History Repeats?
1916 Election Parallel
Abridged Story
From a news story by
CNN San Francisco Reporter Don Knapp
November 11, 2000
Stanley Williams, "Tookie", has been in prison for 20 years.
He is on Death Row for murder. He helped start the Crips gang in Los
Angeles before he went to prison. Now he wants to help young people
stay away from gangs and prison. He and Barbara Becnel have written
many books for young people about gangs and prison.
A man from Switzerland has nominated Williams for a Nobel Peace prize.
The Nobel Prize is given to people who have done the greatest good for
people of the world. Williams does not believe he will win, but he is
proud that he was nominated. Williams wants to make up for his role
in gangs and murder by doing good. Williams most recent book is called
"Life In Prison." Williams talks about the violence in prison
and how prison life can make people crazy.
Prison officials say that Williams has been in trouble in prison. He
spent 6 1/2 years in solitary confinement (kept in his cell for most
of every 24 hours) in the 19809's. They say he is still involved in
gangs. He denies it. His history, Becnel said, only makes Williams’
message stronger. "He may not be the messenger that many adults
want, but he has the message that many kids need. So are we going to
throw away an effective message because we don’t like the messenger?"
asks Becnel.
Additional Notes:
The Nobel Prize is named after a Swedish man named Alfred Nobel. He
left money to be awarded in the areas of physics, chemistry, economics,
medicine, literature and for promoting peace.
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