The death sentence for Stanley “Tookie” Williams will be carried out.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused today to grant clemency to convicted murderer Stanley Tookie Williams, the former leader of the violent Crips gang who scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

The Republican governor mulled the clemency decision throughout the weekend, with Williams’ supporters saying his death sentence should be commuted to lfie in prison without parole because he has renounced his former gang lifestyle.

Schwarzenegger was unswayed by pleas from Hollywood stars and petitions from more than 50,000 people who said that Williams had made amends during more than two decades in prison by writing a memoir and a series of children’s books about the dangers of gangs.

“After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency,” Schwarzenegger said in writing less than 12 hours before the execution. “The facts do not justify overturning the jury’s verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case.” [...]

Williams, a leader of the Crips in the 1970s – and often credited for founding the violent street gang – was convicted in 1981 of murdering four people in two separate robberies in 1979.

Over the last 13 years, he has spread an anti-gang message through nine children’s books and his website, www.tookie.com.

Williams still maintains his innocence in the murders.

His supporters consider him an effective anti-gang voice that potential gang members can relate to, and argue that silencing that voice will cost lives on the streets. His critics say he has an unrepentant, cold-blooded killer who has never apologized for his crimes and refuses to provide information about gang members – proof that he has not renounced his gang past.

My two cents on the matter will come tonight.

Required Reading: Text of the clemency decision. Below is an excerpt that the press should’ve included in their reporting:

“…Williams claims that he is particularly deserving of clemency because he has
reformed and been redeemed for his violent past. Williams’ claim of redemption
triggers an inquiry into his atonement for all his transgressions. Williams protests
that he has no reason to apologize for these murders because he did not commit
them. But he is guilty and a close look at Williams’ post-arrest and postconviction
conduct tells a story that is different from redemption. [...]

“There is also little mention or atonement in his writings and his plea for clemency
of the countless murders committed by the Crips following the lifestyle Williams
once espoused. The senseless killing that has ruined many families, particularly in
African-American communities, in the name of the Crips and gang warfare is a
tragedy of our modern culture. One would expect more explicit and direct
reference to this byproduct of his former lifestyle in Williams’ writings and
apology for this tragedy, but it exists only through innuendo and inference.

“Is Williams’ redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise?
Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not
apologize or otherwise atone for the murders of the four victims in this case.
Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can
be no redemption. In this case, the one thing that would be the clearest indication
of complete remorse and full redemption is the one thing Williams will not do.”

Related: Commentary from VodkaPundit, Wizbang, Cobb, and IMAO.