Death Row Inmate Nominated For Nobel Prize
From a news story by
CNN San Francisco Reporter Greg Lefevre
December 7, 2000
The cofounder of the deadly Crips street gang now tries to keep kids
from following his deadly path. In his 20th year on death row, Stanley
Williams writes anti gang books for children and promotes the Internet
Project for Street Peace, an anti-gang Web site.
A Swiss lawmaker was so impressed he nominated Williams for the Nobel
Peace prize.
One passage of William’s reads (in his book "Gangs and Violence"):
"We started the Crips to protect ourselves and our families
from other gangs. We used violence against their violence. But starting
the Crips only made things worse. The only thing that I was doing
was destroying my own kind. I’d like to make amends for the madness,
you know." (Williams told CNN in an interview from his cell).
Photographs make Williams look like the tough guy that he is. That attracts
the kids, experts say. Then Williams lays on the anti-gang rap. The
Web site links anti-gang counselors and youth in at least five countries.
Williams started the books four years ago with co-author Barbara Becnel.
(She says:) "Oh, he feels a great deal of regret and he feels that’s
not the legacy, the destructive bloody legacy of the Crips, is not the
legacy that he wants to keep out there in the world".
Williams was convicted for shotgunning a teenage convenience store clerk
in 1979 then a month later murdering a motel owner, his wife, and their
daughter.
Williams spent 6 1/2 years in solitary confinement (kept in his cell
for most of every 24 hours) and listed as a troublesome inmate until
two years ago.
But prison officials say the record may show otherwise, that Williams
may not have left his Crips days behind. San Quentin (Prison)
records allege that Williams may still be maintaining gang contacts.
(San Quentin Spokesman Vernell Crittendon says:) "We still see
that he may be actively involved with the Blue Note Crips".
But Williams insists the gang life is history. (Becnel says:) "He
may not be the messenger that many adults want, but he has the message
that many kids need."
Those close to Williams admit that his chances of actually winning are
about the same as those of going free.
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.
Stanley William's (known
as "Tookie") work has earned him a nomination for the Nobel
Peace Prize. Williams said he was humbled by the nomination, but does
not expect to win the prize. The Nobel Foundation, which does not acknowledge
receiving nominations, said publicity about nominations sometimes works
against the nominee.
Williams’ most recent book is aimed at middle school students.
Called "Life in Prison," Williams says it is a plain spoken,
graphic account of life in the abyss of a death row cell. "It’s
no fun being a gangbanger (member of a gang). Gangbangers are
always looking over their shoulders because they’re afraid someone
may hurt them. Gangbangers also worry about getting caught by the police
for doing something wrong like stealing," he wrote. Williams’
most recent book is aimed at middle school students. Called "Life
in Prison," Williams says it is a plain spoken, graphic account
of life in the abyss of a death row cell. He donates the proceeds to
anti-gang community groups.
"Prison is a place where grown men have gone insane. It is a place
where men have been killed and where some have even killed themselves.
Prison is hell. This I know," Williams writes in "Life in
Prison." Williams lives, for now, in San Quentin’s East Block
with more than 400 other condemned inmates. His cell, smaller than most
bathrooms, contains a steel bed frame and a toilet. He has to roll up
his mattress to use his bed as a desk. He exercises with about 50 other
death row inmates in a rooftop yard that is enclosed by a chainlink
fence. "In prison, violence is like an active volcano—it can
erupt at any time. Violence can come from someone you hardly know, or
even from someone who is very close to you. You can have a friend today,
and tomorrow he can become your No. 1 enemy. It’s crazy in here,"
Williams writes in "Life in Prison."
San Quentin Spokesman Vernell
Crittendon said Williams had a history of trouble at the prison. The
prison says Williams has not had an infraction since 1993. "The violations
are usually involving batteries on inmates, batteries on staff. But
we have also received information that has identified him as an active
member of the Crips," Crittendon said. "The particular set is known
as the Blue Note Crips, and that information we have received since
his arrival here in April 1981 and as recent as June of 2000," Crittendon
said. Law enforcement sources say Williams still has considerable influence
over other gang member inmates. But Williams insists the gang life is
history. "They (prison officials) are being mendacious when they say
those things," he said.
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