Clear & Convincing - Episode 40 - State of California v. Stanley Tookie Williams

On February 27, 1979, Albert Owens was murdered during a robbery at a 7-Eleven store in Whittier, California by Stanley “Tookie” Williams, a co-founder of the Crips street gang.  On March 11, 1979, at around 5:30 a.m. Robert Yang heard a loud bang, a woman’s scream and gunshots coming from the offices of his family’s motel on South Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles.  Robert’s parents, Yen-I Yang and Tsai-Shai Yang and sister, Ye-Chen Lin were shot during a robbery of the motel.  Prior to his arrest, Williams made inculpatory admissions to numerous friends.  In one particularly disturbing admission, Williams imitated the noises made by Albert Owens after being shot in the back, then laughed hysterically for several minutes.  After his arrest, Williams conspired with a jailhouse snitch to ultimately attempt escape during transport to court.  Williams’ plan included killing a witness against him, as well as the guards and other prisoners on the bus.  At his trial in 1981, testimony established that a shotgun shell found at the Brookhaven Motel scene had been matched to a shotgun purchased by Williams in 1974.  That evidence, along with Williams’ escape plans and admissions to friends resulted in his conviction.  Once Williams’ appeals were exhausted, his execution was set for December, 2005.  A host of celebrities and anti-death penalty advocates opposed his execution claiming that he had redeemed himself while in prison.  Join Lisa O’Brien and Michael Carnahan on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. Central for a discussion of the case against Stanley Williams, his trial, direct appeal and post-conviction claims, as well as the controversy surrounding his 2005 execution.  We’re a live show and calls are welcome.  Our phone number is (347) 989-1171.