A Stupid Waste

I met Stanley Tookie Williams, co-founder of the Crips street gang, at San Quentin. Several times we sat locked together in a metal cage and talked, sharing food I'd purchase from the vending machines. He's the same age I am, early 50s, a big man gone gray at the temples. You can see how imposing he'd have been in his youth. Now he's surprisingly soft-spoken, picks his words carefully, has a writer's ear for language.

By J.T. Allen

December 4, 2005