A good friend of mine wrote a good article on Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the founder of the crips.

Stanley “Tookie” Williams Must Die

There is a lot of attention being paid to this issue as the date of Mr. Williams execution approaches. I for one have to say that I am appalled by what I have seen and heard so far. In fact I’m outraged. I would like to say that the time for our society and Black Americans especially, has come to deal in reality. The reality that “Tookie” is a murderer responsible for the deaths of not only 4 innocent persons. But he is also a founding member of the Crips which by itself places the blood of a few thousand others on him as well. And to this day the Crips continue to destroy lives in our cities nation wide. This is directly attributable to him. Now I will briefly address some of the issues that are being brought forward on Mr. Williams behalf and I will close by directly addressing the so called “community leaders”.

Perhaps the most legitimate argument for sparing Mr. Williams life has nothing to do with Mr. Williams. And it is the issue of the death penalty. My personal belief is that we need a death penalty to deter individuals who would otherwise harm of kill people. Studies have shown that the threat of facing the death penalty has influenced many would be killers to reconsider in the moment of truth which is a good thing. And it also helps to bring closure to the families of victims in murder cases. Now having said all of that it is a personal opinion and I acknowledge that everybody will not agree and some feel that the death penalty is morally wrong. My counter argument is that we live in a democratic society. We do have the power to pass laws prohibiting the use of the death penalty. And should the people of California vote in favor of such a law, while I disagree with it, I would support it until I had a chance to vote it down. But because the death penalty IS LEGAL and is on the books. In order for our laws to have legitimacy, WE MUST CARRY OUT THE SENTENCE. Otherwise what would be the point of having it on the books? So my conclusion is that while I understand people’s moral opposition to the death penalty, it is a legal method of punishment and therefore we must carry it out when it is handed down in the sentencing phase to maintain the integrity of our legal system.

Speaking of the legal system. Many have argued that Mr. Williams has not received a fair trial and was not judged by his peers. Well I would say that’s nonsense. The jury that found him guilty did have a black person which is roughly proportional to the number of Black Americans in the population. Also it would be highly unlikely for a member of the Crips to actually show up to jury duty. So Mr. Williams was given a jury most representative of the society in which he lived. And that Jury was able to make the judgment that Mr. Williams did in fact commit the accused crimes based on the available evidence which included his own Shotgun and a shell casing that matched it.

In regard to evidence, Mr. Williams has many times appealed his case and on each occasion his appeal has been overturned. As time progressed there have been technological advances that would have been able to refute the evidence against him if it wasn’t true. But because Mr. Williams did in fact kill people and did in fact found the Crips his conviction stands as it should.

Appeals and rush to carry out the sentence. I would like to say that perhaps one of the greatest deceptions is that Mr. Williams is being rushed to his death. That claim is flat out laughable. First of all these crimes happened in 1981 if I recall correctly. This means that Mr. Williams has been on death row longer than some of this article’s readers have been alive! I think that 20+ years of appeals is enough and in reality too long but I digress.

Then there is the argument that because Mr. Williams has been nominated for the Nobel Prize and has written children’s books ect. He should be spared. First it should be noted that Mr. Williams Children’s books were ghost written and he allowed the writers to use his name. Second the Nomination of the Nobel Peace Prize is subjective and originated in Europe where the United States practice of putting incorrigibles to death is frowned upon. In other words the Nobel nomination for Mr. Williams represented yet another European anti American protest which used the Nobel Prize nomination visibility to elevate the European objection to the Death Penalty to the spot light. Let me just say that America is an independent nation and while we are appreciative of the advice we receive from allies. Foreigners should not be allowed to interfere in our legal processes.

What effect would Mr. Williams execution has on young would be gang members looking for a way out and people in general. We ideally it would have the effect of making people see the high price to be paid for committing savagery on fellow human beings. You will not hear that said aloud in the mass media. No instead you will hear things like Mr. Williams death will harden people and lessen the incentive for people to change. This is pure and utter nonsense. It’s meant to take advantage of weak minded people. Anybody who wants to leave gang life style need only to reflect inward and ask what it is about them that makes them want to get out. And then they must WORK and actually do it themselves for it to have any meaning. There was crime prior to Mr. Williams, and there will be crime when he is gone. So whether or not Mr. Williams lives or dies it irrelevant in that context except maybe that by letting him live. We will be showing that actions don’t have consequences.

