Death of an O.G.

Death of an O.G.

Labels: In Memory of...

Earlier this morning at approximately 12:45 am pst, the State of California ended the life of Stanley "Tookie" Williams. This wasn't an ordinary execution, there were many variables that separated this death penalty case. He was a reputed gang member, co-founder of the notorious Crips gang born in South Central, Los Angeles. Also, he was convicted in 1981 of four murders during two separate robbery attempts. Finally, over the last 15 years of his life, he forsaked his gang life and dedicated his life to a series of children's books aimed at gang intervention.

A meeting with a the Crips founder Raymond Washington in 1969 joined Williams' west side gang with Washington's east side and formed the Crips. Ironically, the organization was started in the wake of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense as a means of protecting the neighborhoods from police brutality, drug dealers and other gangs who were preying on the people. Over the years, the mission of the organization morphed into the very thing they were out to destroy, a gang. They began to use violence to enforce their dominance, peddled drugs to support themselves and intimidated those who remained civilians.

I believe we know the history of violence between the Crips and Bloods and how it's not only affected South Central, LA but spread throughout various communities across the country. Yet, Stanley Williams was not convicted of murdering Bloods, he was convicted of murdering four people in two separate robberies. One, a 26-year old clerk at 7-11 and the others were an elderly Asian couple and their middle-aged daughter during the robbery of a motel. During these two robberies, Williams' take was an estimated $220. That's such a small price when you consider that you took lives and yours will soon be at stake.

Gang members can kill each other all day long and police investigations can turn up no leads, but the murders of the working man, will have the boys in blue on your ass. Tookie found this out as he was quickly apprehended and convicted by a jury of his "peers", nine Caucasians, one Hispanic, one Filipino-American and one African-American. He maintained his innocence to his death and through various appeals claimed impropriety by the prosecution.

An extended stay in solitary confinement gave Tookie the time to re-evaluate his life and through a series of meetings with a journalist, he began to overcome the hatred that surrounded him and started work on a series of children's books aimed at educating youth about the dangers of gangs. It was this work that garnered him Nobel Prize nominations in Literature and Peace six times.

So the question remains, how can a man nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize be executed? If it was simply about the crime he was convicted of, I believe Tookie would've been granted clemency. However, Tookie was tried, convicted and condemned for a crime he committed in that park meeting with Raymond Washington, the birth and subsequent growth of the destructive Crips. There's not an article that's written that's not going to mention he's co-founder of the notorious gang, there's no doubt to the destruction born of that union, that was Tookie's crime.

Jamie Foxx, who played Tookie in "Redemption" the movie that displayed his prison transformation, Snoop Dogg, Alfre Woodard and Jesse Jackson went on a crusade through the l last weeks of Tookie's life to raise awareness of his impending death and the levels of change he accomplished throughout the last 24 years of his life. Yet, they were playing against the media, who immediately would drum up Crip facts and point to fact that he refused to divulge information on other gang members or work with Law Enforcement to infiltrate gang networks in the prisons or on the streets.

So, changing his life is not good enough, you want to make the man a snitch and put his life at risk in prison? What a crazy world we live in, when the man whose hands Tookie's life ultimately rested in, made his name and millions killing in movies. The Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, refused to grant clemency to Tookie and had some very smart person release a statement which cited the following as reasons for not commuting Tookie's death sentence:

• "The possible irregularities in Williams' trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury's decisions that he is guilty of these four murders and should pay with his life."
  The basis of his request for clemency is the "personal redemption Stanley Williams has experienced and the positive impact of the message he sends," yet "it is impossible to separate Williams' claim of innocence from his claim of redemption."

• "Cumulatively, the evidence demonstrating Williams is guilty of these murders is strong and compelling" ... "there is no reason to second-guess the jury's decision of guilt."
  A "close look at his post-arrest and post-conviction conduct tells a story different from redemption."
  
• Williams had written books that instruct readers to avoid the gang lifestyle and to stay out of prison. From 1995 he "tried to preach a message of gang avoidance and peacemaking"... "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 dedication of Williams' book Life in Prison casts significant doubt on his personal redemption and... the mix of individuals on [the dedication] list is curious" ... "but the inclusion of George Jackson on the list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed."
  
• "Is Williams' redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise? Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders of the four victims in this case. Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption. In this case, the one thing that would be the clearest indication of complete remorse and full redemption is the one thing Williams will not do."

According to those reasons, he's being blamed because the effect of his books can't be gauged, he's maintained his innocence and he made a dedication of his book to George Jackson (More on George Jackson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jackson_(Black_Panther)). Wow, what are the qualifications for Governor again?

Only in this case would an execution that usually lasts 90 seconds take nearly 11 minutes. Tookie was defiant to the end, refusing a last meal, chastising the guards for their inability to get the procedure correct and staring directly into the gallery as he shed one tear. Rest in peace O.G. Triple O.G.