Stanley Tookie Williams free essay sample

Learning how to fight at age six is a bit ridiculous. As a member of the black male species living in the ghetto he would either become the prey or the predator. With the lack of parental guidance he had become immersed in the violence-taking place in Los Angles. He grew up looking up to drug dealers and pimps. His first job as a teen was to patch the and feed dogs used in dog fighting rings. The dog would evenly be beaten or shot by the owners and gamblers and hustlers. The betting had become to young boys fighting, Williams was paid to enter the fight and beat the other challenger to the point they were unconsciousness. William would hide the horrors he had saw and performed. Williams was usually absent from school. He would be destined to be â€Å"dis-educated† described as the impaired and diseased knowledge he received in school and in the street. We will write a custom essay sample on Stanley Tookie Williams or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He had come to the conclusion that he would be better off in the streets. Through fighting he had met several friends, with whom he frequently stole and made quick money as a bootblack. â€Å"Bootblack† a person employed to polish boots and shoes. One of his new friends name was Raymond Washington. The two of them created an alliance that was called the Crips, which was founded to protect the neighborhood from larger gangs. The original Crips consisted of about 30 members but they soon would split into the Westside and the Eastside Crips. In 1979 the Crips had become a statewide gang and Williams and Washington lost control of the group. In 1979 Washington was shot and killed, which was blamed on the Hover faction of the Hoover faction of the Crips, which led to war between Hoover and other factions of the Crips. No arrests were made, but theories state that Washington knew his killer. Williams and some of his fellow member were high on PCP-laced cigarettes, than drove to a convince store and robed it. Williams than took the storeowner to the while the others robbed the store, shot out the security cameras and than released two bullets execution-style shot to the back. They only profited 120 dollars from the robbery. Prosecutors than say Williams broke into a hotel office Brookhaven and shot and killed three members of the family who owned the motel. The gun used was linked to Williams’s shotgun and several gang members testified that Williams was indeed bragged about it. Williams denied this shooting as well, claiming that other members of the gang framed him. In 1981, Williams was convicted of murder and two counts of robbery in the Los Angles superior Court, which he was sentenced to death. On April 20th he was sent to San Quentin to sit on death row. Williams didn’t adjust well to prison life, and by the mid 80’s he was given six and a half years in solitary confinement fro multiple assaults n guards and fellow inmates. After about two years in confinement he started examined his life’s choices and repented for his actions. He attributed his transformed to God, and he began to speak out against gang violence. In 1988 he filed an federal appeal that he was a changed man but his appeal was denied. In 1994 he was released from solitary confinement. With his new mind set he started writing a book with the help of a lady named Barbra Cottman Becnel, and published eight books about anti-gang books aimed at children. In 2002 Mario Fehr, a member of the Swiss Parliament, nominated Williams for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his work against gang violence. Although he did not win the award, many supporters spoke out in favor of the ormer gang members transformation into social reformer. He would be nominated for the honor six times in total. That same year, Williams appealed again for a commuted death sentence. The appeals panel urged the judge to consider commuting Williams death sentence to life behind bars, citing the former gang members efforts toward anti-gang education. The appeal failed once aga in. In 2004, Williams helped create the Tookie Protocol For Peace, a peace agreement for one of the deadliest and most infamous gang wars in the country between the Crips and their rival, the Bloods. Williams received a letter from President George W. Bush commending him for his actions. That same year, his book Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir 2004 was published. The book was written with the intention to warn kids away from following Williams life of crime. I felt after he was rehabilitated that he should have been given some kind of immunity for work he had done with the anti-gang efforts. And was even nominated for a Nobel Piece Prize. The man truly trans formed himself from a dangerous gang leader to a leader of anti-gang violence.