A blue bandanna, the flash of a seemingly innocuous hand
gesture, some unfamiliar slang words, and even a dance move.
Believe it or not, these are all aspects of gang life and they have
become commonplace in the world in which we live.
Perhaps one of the most well”“known gangs in the United
States is the Crips, a gang that has found its way from the streets
of South Los Angeles into American homes through its influence in
music and television. Impressionable young kids are buying into the
glamorized image of gang life, quoting Snoop Dogg (“I keep a
blue flag hanging out my backside/But only on the left side, yeah
that’s the Crip side”) and doing the C-walk (a
Crip-affiliated dance) at their school dances.
When gang members, or rather gang-affiliated pop-stars, have
somehow become the heroes of a generation, someone has to take a
step back and reassess the situation.
One man is doing just that. In his fight against gang violence,
he has written nine anti-gang children’s books, started an
international peer mentoring program, and even received multiple
nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and Nobel Prize in
Literature. This man is Stanley “Tookie” Williams,
co-founder and former leader of the Crips gang, and he is currently
a death-row inmate in San Quentin State Prison.
Williams (whose moniker commands Che Guevara-type iconic
martyrdom) is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 13, ending a long
stay in prison that started in 1981, when he was convicted of
murdering four individuals.
Since his conviction, he seems to have become completely
different man. He speaks out against gang violence and has started
programs and written books in an attempt to stop the spread of
gangs such as the Crips.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only one who can save Williams
now. As the governor of California, he has the power to reduce
Williams’ death sentence to a sentence of life in prison. The
real question is, how many children’s books and how many
Nobel Prize nominations does it take to stop a lethal
injection?
For those who oppose the death penalty entirely, the answer is
simple. But for others, there are options that must be weighed.
It can be argued that Williams, as co-founder of the Crips, is
indirectly responsible for the deaths and incarcerations of
thousands. In the eyes of the legal system, he is directly
responsible for the death of four individuals (although while he
admits to his gang involvement, to this day, he maintains that he
is innocent of the murders).
But this same man is also responsible for saving the lives of
thousands of individuals, at least in some ways.
A page on his Web site is dedicated to letters the he has
received from youths who have been “saved” by his work
and gotten out of gangs because of his writings.
In Williams’ petition for clemency, he is backed by
Catholic priest Gregory J. Boyle, executive director of a large
gang rehabilitation program. Boyle says that Williams has
“transformed his gang past into a beneficial presence and aid
to thousands of children who will feel the gravitational pull
toward gangs.”
Its hard to overlook the amazing positive contributions that
Williams has made to youth gang culture in the United States, but
it is even harder to overlook the fact that in many ways, he is
responsible for much of the violence he is trying to stop.
So, which side should you take with a man who has done so much
good and bad in his life?
To be fair, if Williams didn’t help to co-found the Crips,
someone else probably would have stepped in and started a similar
gang. To be even more fair, Williams did co-found the gang, and he
should be held accountable for his actions, no matter how much he
has reformed.
But do we need to kill him to prove some kind of point about
killing people? To let Williams die when he continues to work
against gang violence seems ridiculous. To kill him now would
simply mean to put an end to all the good that he is doing ““
and that doesn’t help anyone.
I would urge Schwarzenegger to grant Williams clemency. This
way, he will be able to continue his work against gang violence and
at the same time, he will remain behind bars to pay for the
criminal acts of his past.
With gang members and their criminal ideals being idolized by
American youth culture, we need as much help as we can get to curb
the influence and numbers of gangs such as the Crips. Who better to
lead the way than a former gang leader?
Bloods, Crips, Norteños and Sureños; gangs are a
reality of the world we live in today, and their presence
can’t be ignored. Killing Williams in the name of justice
would have much less of a positive effect on the world than
allowing him to live and continue his work. So lets hope for
clemency and hope that America’s youth listens to
Williams.