Stanley Williams

This article is about the Crips co-founder. For other people, see Stanley Williams (disambiguation).

Stanley Tookie Williams III
Williams' 2000 mugshot
Born
Stanley Tookie Williams III

(1953-12-29)December 29, 1953
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedDecember 13, 2005(2005-12-13) (aged 51)
San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
OccupationGangster
Spouse
Bonnie Williams-Taylor
​
​
(m. 1981)​
Children3
AllegianceWest Side Crips
Conviction(s)First degree murder with special circumstances (4 counts)
Robbery (2 counts)
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims4
Span of crimes
February 28 – March 7, 1979
CountryUnited States
State(s)California
Weapons12-gauge shotgun
Websitetookie.com (archived)

Stanley Tookie Williams III[1][2] (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gangster who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the Crips as Los Angeles' first major African-American street gang. During the 1970s, Williams was the de facto leader of the Crips and the prominent crime boss in South Los Angeles.[3][4]

Williams's activities with the Crips ended in 1979 when he was arrested for the murder of four people during two robberies. Convicted of the murders in 1981 and sentenced to death, he spent over two decades on death row until he was executed by lethal injection in 2005. The highly publicized trial of Williams and extensive appeals for clemency sparked debate on the status of the death penalty in California.[5]

  1. ^ Goodman, Amy (2005). "A Conversation with Death Row Prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams from his San Quentin Cell". Democracy Now!.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference blue rage was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Fortier, Zach (February 9, 2015). I Am Raymond Washington. SSP. p. 170. ISBN 978-0692359877. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  4. ^ "FindLaw's United States Ninth Circuit case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "Executed Inmate Summary - Stanley Williams". Capital Punishment. Retrieved March 7, 2022.