Convicted killer Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the Crips gang co-founder whose case stirred a debate about capital punishment and the possibility of redemption, was executed this morning.

Former gang leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams has been executed by lethal injection.

A CONVICTED killer from North Carolina is today set to become the 1,000th person executed in the US since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, barring an unlikely intervention from the federal courts or the state governor.