Hollywood. I use the term Hollywood to describe the collage of celebrities and activist who have attached themselves to Mr. Williams for various reasons. The bottom line is that Hollywood is not qualified to discuss or decide upon the legitimacy of the death penalty alone. That is a right that belongs to the voters of California. All of us. And the People have decided. Hollywood actors have jobs just like the rest of us. And if this debate were about acting methodology, rapping or how to be a celebrity. I would not question their expertise. But when it comes to issues such as laws, politics and ethics. I think it’s disingenuous for them to use their celebrity influence to demonize people they don’t agree with. For them to claim their OPINIONS are anything more than that is an abomination.

Race pimpin’. I remember reading and listening to Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Real community leaders. I remember reading about Rosa Parks. To me, those individuals are community leaders. A real community leader would have the guts to stand up in front of the TV cameras and tell the people that when you do the crime you do the time. And that murdering people has to have consequences or we will have anarchy. Even the Bible says an Eye for an eye! Stanley “Tookie” Williams is a murderer not a saint. Enough racial bigotry still exist in America that Black Americans must choose carefully those issues to rally behind so as to be taken seriously when it matters! For example, when a Black American is more qualified and its time to get promoted to CEO and all the other candidates are white! Then when and if race has anything to do with non selection, people will take the allegation more seriously. For Black Americans to waste political capital on a convicted murdered and founder of a gang that has killed more US citizens than the 9/11 attackers is ludicrous! There is a limit to the amount of times one can cry wolf before people stop listening. So called community leadership are taking advantage of and exploiting Black Americans for their own reasons that will cause far more harm than good by arguing that somehow Mr. Williams’s execution represents some sort of racism! In fact those so called community leaders should be rejected for such outrageous behavior. Tell the truth.

Not before concluding I’m going to speak briefly about religion for the benefit of believers and non believers alike. When Jesus hung on the cross. Next to him was a criminal who was also being executed. This criminal asked the Lord for forgiveness which Jesus granted because of the Lords knowledge of the sincerity of this persons heart. And after giving that forgiveness, the criminal died shortly after as a result of his crucifixion. According to Jesus this man was allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven. But only AFTER confessing and then being EXECUTED HERE ON EARTH. Considering that it would be within the Lords power to save this mans life. Why was it that only Jesus arose from the grave? I’ll withhold the answer so that individuals can reflect on this point.

In addition to sending Mr. Williams this letter and attempting to visit him. Here is what I am advising Mr. Williams to do and it is what I would do if I was in his shoes. I would tell Mr. Williams that he has a unique opportunity right a lot of the wrong he has done and perhaps he could even attain immortality by doing the following. Mr. Williams could write a letter to the public and specifically the youth. In his letter he should renounce the Crips and gang banging. He should use his life as an example of how the gangsta lifestyle is not good and should not be emulated or encouraged. And most of all he should apologize to the victims. Including all those victimized by gang violence. He should also tell the activist making false allegations of racism to leave and not make a mockery of the hardships that Black Americans have had to face when legitimately falsely accused in the past. And then He should walk into the death chamber and accept death as a payment for his sins. This would demonstrate to the youth that crime has consequences. But even more powerful it would demonstrate his willingness to accept responsibility for his actions. Through this act of courage he would influence many times more people, draw attention to the issue of the death penalty so that a true public discussion of its merit could take place. And he would be showing to a lot of young men how to be a man and accept responsibility for his actions. In this act he would instantly become the father of so many young men who never had a man around to show them what being a man means. His actions would be talked about, movies would be made and Mr. Williams, Stanley “Tookie” Williams, would never be forgotten. In a sense he would become immortal. And in his final act, Stanley “Tookie” Williams would achieve, Redemption.

Sincerely
Brandon