---
title: 'NEW RESOURCE: Magazine Highlights Life on Death Row of "Crips" Founder'
description: 'The New York Times Magazine recently explored the life of Stanley Williams, an original founder of the “Crips” gang and a convicted murderer who has been…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-magazine-highlights-life-on-death-row-of-crips-founder'
section: news
date: '2003-08-15T15:21:19-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:23:20-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

The New York Times Magazine recently explored the life of Stanley Williams, an original founder of the "Crips" gang and a convicted murderer who has been on death row in San Quentin prison for more than two decades:

> It isn't easy to reconcile the image of the new Stanley Williams, a children's-book author and youth advocate, with that of the old Stanley Williams, a gang leader and convicted murderer. The arc of his life raises fundamental, perennial questions about human nature: Is character fixed or mutable? Can a person who is capable of tremendous harm also be capable of tremendous good?

 (The New York Times Magazine, August 10, 2003). See [Resources](/getcat.php?cid=5).