Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)

Redemption tells the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips L.A. street gang. Story follows his fall into gang-banging, his prison term, and his work writing children's ... See full summary »

Director:

Vondie Curtis-Hall

Writer:

J.T. Allen

Stars:

Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, Lee Thompson Young

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Foxx	...	Stan 'Tookie' Williams
Lynn Whitfield	...	Barbara Becnel
Lee Thompson Young	...	Charles Becnel
Brenden Jefferson	...	Young Stan Williams (as Brenden Richard Jefferson)
Brenda Bazinet	...	Barbara's Agent
Wes Williams	...	Tony Bogard (as Wes 'Maestro' Williams)
Greg Ellwand	...	Prison Chief
CCH Pounder	...	Winnie Mandela
Barbara Barnes-Hopkins	...	Mrs. Williams
Tom Barnett	...	Jim Kates
Karl Campbell	...	Deuce-Five
Joseph Pierre	...	17yr. Old Ray Washington
Vibert Cobham	...	Buddha
David Fraser	...	Strange Man
Kahmaara Armatrading	...	Stan Williams (9-12)

Storyline

Redemption tells the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips L.A. street gang. Story follows his fall into gang-banging, his prison term, and his work writing children's novels encouraging peace and anti-violence resolutions which earned him multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations. After exhausting all forms of appeal, Tookie was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, California; he was declared dead on December 13, 2005 at 12:35 a.m. PST (08:35 UTC). Williams is the 12th person to be executed by California since it reinstated the death penalty in 1977.

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Plot Keywords:

redemption | prison | death | gang | violence | 

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Taglines:

Gangster, Death Row Inmate, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jaime Foxx met the real Stanley "Tookie" Williams before the movie was released in TV.

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Connections

Featured in The 20th IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2005)

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Soundtracks

Come Back Baby
Performed by Heather
Written by George Howard & Fred Capitelli

User Reviews

Excellent Movie HutDIL Kayla

The Beginning In the spring of 1971, when Tookie was 17, he was in a very different situation. He was a high school student from South Central Los Angeles. He had a fearsome reputation as a fighter and as a "general" of South Central's west side. And, around that time, Tookie, along with Raymond Lee Washington, created what would one day be a super-gang, the Crips. Back in the day when Tookie and Raymond founded the Crips, many of the young people of South Central Los Angeles were involved with small gangs. Those gang members roamed South Central taking property from anyone who feared them, including women and children. To protect the community, Tookie and Raymond organized the Crips.

Growth By 1979, the Crips had grown from a small Los Angeles gang to an organization with membership spread across the State of California. By this time, Crips had also become just like the gang members they had once sought to protect themselves from -- Crips had become gangbangers who terrorized their own neighborhoods.

Soon the Crips lost both their leaders: in 1979, Raymond was murdered by a rival gang member, and, that same year, Tookie was arrested. He was charged with murdering four people. In 1981, Tookie was convicted of those crimes and placed on death row.

Life in Prison In 1987, Tookie began what became a 6 1/2-year stay in solitary confinement. After two years there, Tookie began to look at himself. He focused on the choices he had made in his life and then committed himself to make a drastic change. The long, difficult process he undertook to rebuild his character put him in touch with his true spirit, his own humanity. Only then could Tookie finally begin to care about the many children, mothers, fathers and other family members of this country hurt by the Crips legacy and by its explosive growth. The gang is now in 42 states and on at least one other continent: South Africa. Youngsters in Soweto and other South African cities have formed the Crips copycat gangs

Tookie Today Tookie greatly regrets the violent history of the Crips -- particularly how so many young black men have hurt each other -- and he wants to do what he can to stop it. The Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence book series for elementary-school-age children is the first fruit of his longing to prevent young people of every color from becoming gangbangers, from ending up in prison, crippled by bullets, or killed.

Tookie is determined to make amends for having been a co-founder of the Crips. He intends to try in every way he can to guide those youngsters who have imitated him away from the road that led him to death row where he faces State execution. "Don't join a gang," he tells children in his books, writing from his San Quentin cell. "You won't find what you're looking for. All you will find is trouble, pain and sadness. I know. I did."

Details

Official Sites:

FX Network

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Redemption

Filming Locations:

Fort Pierce, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1