Schwarzenegger still undecided on clemency
Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:12 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will not decide on Saturday whether to grant clemency to former Crips gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, who is slated to be executed on Tuesday for murdering four people in 1979, his office said.
Barring clemency or last-minute court intervention, officials will administer a lethal injection to Williams at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday in the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison.
The case has generated widespread interest and fierce debate over the death penalty in the United States because Williams, 51, has written a series of books warning young people against gangs and says he has found redemption.
His supporters have said he should be spared so he can continue his anti-gang work from behind bars.
The governor's office told Reuters that Schwarzenegger would not be making a decision on Saturday and gave no indication of when he would.
Following a clemency hearing on Thursday, Schwarzenegger said the decision was a "heavy responsibility" and he was carefully studying all sides of the issue.
Granting clemency would be a risk for Schwarzenegger, weakened by a stinging loss on all his initiatives in a special election he called last month, as it could alienate his Republican party.
But it could help boost his flagging popularity in a state where Democrats are the largest party as he looks to reelection in 2006.
U.S. governors typically stay executions because of doubts over evidence in the case or fairness of the trial rather than because of redemption. Williams has said he did not commit the murders, but said he hurt many people as leader of the Crips gang in the Los Angeles area.
