twice in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun while face-down on the floor.

Less than two weeks later, jurors concluded, Williams killed an immigrant Chinese couple and their 41-year-old daughter while stealing less than $100 in cash from their motel. Part of the daughter's head was blown off in the shooting.

- News24