"It is hard to assess the effect of such efforts in concrete terms, but the continued pervasiveness of gang violence leads one to question the efficacy of Williams' message," the governor's statement said.
That line drew criticism from Elisabeth Semel, who runs the death penalty clinic at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall law school.
"I don't think the African American community leaders," supporting Williams' clemency bid were "having trouble feeling the impact" of Williams' message, she said. She added that the governor was being unreasonable in suggesting that "one person, Tookie Williams, has to carry the weight on his shoulders of turning around gang violence in Los Angeles."
"I don't think you should lionize Tookie, but even those who are astute enough not to lionize him recognize his message has had a positive influence," she said.
Aides to the governor have consistently said that he made his decision without regard to politics. Political analysts from both parties, however, said his final decision was the one with the least chance of hurting his chances for reelection.
"The consideration of clemency for Tookie Williams, on a political basis, was always more of an opportunity to do political harm to himself than to help himself politically," said Kevin Spillane, a Republican consultant in Sacramento.
Spillane and others stressed that a decision to grant clemency would have angered conservatives and that the decision to allow the execution would not have much downside for Schwarzenegger.
Voters elected Schwarzenegger "knowing he was a strong supporter of the death penalty," said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick. "I don't think the voters are going to be the least bit surprised by his decision."
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Times staff writer Mark Z. Barabak contributed to this report.
