L.A. APPEALS FOR CALM OVER TOOKIE CHURCHES ASKED TO BE HAVEN.

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

Preparing for the possibility of unrest if the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams proceeds next week, city leaders called Friday for churches to serve as advocates and havens for peace.

A group of City Council members asked South Los Angeles churches to emphasize peace and civility in their Sunday sermons and open their facilities Monday and Tuesday for those who might want a safe space.

``We believe strongly in freedom of speech, we believe people should have the ability to have a debate,'' said Councilman Bernard Parks. ``But we do not believe violence should have any part of that.''

The appeal for calm comes amid speculation that a decision by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to refuse to grant Williams clemency could spark widespread anger and unrest among gang members.

A one-time leader of the notorious Crips street gang, Williams has been on Death Row for two decades, convicted of murdering Albert Owens, Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang and Yu-Chin Yang Lin in two separate robberies.

While Williams' legal appeals have failed, his supporters say he deserves mercy for speaking out against gang violence. A decision on whether to grant clemency, commuting his sentence to life in prison, could come at any time. Schwarzenegger said Friday that he was still weighing what to do.

``I'm working on it. I'm looking, studying the whole thing, reading a lot - last night almost to midnight,'' he said, adding that he ``will be reading and doing all the research on this and make the right decision.''

Some activists in South Los Angeles have suggested that executing Williams could inflame tensions that have been building between law enforcement and the African-American community.

``The atmosphere is thick in Los Angeles,'' Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad said this week after a protest in another racially charged case, the police shooting of 13-year-old Devin Brown.

Local officials have received reports that there could be disturbances if Williams is executed, said Robin Toma, executive director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, who declined to provide details.

But the Los Angeles Police Department does not believe rumors that Williams' execution will be greeted with a gang backlash, said Lt. Paul Vernon, a department spokesman.

The LAPD has no plans to go on a tactical alert if he is executed, although that can be implemented on short notice, Vernon said. ``Everything we hear in many instances is that most of the gang members didn't even know who Tookie Williams was until all this came up,'' Vernon said. ``In some cases, I've heard resentment among gang members about his claims. We really don't see it as being an issue at all.''

In addition to Parks, City Council members Jan Perry, Bill Rosendahl and Herb Wesson are participating in the outreach to churches. They all said it is important to prepare, even if they do not expect widespread unrest.

``All you need is a few and you can disrupt the entire city,'' said Parks, a former LAPD chief.

The council members said they did not want to comment on the facts of the Williams case. Except for Parks, they all said they oppose the death penalty.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also refused to comment on the case, even though he is a longtime opponent of the death penalty.

``Any time someone is executed, no matter what they've done, we all care about it,'' he said. ``Since I was in college, I've been opposed to the death penalty. But I also recognize that this is a nation of laws and the governor has the ultimate responsibility and he has to decide this, not me.''

Staff Writers Josh Kleinbaum and Rick Orlov contributed to this story.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com