The Americans Just Wrote Me a Letter
The following letter was written several years ago.
THE CALIFORNIA GANG INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION
3010 East Victoria Street
Rancho Dominguez, CA 90221
November 29, 2000
Office of the Nobel Foundation
Box 5232, SE-102 45 Stockholm
Struregatan 14
Stockholm, Sweden
Dear Nobel Peace Prize Committee Members,
I am writing to the committee to protest the nomination of Stanley "Tookie" Williams for the Nobel Peace Prize. By way of introduction, I am Wesley D. McBride, President of the California Gang Investigator’s Association, an association comprised of over 1,600 law enforcement professionals, concerned with the control and management of the street gang problem facing our country. I have nearly 35 years experience in law enforcement and have worked in communities that have experienced the full wrath of the violence that Mr. Williams helped establish.
Stanley "Tookie" Williams sits on death row in a California prison for the unconscionable and premeditated act of murder on four innocent persons. Murders that can not be explained away even under the most liberal interpretations of oppression, nor by putting a political spin on the crimes as some idealistic political terrorist movement. These murders were the result of common thuggery. Stanley Williams, in the company of fellow gang members, murdered these innocents to eliminate witnesses to his premeditated armed robbery. At least one of the murders, reportedly, was done simply as a demonstration to the other gangsters on how to leave no witnesses.
Stanley "Tookie" Williams boasts of being one of the founding members of the original Crip gang in Los Angeles. This is the gang that became the centerpiece for the proliferation of gangs across the greater Los Angeles area, and eventually across America like some virulent plague. Other gangs rose in opposition to his gang’s domination creating a collective rise criminality that this country has never experienced before.
The insanity of street gang philosophy that Tookie espoused has now permeated well beyond our nation’s youth, it has spread globally. The migration of the gang lifestyle does not have to be the physical migration of the gangs it can be through the migration of the gang’s philosophy as depicted in the cinema or music scenes. Barring third world revolutions and disease there are no other identifiable entities that murder, maim and destroy whole communities as these social pariahs we know as criminal street gangs.
It is for good reason that Mr. Williams sits on Death Row. His attempts at demonstrating his sincere regret for his deplorable behavior did not become manifest until it became obvious that his lengthy appeal process was coming to a conclusion. Court after court confirmed his guilt and responsibility for multiple murders while reaffirming his death sentence. Tookie’s personification and reputation as a ruthless gang member has become an icon for the generations of young delinquents, helping to recruit them into the gangs. His specific actions in aiding in the creation the Crips has brought much death, desolation, and disservice to the entire African-American community. His creation has destroyed communities as surely as the gangs’ bullets have killed countless humans.
To now present himself as a rehabilitated murderer that does not deserve his just punishment given to him by legal authority because he authored a few booklets on gang prevention is ludicrous. There is serious speculation if Mr. Williams actually wrote the books or they were the product of a ghost writer utilizing his name and ideas. Why should he profit either monetarily or egotistically for committing multiple murders and then apologizing many years later for the act.
There are many deserving individuals spanning this globe that deserve this honor and have done glorious deeds in the name of peace. Many of them warriors, statesmen, and common citizen, yet all share in their endeavors to make our world better. I sincerely encourage you not to give any serious consideration to Stanley Williams.
Sincerely yours,
/s/Wesley D. McBride
Comments
Stanley "Tookie" Williams (born December 29, 1953) was the founder, along with Raymond Washington, of the Crips....
In 1979 Williams murdered Albert Owen, Thsai-Shai Yang, Yen-I Yang, and Yee Chen Lin during two separate robberies....
Williams is currently waiting on death row in San Quentin State Prison the outcome of his request for clemency....
Since his conviction, Williams has denounced his life and his role as a gang leader, and writes from prison about the harmful effects of gang life....
Supporters claim that Williams has deterred over 150,000 individuals from joining gangs; however, when the co-author of Williams' books was challenged on this point by The John and Ken Show, she refused to provide the evidence and hung up on the hosts. [2]
Williams has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2001, but has never won or been considered a serious contender. The first year he was nominated by a member of the Swiss Parliament....