Unjustly imprisoned at 17 years old - for a murder even Amnesty International maintains he did not commit - Nanon Williams' death sentence as a minor highlights how the "War on Drugs" has been used to wage war on working and poor folks, and continues the legacy of inhumane violence and exploitation that damages millions of lives and devastates countless communities of color. Although Nanon admitted as a teenager that he participated in a drug deal gone bad, the Houston Police Department has come under investigation since evidence of fabrications in his case and others has been revealed. The substantial holes in the case against Nanon have been made increasingly evident to the public in exposés published by the Houston press.
Since Nanon Williams was put on Death Row at 17 years old, evidence of corruption has continued to surface in the handling of his case. Though currently under appeal, on November 24, 2010 a federal judge ordered Nanon's release from prison in Texas -- where he has spent over 18 years for a crime he did not commit. In support of his release, letters and poetry written by Nanon Williams are interwoven throughout Lyrics from Lockdown to create a hip hop theater/spoken word poetry concert experience.
Letters From Death Row
Dear Bryonn,
I read everything I could find on you.
Had my lady make copies of “Walking While Black.”
Passed them out to all the brothers on Death Row. You write pretty good.
What you should write about is what goes on in here.
Last night, a guard was spitting on a mentally retarded prisoner.
…just because he was bored. Prisoners started yelling and set fires in protest.
Five guards dressed in vests, shields, helmets and carrying batons,
entered and hit me with blows to my head and abdomen.
I fought back the best I could, but was dragged to the ground, handcuffed, then shackled.
I was thrown head first down two flights of stairs.
Landed in a puddle of my own blood.
Got cuts everywhere.
But I'm surviving,
Nanon
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