Project carried out by three students Cozzarin Michele, Gerometta Mattias and Coletto Elisa. If you wish to see what this powerpoint is linked to, view our school blog http://cristianaziraldo.altervista.org/category/our-school-projects/ and look for The Death Penalty

2. THE FILM
“Redemption: The story of Stan
Tookie Williams” is a 2003’s
movie, directed by Vondie Curtis-
Hall, with Jamie Foxx, starring
Stanley Williams and Lynn
Whitfield, starring Barbara Becnel.
In this movie is explained the real
story of Stan “Tookie”
Williams, the founder of one of
the most infamous street gang of
Los Angeles, “The Crips”, who was
arrested and then condemned to
death in 1979, at the age of 26.

3. THE PLOT
● Some years after Stan's arrest, the writer and journalist Barbara Becneto decides to
write a book about gangs and wants to interview Stan, who is confined because has
fought with an inmate his first day of prision.
● At the beginning Stan does not trust Barbara, because he thinks that she will use
him to make money, but then decides to work with her because wants the world to
know his story. In prison he thought a lot and decided to change his mind and fight
crime.
● Besides William’s story, is told Barbara’s one. She is a divorced woman who lives
with her only child, Charles. They do not talk to each other very much and the boy
behaves like a street gangster, so she thinks he may become a criminal.
Barbara, worried for her son, makes up her mind and suggests Stan to write a book
to sensitize the young people in order not to make them grow up as criminals. He
also has a videoconference with some boys and girls (among them there is
Barbara’s son too) to tell them what not-to-do. He receives the visit of Nelson
Mandela’s wife for his job.
● But since he was condemned, he had been fighting for avoiding the death penalty,
without being able to make it.
However, the movie has an happy ending, because in the last scenes we find out
that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize, even if he was still in jail.

4. STANLEY WILLIAMS
Stanley Williams is the main character in
the movie. He was born in New
Orleans in 1953, but grew up in Los
Angeles. He was the founder of the
Crips, one of the worst street gang in
the United States, in 1971, when he
was only 18. His intention was not
that of creating a group of criminals,
but to protect his neighborhood. Stan
was convicted of robbery and murder
in 1979. He brutally killed 4 people for
their race. In 1993 he started writing
books for children, in order to save
them from the violence in the streets.
It is reported that he helped over
100’000 boys and girls with his novels.
Since 2001 he got nominated for
every edition of the Nobel Prize both
for peace and literature, but never
won.
The movie was set in 2003, when he
was still alive but died 2 years later, in
2005.

5. AFTER THE DEATH
In fact, the governor of California, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, denied his last
appeal and the same year he died by
lethal injection at San Quentin State
Prison, in California.
After his death, Barbara Becnel, the
journalist who helped him writing the
books, started campaigning against
death penalty. Even the rapper Snoop
Dogg, a former member of the Crips
himself, and Jamie Foxx, the actor
who impersonated him in the
move, helped the woman in her battle.

6. THE FILM DIRECTOR ABOUT THE
MOVIE
● Voundie Curtis-Hall discovers
Stan's story after his first
nomination to the Nobel prize
and decides to share the story
through a film;
● At the release of the film he
hoped that his work could help
Stan in winning his appeal;
● Some people criticise his choice
because they maintain that a
murderer does not deserve help;

7. MAIN THEMES
● Redemption;
● Death penalty;
● Gangs and urban violence;
● Police behaviour,
● Family relationships;

8. ANOTHER CASE OF
REDEMPTION
Ilan Fernandez used to be one of the
most powerful colombian narcos,
before was arrested at the age of
22. He spent 10 years in prison
and now he is the owner of the
clothes factory “De Puta Madre
69”. What happened to him?