How a Hollywood Director and His Wife Found a New Family in a Man Condemned to Die
In the shadows of the criminal justice system, a powerful bond was formed between a legendary Hollywood director, his wife, and a man sentenced to death. This is the story of how Rob and Michele Reiner, through letters and a poem, became like family to Nanon Williams, a man who had spent years fighting for his freedom. But here's where it gets controversial...
Three years after his conviction, the evidence against Williams began to crumble. In 1998, his appellate lawyer requested testing of Guevara’s .22 Derringer, and the ballistics expert who testified at trial was asked to test-fire the gun. The analyst, Robert Baldwin, wrote a letter admitting he had been wrong, and the bullet taken from Collier’s head had, in fact, been fired from Guevara’s .22 Derringer, not Williams’ gun. This revelation raised questions about the reliability of the evidence and the integrity of the trial.
In 1999, the prosecutor wrote a letter opposing Guevara’s parole, admitting that Guevara was not truthful and likely participated in Collier’s murder. This admission was a stunning turn of events, and it raised questions about the fairness of the trial and the possibility of a wrongful conviction. Jurors from Williams’ trial later signed affidavits saying the new evidence could have changed their verdict, and one juror said definitively she would have voted to acquit.
Despite the new evidence, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Williams’ recommendation for a new trial, and he remained in prison, awaiting his turn to die. But this is where the story takes a turn...
In 2003, from death row, Williams learned about a "60 Minutes" segment on a Harvard Law School student who was swept into the criminal justice system simply for being Black. Inspired, Williams wrote letters and a poem to the student, Bryonn Bain, about his own plight. In a parallel universe, Williams wrote, maybe he’d be the one at Harvard and Bain would be facing execution.
Bain, who also wrote poetry, began conceiving a stage show where he would weave his lived experience and Williams’ writings into a spoken-word, multimedia performance. The result was "Lyrics From Lockdown," which premiered at the National Black Theatre in 2013, with singer and activist Harry Belafonte and his daughter Gina executive producing.
By then, Williams was no longer on death row. After the U.S. Supreme Court banned executions in 2005 for crimes committed by juveniles, his sentence had been reduced to life without parole. In 2016, Rob and Michele Reiner saw "Lyrics From Lockdown" in Los Angeles and were struck by Bain’s performance. They asked him to introduce them to Williams, and the bond between the Reiners and Williams began.
Williams had gone decades with little access to movies or television, and he came to know Rob and Michele as kind voices on the phone. They asked questions, offered advice, and showed genuine interest in getting to know him. Only gradually did it sink in that Rob was the filmmaker behind some of Hollywood’s most beloved movies, including "A Few Good Men" and "When Harry Met Sally..." But none of that mattered to Williams. What mattered, he said, was that they were listening.
"The more they learned," Williams said, "the more pissed off Rob became, and the more loving Michele became." The Reiners’ initial interest in helping him wasn’t surprising. Rob had spent decades opposing the death penalty, and Michele, whose mother survived Auschwitz, carried a lifelong sensitivity to dehumanization and state violence. But what followed would go far beyond advocacy.
Rob signed on as an executive producer of "Lyrics From Lockdown." The show traveled across the country, into prisons and revered public spaces: Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, and Lincoln Center. Each performance carried Williams’ story further — and drew more people in.
In October 2018, Georgetown professor Marc Howard, founder of the university’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, saw the show at the Kennedy Center. "What was screaming out at me was, this man has something special," Howard said of Williams. "The letters that he’s written, they hit home. They give me the chills." Soon, Howard joined a tight circle of supporters who held regular Zoom calls about Williams’ case. He found himself on screens with Rob and Michele Reiner.
What began with poetry had become a movement for freedom. And this is the part most people miss...
The Reiners’ involvement in Williams’ case sparked a movement for freedom. They used their influence and resources to advocate for Williams and raise awareness about the injustices of the criminal justice system. The show "Lyrics From Lockdown" became a platform for Williams to share his story and connect with people from all walks of life.
But the controversy doesn’t end there. Some people argue that the Reiners’ involvement in Williams’ case was an attempt to gain sympathy and attention for their own causes. Others question the effectiveness of advocacy efforts in changing the criminal justice system. And this is where it gets thought-provoking...
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the Reiners’ approach? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. And remember, the story of Nanon Williams is a powerful reminder of the impact that one person can have on another’s life. It’s a story that deserves to be told and discussed, and we invite you to join the conversation.
