JURIST - Paper Chase: California high court refuses clemency request by gang founder

[JURIST] The California Supreme Court [official website] late Wednesday denied a request by Stanley Tookie Williams [advocacy website], the Crips gang founder turned anti-gang activist, to halt his scheduled execution. Defense lawyers for Williams challenged forensic evidence in the case in a last-ditch effort to halt his execution scheduled for Dec. 13. The Supreme Court denied the petition [conference actions list, PDF] in a 4-2 decision without comment. Williams, who has already challenged his sentence in federal courts, has also petitioned for clemency from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger [official profile], who has agreed to hear the petition. Williams has maintained his innocence after he was convicted in 1981 for killing three people in a motel robbery and for shooting another in a separate crime. Since being imprisoned, Williams has authored a number of anti-gang children's books. AP has more.

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