Death Upheld for Crips Founder

A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld the death sentence of former Los Angeles street gang co-founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams for four 1979 murders. But in a rare move, the court suggested that Gov. Gray Davis consider commuting the sentence because of Williams' "laudable" anti-gang efforts while in prison, which led to his being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

By Henry Weinstein

January 11, 2004