Should Leniency Be Granted To Man Charged For Michael K. Williams’ Death? ‘The Wire’ Creator Thinks So

David Simon, creator of HBO’s legendary show, The Wire, recently asked a judge to go easy on the man charged in the 2021 death of the show’s star, Michael K. Williams, Rolling Stone reports.

One of the four men being charged is Carlos Macci, 71, who has pleaded guilty. Macci’s sentencing hearing will be held toward the end of July, with a recommendation of serving 10 years. Simon, in a three-page letter addressed to Manhattan judge Ronnie Abrams, asked for a much shorter sentence.

“No possible good can come from incarcerating a 71-year-old soul, largely illiterate, who has himself struggled with a lifetime of addiction,” Simon wrote. “But I know that Michael would look upon the undone and desolate life of Mr. Macci and know two things with certainty: First, that it was Michael who bears the fuller responsibility for what happened.”

The letter was written at the request of Macci’s lawyer, Benjamin Zeman, who described Simon as “a thoughtful and eloquent voice about the failure of the war on drugs.”

Simon addressed a time when Williams discussed his struggles with addiction on the set of the show’s third season. He remembered Williams saying his time on the show was a “stabilizing influence in his life” and spoke of Williams’ attachment to a certain crew member “whose job was to assure some distance between Mike and temptation.”

Simon feels Macci isn’t to blame for Williams’ death and recalled how he always admired Williams’ sense of accountability. “I never failed to see him take responsibility for himself and his decisions,” Simon said, according to IndieWire.

Williams, a five-time Emmy nominee, was found dead inside his Brooklyn home in Sept. 2021. The death was confirmed to be caused by cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin found in his system. Williams was known for his work on The Wire and numerous other HBO original content including Boardwalk Empire and Lovecraft County.