Dave Emnett

April 18, 2006

Gang Thug to Antiviolence Crusader: Redemption

The history and founding of the Crips has been disputed since its existence. This L.A. based gang has become a “loose network of ‘franchises’ around the United States and Canada.” The Crips is thought to have originated in 1971 when Stanley Williams joined Raymond Washington and his Baby Avenues whose turf was Central Avenue in East Los Angeles. After Williams joined and as the gang grew in popularity they became known as the Cribs representing their young age. After the paper reported one victim describing what was thought to be members of the gang as young cripples the gang became known as the Crips. However, some sources attribute the name change to a simple misspelling. All sources do agree that Tookie was a major player in the gang’s beginnings. Tookie was born to a 17 year-old mother in the city of New Orleans on December 29, 1953. Soon afterwards the Tookie’s father was out of the picture and the young family moved to South Central L.A. Tookie became famous on the streets for being a fighter and a “general” of the streets. Tookie, expelled from high school made his family with his gang. It was there he got the nickname “Big Took” for his muscular features.

Big Took was convicted and charged with the death penalty in 1981 for two crimes he committed in 1979. The first crime began one Tuesday evening, February 27, 1979. Tookie and one Alfred Coward a.k.a “Blackie,” met up with a man known in court only at Darryl. After they had stopped at Tookie’s place to retrieve his 12-guage shotgun they arrived at the home of Tony Sims. After deciding to drive down to Pomona, California to “make some money,” the group stopped at another residence for Tookie to pick up his .22 caliber pistol. The group stopped at a Stop-N-Go market on Whittier Boulevard that Darryl and Sims were to rob. For whatever reason, they botched the robbery which was said to have anger Tookie and other members of the Crips. Tookie decided that they should all go to another place where he would show them how a real robbery was done. They arrived at the 7-eleven also on Whittier Boulevard where Albert Owens, the 26 year old store clerk, was sweeping the parking lot. Darryl and Sims went into the store followed by Owens and the Williams and Coward. Court records say that Tookie held Owens at bay with a shotgun to his back while Darryl and Sims took the money from the cash register. Tookie took Owens to the back room where he had him lay on the floor and after shooting the security camera shot Owens twice in the back. When asked why he shot Owens, Tookie allegedly replied, “because I didn’t want to leave and witness and because he’s white and I’m killing all white people.” The group made $120 dollars the night. The second crime occurred on March 11, 1979 on South Vermont Avenue at the Brookhaven Motel. Tookie allegedly went into the motel and broke down the private office door. He then shot Yen-Yi Yang, his wife Tsai-shai Chen Yang, and his daughter Yu-Chin Yang Lin and took the money from the cash register. Robert, the son, heard gunshots and ran downstairs to find his family dead.

The law caught up with Tookie in 1981 when he was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty. However even to his death Tookie maintained his innocence and tried to appeal his case on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct, exclusion of exculpatory evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel, biased jury selection, and the misuse of jailhouse and government informants. Tookie was taken to San Quentin Prison in California. Records show Tookie committing many acts of violence in his first years at San Quentin. Two weeks after being sentenced Tookie was found kneeling over another inmate beating him with closed fists. He repeatedly threatened guards and twice threw chemical substances at them in one case causing severe burning on the guard’s face. After more instances of fighting and after being stabbed by Tiequon Aundray Cox also known as Lil Fee, a Rolling 60s Crip member, Tookie was transferred to solitary confinement October 19, 1988. During his six years of solitary confinement Tookie transformed. When asked about his transformation Tookie had this to say: “I unchained my mind, and I did so through prayers and extensive study. I had to seriously question whether I was a human or a beast. In choosing not to be a beast, I discovered my humanity. I became autodidactic, self-educated -- a critical thinker.” Tookie used his newfound education to write children’s books. In 1993 Barbra Bencel begins talking with Tookie and helping him publish his writings. Tookie agrees to be taped in an interview to help with the 1992 Los Angeles Watts gang truce. In 1997 Tookie has a website created for him on which he posts a formal apology for his involvement in the Crips. The website is at URL . In the apology he vows to spend the rest of his life working towards solutions. Tookie’s first book is an autobiography called Blue Rage, Black Redemption. His books advocate non-violence and alternatives to gangs. He next wrote a series of books called Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence. Books in this series include Gangs and Violence, Gangs and Weapons, Gangs and Abuse of Power, Gangs and Drugs, Gangs and Self-esteem, Gangs and Wanting to Belong, Gangs and Your Friends, and Gangs and Your Neighborhood. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former African National Congress Women's League president and wife of the late Nelson Mandela, visited Tookie inspired by his transformation and children’s books. On November 18, 2000 Mario Fehr, a member of the Swiss Parliament, nominated Tookie for the Nobel Peace Prize. Fehr was inspired by Tookie’s work saying, "I think he has done extraordinary work. For these young kids in street gangs, I think it is one of the only opportunities to get close to them...get them out of the street gangs." Although, Tookie’s books didn’t sell extremely well many were made and distributed to school around the country. On February 1, 2001 Tookie’s book Life in Prison is published. The book talks about his life in San Quentin and encourages kids that jail is not a place where they would want to end up. Tookie is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year until his death. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tookie helped to try to mediate the deadly rivalry between the Crips and the Bloods, the other largest gang in the USA, with a treaty called the Tookie Protocol For Peace. The treaty resulted in reduced gang violence but not complete peace. In 2004 the movie Redemption starring Jamie Foxx comes out honoring Tookie’s work.

Tookie’s redemption, however, wasn’t enough to grant him clemency. On December 12, 2005 the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, denied clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams. Tookie was executed on December 13, 2005.





Bibliography

Alonso, Alex. “Stanley Tookie Williams, Could be First Gang Member Executed in California,” Street Gangs Magazine. Oct. 2005.

“Crips,” Wikipedia. April 2006.

"Hypocrisy Trumps Clemency," The Nation. December 14, 2005. Redemption. J.T. Allen. Vondie Curtis-Hall. Perf. Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield. Eagle Entertainment, 2004.

“Stanley Williams,” Wikipedia. April 2006.

Sturdevant, Cameron. “The Life of Stanley Tookie Williams,” Socialist Worker. Oct. 2005, pg. 13

“The Execution of Stanley Tookie Williams,” Online. URL April 1, 2006.

Wagner, Venise. “Tookie Williams,” Mother Jones Magazine. March/April 2001 Issue.

“Warden: Williams frustrated at end,” December 13, 2005. Online. URL April 1, 2006.

Warren, Jennifer. “Tookie Williams Is Executed.” Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2005