Back Lives Matter | Joshua Williams: Twelve years in prison

Williams after his release this week. Photo: instagram Following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Britain's BBC discussed the impact on international fashion. Black-owned companies were experiencing a boom, the station reported, noting the “return of the Black Panther look.”

Joshua Williams from the small US town of Ferguson, who had already been in prison for five years at the time, had more mundane problems. Williams was arrested and convicted in December 2014 at the age of 19. After the police killing of a black student in August, Williams joined the BLM protests and appeared in national media reports.

In court he admitted setting fire to a wastebasket in a shop and stealing a bag of crisps.

When a second teenager was killed by police in the St. Louis area in December, violent riots broke out, during which dozens of stores were looted and destroyed. Williams took part in the protests and was arrested shortly afterwards. In court he admitted setting fire to a wastebasket in a shop and stealing a bag of crisps. He was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison for arson, burglary and theft. Civil rights organizations viewed the verdict as scandalous.

In an interview with “GQ” magazine in 2020, Williams was nevertheless confident: “I think they wanted to make an example of me. The police officers who murdered Michael Brown never spent a day in prison. But I try not to let it get me down.”  

Williams could have been released on parole in June 2020. But his application was rejected and Williams was placed in solitary confinement - probably also because of the renewed flare-up of the BLM movement after the death of George Floyd. He spent the next few years in solitary and disciplinary confinement, often in the cell for 23 hours a day. He was convicted again for possession of a weapon and transferred to another prison in mid-2024. A short time later, his possible dismissal was rejected again.

This week, Williams was finally released on parole after almost twelve years in prison. The prison sentence for arson has been served, but he is still subject to probation for the offense committed in custody. According to »St. Louis American, a weekly newspaper for the black population of Missouri, Williams was the last prisoner of the Ferguson protests. A fundraiser to make it easier for Williams to restart has so far raised $20,000.

Malik Muhammad, who was arrested during the second major wave of BLM protests in 2020 and also sentenced to ten years in prison, remains in custody. Last August, The Intercept magazine reported that Muhammad had been transferred from a detention center in Oregon, in the western United States, to South Carolina, several thousand kilometers away. Apparently the authorities were bothered by Muhammad discussing political issues with prisoners.

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