Convicted Murderer and Author. He was the co-founder and member of the Crips, a South Central Los Angeles street gang. He was convicted and sentenced to California’s death row in 1981 for the February 1979 shooting death of Albert Owens during a convenience store robbery. He was also found guilty in a separate jury trial in the shooting deaths of an immigrant Asian couple and their 41 year old daughter during a second armed robbery that occurred less than two weeks later at the family operated motel. While in prison he authored several children’s books denouncing gang violence and affiliations, earning him five Nobel Prize nominations for literature. His published works include “Gangs and Wanting to Belong” (1996), “Gangs and Drugs” (1997), “Blue Rage, Black Redemption” (2004) and his 2001 autobiography “A Life in Prison.” Throughout his stay on death row he maintained his innocence in the shooting deaths and became an outspoken critic of capital punishment. His case gained national media attention attracting several high profile anti-death penalty advocates to his cause. His last minute appeals for clemency were denied by both the United States Supreme Court of Appeals and California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He became the 12th person to be executed in the state of California since the death penalty was re-imposed in the late 1970s.
Convicted Murderer and Author. He was the co-founder and member of the Crips, a South Central Los Angeles street gang. He was convicted and sentenced to California’s death row in 1981 for the February 1979 shooting death of Albert Owens during a convenience store robbery. He was also found guilty in a separate jury trial in the shooting deaths of an immigrant Asian couple and their 41 year old daughter during a second armed robbery that occurred less than two weeks later at the family operated motel. While in prison he authored several children’s books denouncing gang violence and affiliations, earning him five Nobel Prize nominations for literature. His published works include “Gangs and Wanting to Belong” (1996), “Gangs and Drugs” (1997), “Blue Rage, Black Redemption” (2004) and his 2001 autobiography “A Life in Prison.” Throughout his stay on death row he maintained his innocence in the shooting deaths and became an outspoken critic of capital punishment. His case gained national media attention attracting several high profile anti-death penalty advocates to his cause. His last minute appeals for clemency were denied by both the United States Supreme Court of Appeals and California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He became the 12th person to be executed in the state of California since the death penalty was re-imposed in the late 1970s.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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