The debate in Kentucky is on being played out in many other states, including here in California where I am based. This following post is still most read, more than 500,000 people at last count.

These were my notes as California executed ‘Tookie’ Williams and what it was like to be in that stale, windowless room at San Quentin.

December 13, 2005

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — FOX News correspondent Adam Housley was one of 39 people who witnessed the Tuesday morning execution of Stanley Tookie Williams.

Williams was convicted in 1981 for gunning down convenience store clerk Albert Owens, 26, at a 7-Eleven in Whittier, Calif., and killing Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, 63, as well as the couple’s daughter Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, at the Los Angeles motel they owned. Williams claimed he was innocent, but witnesses at the trial said he boasted about the killings, saying, “You should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him.”

This is Housley’s report of Tookie Williams’ last minutes:

I have seen death before, but never actually witnessed a last breath. Tonight that changed.

Tonight I saw the deep breaths of nervousness, the breaths of annoyance when an IV couldn’t be inserted easily … and the last quick breaths of air as a man’s chest went still. This man wasn’t a friend, a member of my family, or even an acquaintance. This man was convicted of brutally murdering four innocent people and later bragging about how he watched their last breaths. Tonight I saw his.

The timeline is actually long and detailed. I have shortened it, without detracting from the important facts or feelings. The most captivating: the moment when 39 men and women walk into a light tan room and gaze through protected glass as this convicted killer, Stanley Tookie Williams, is brought in, strapped down and put to death.

The timeline goes like this, from 12:29 p.m. Monday in California until 2:57 a.m. Tuesday.

Keep Reading …

Nearly 400,000 people read it on the first day. I will never forget madly scribbling my notes, never looking down as I fixed all attention on what lie in front of me. I was one of a few who witnessed the death of “Tookie” Williams — here is my blog link.

I post it now because of the continued debate over capital punishment and since New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a law making New Jersey the first state to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years. Some victim’s family members are now vowing to “make sure our voice is used and they are not re-elected.” Corzine commuted eight sentences to life in prison without parole — an attempt to ensure they cannot win an appeal and gain release with the elimination of the death penalty. Among the eight spared is Jesse Timmendequas, a sex offender who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994.

The case inspired Megan’s Law, which requires law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living in their communities.Others spared include Ambrose Harris, who kidnapped, raped and murdered 22-year-old Lower Makefield, Pa., artist Kristin Huggins exactly 15 years ago Monday. And it spares Brian Wakefield, who killed two people in 2001. Corzine said he was moved by passionate views on both sides, but believes eliminating capital punishment “best captures our state’s highest values and reflects our best efforts to search for true justice.” New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982 — six years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions — but it hasn’t executed anyone since 1963.

Just a quick post this time. Some of my new found friends have welcomed me to blogging and while I appreciate their welcome, I have been blogging for nearly 5 years. I have a blog for family and friends which you wouldn’t know about, but here on foxnews.com I began back during the war and its buildup in 2003. I also blogged for the California recall that brought us Governor Arnold. Other stories I blogged on were from Venezuela; on Barry Bonds; big Katrina and Hurricane Rita; the tsunami; and the missile launch onboard the USS Lake Erie.   You can read some others here in the reporter’s notebook archive.

I am new to have my own daily spot and I owe a thanks to Taryn back in NY. By the way…of all the blogs, the one most popular was the min by min account of Tookie Williams. I believe it got something like 350,000 hits over a 24 hour period. I can always re-post it if anyone is interested. Thanks again for all of the welcomes and support.