As leader of the West Side Crips, Williams became the archetype of the new wave of Los Angeles gang members that would engage in random acts of violence against rival gang members and innocent people alike. Williams and his best friend, Curtis “Buddha” Morrow, would noticeably participate in these activities, striking fear into both street criminals and the residents of South Central, Watts, Inglewood, and Compton. Williams’ violent acts became legendary in southern Los Angeles’ criminal underworld as on numerous occasions criminal charges brought against him ended in disarray, and prosecutors were unable to convict him due to lack of evidence. As Williams’ mother worked several jobs to support them, Williams was a latchkey kid and often engaged in mischief on the streets. He recalled that, as a child, he would hang out in abandoned houses and vacant lots around his neighborhood in South Central where he would watch adults get drunk, abuse drugs, gamble and engage in dog fights.
Zane Smith is a former gang member and contemporary of Williams. Williams’ petition for clemency is not expected to address his guilt or innocence. Instead, his lawyers are likely to focus on his rehabilitation. One afternoon in the mid-1970s, Stanley “Tookie” Williams, a keen bodybuilder and the co-founder of the Crips gang, was walking along the broadwalk at Venice Beach, Santa Monica, near Los Angeles. He passed the then Mr Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was out for a stroll with a friend.
Sounds to me like the guards should be hitting the weights. I see prisoners lifting weights as a positive aspect of their rehabilitation. They improve themselves and learn lifelong good habits that can go a long way to keeping them out of trouble. In addition, the workouts keep them calmer and out of trouble while in there. 100 miles due west of the Big Apple lies the blue collar, no-nonsense town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Scranton is home to Rockview Penitentiary, which in the 1960s housed “Scranton Strongman”, Jim Williams.
Body weight exercises will keep them fit, books will improve their minds. Prison should be a place people don’t want to go back to. Unfortunately, an awful lot of people don’t seem to be deterred by the thought of prison time. Inmates should go to a 12-step program, inmates should go to school, and inmates should do their time in a way that gives something positive back to the society they have wronged. Exercise, particularly weights, should be an earned privilege.
But when you compare the way we started to the violence that was used later, that violence was used randomly and was more rampant. It was more about flexing your muscles to show who was the toughest of all. So we started off combatting the other gangs in order to create an atmosphere in our communities where it would be safe for all of us. And, in the beginning, we were doing a pretty good job of it. He believes if he does 100 on his first set, and then follows it with sets of eleven instead of ten, he’ll make it up to over 2,300. Watching Williams do his 2,220 push-ups, it’s easy to overlook how deeply he goes in each one.
As a female, my thoughts about inmates getting larger and stronger in prison is that some of these guys are in for assaulting and/or raping children and women. I don’t want them any scarier or more capable than they already are. I spent two weeks in jail as a young man and have worked hard to stay away ever since. I don’t think they should be allowed americantruck.com reviews anywhere near the weights it’s like giving a pitbull another way to do damage. I must say though, that the reason I quit Karate the first time, 1973, was because of such a teacher(Notice I don’t address him as sensei) which Ccrow mentions, so I know they exist. And the eight at which I’ve taught, I’ve not witnessed one A#$hole being “created”.
