Over the weekend, I watched Redemption: The Stan Tookie Story.
The movie starred Jamie Foxx, who played Stan Tookie Williams, one of the founding members of the Crips gang. The movie takes place after he has been imprisoned and is waiting on Death Row for crimes he committed as a gang member. Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to Williams' life of crime. While waiting to be executed, Williams claims to be a changed man, renounces his gang membership and even starts writing books (including children's books) warning against the dangers of gang life. He co-writes the books with a friend, Barbara Becnel, who also advocates for clemency from the state of California on Williams' behalf. Although there were many people who did not by into William's claims of reform, many people supported him. There is a seen in the film where Winnie Mandela comes to visit him in prison. In fact, Williams was even suggested as a Nobel Peace Prize winner several times for his anti-gang stance and work. At the time the film was made, Williams was still in prison, working on appeals and clemency pleas. They were never granted, however, and in 2005, he was executed by lethal injection. (The conclusion of this story is brought to you thanks to Wikipedia.)
It's a very interesting movie that brings up a lot of questions about whether someone can really reform after a life of crime and whether the death penalty is just. Even though they are not really related, the whole idea of Williams reaching out to children through books to help them make better of their lives reminded me of FAVL and our mission here. I would definitely recommend the movie to anyone.
The movie starred Jamie Foxx, who played Stan Tookie Williams, one of the founding members of the Crips gang. The movie takes place after he has been imprisoned and is waiting on Death Row for crimes he committed as a gang member. Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to Williams' life of crime. While waiting to be executed, Williams claims to be a changed man, renounces his gang membership and even starts writing books (including children's books) warning against the dangers of gang life. He co-writes the books with a friend, Barbara Becnel, who also advocates for clemency from the state of California on Williams' behalf. Although there were many people who did not by into William's claims of reform, many people supported him. There is a seen in the film where Winnie Mandela comes to visit him in prison. In fact, Williams was even suggested as a Nobel Peace Prize winner several times for his anti-gang stance and work. At the time the film was made, Williams was still in prison, working on appeals and clemency pleas. They were never granted, however, and in 2005, he was executed by lethal injection. (The conclusion of this story is brought to you thanks to Wikipedia.) It's a very interesting movie that brings up a lot of questions about whether someone can really reform after a life of crime and whether the death penalty is just. Even though they are not really related, the whole idea of Williams reaching out to children through books to help them make better of their lives reminded me of FAVL and our mission here. I would definitely recommend the movie to anyone.
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