Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 07:53:10 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Inmate-Activists] Lockdown planned for Tookie execution - reposting Lockdown planned for Tookie execution By Mason Stockstill Staff Writer Whittier Daily News State prison officials are concerned the impending execution of former gang kingpin Stanley "Tookie" Williams could lead to an outbreak of violence among inmates. Williams, a co-founder of the Crips street gang, is scheduled to be executed Dec. 13 for the murders of four people, including 22-year-old Albert Lewis Owens, an employee at a Whittier 7-Eleven store. Williams plans to ask Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to commute his sentence to life in prison. On the day of Williams' execution, San Quentin - the prison where California's condemned inmates are held - will go on lockdown, said Todd Slosek, a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman. Additional security measures also will be in place, he added. "Clearly, there's a heightened awareness due to the media reports and his affiliation as a co-founder of the Crips," Slosek said. "We will take added precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the institution." Such procedures are always put into place when a deathrow inmate is executed, Slosek said. The same protocol was followed when convicted murderer Donald Beardslee was put to death in January. However, in Williams' case, correctional officers are concerned that, because he is a founder of the Crips, which has thousands of members incarcerated in CA prisons, inmate assaults against staff could increase as the execution date draws near. "We have heard that rumored," said Martin Aroian, president of the Chino chapter of the correctional officers union. "I don't have anything official." However, messages posted to an online forum by correctional officers mention rumors the Crips will have a "green light" on prison staff and other law enforcement officers. In 2003, prison officials locked down black inmates at Corcoran State Prison after discovering a note linking possible assaults on staff by Crips to Williams' impending death sentence. But Slosek said there has been no increased "chatter" among gang inmates in recent weeks surrounding the upcoming execution. Williams, 51, was sentenced to death in 1981 for the fatal shooting of Owens during a 1979 robbery. He also has been convicted of three other murders. His pleas for clemency have garnered public attention. Williams has written several children's books about the dangers of joining a gang, and his Web site, www.tookie.com, features testimonials from former gang members who say his story changed their lives. In 2000 five members of the Swiss parliament nominated Williams for a Nobel Peace Prize. In August he received a President's Call to Service Award for his good deeds on death row, praising him for demonstrating "the outstanding character of America." Several former gang members in San Bernardino said Williams' death would be a tragedy for youth already caught up in gang life. "Tookie has become a hero to the kids on the street," said a former gang member who goes by the moniker Evbody. "If he's put to death, it's going to get worse out there, because what hope will they have? Even if you change, it still doesn't matter." Regardless, unless the governor intervenes, Williams will receive a lethal injection fewer than six weeks from today. "This will be probably one of the higher-notoriety executions since the reinstatement of the death penalty," Slosek said.
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