Killer's execution reignites death debate

SAN FRANCISCO - A former Los Angeles gang leader was executed last night in another case which has reignited the death penalty debate in the United States.

Stanley "Tookie" Williams faced death for murdering four people in 1979. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sealed his fate by denying clemency to the former Crips gang leader.

The unofficial time of death was 12.35am (9.35pm NZ time).

The execution by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison followed a frenzied but failed effort to reopen the case by supporters of Williams, who repudiated gang life during his 24 years on Death Row.

Witnesses said friends of Williams gave Black Power salutes and blew kisses to the inmate from an observation room beside the death chamber.

"He was belligerent, he was steadfast to the very end," one witness told CNN last night.

The case has generated widespread interest and fierce debate over the death penalty in the United States because Williams, 51, wrote a series of books warning young people against gangs and said he had found redemption.

His supporters argued he should have been spared so he could continue his anti-gang work from behind bars.

Mr Schwarzenegger, weakened by a stinging loss on all his initiatives in a special election he called last month, would have risked alienating his Republican Party if he had granted clemency.

"Clemency cases are always difficult and this one is no exception," Mr Schwarzenegger said.

"After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency."

Williams was convicted in 1981 of killing Albert Owens as he lay face down on the floor of a 7-Eleven convenience store in a $120 robbery.

Two weeks later, Williams shot dead an elderly Taiwanese immigrant couple running a hotel, as well as their visiting daughter.

- REUTERS