NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT BEN WILSON HIGHLIGHTS FORGIVENESS AND HEALING FROM FAMILY
New Documentary About Ben Wilson Highlights Forgiveness and Healing From Family
BY WENDELL HUTSON
Contributing Writer
An upcoming TV documentary about slain Simeon Career Academy High School basketball star Benjamin “Ben” Wilson will show not only Wilson’s life leading up to his murder, but also his family’s pain and suffering before their healing process began.
In 1984, Wilson was ranked as the top high school basketball player in the country and was recruited by almost every major university before he was shot dead outside Simeon on Nov. 21 while on his lunch break.
A Feb. 13 screening of the 75-minute documentary “Both Sides of the Gun: A Story of Reconciliation” was held at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd., and attended by William “Billy” Moore, the person convicted of murdering Ben Wilson. Two of Wilson’s brothers, Jeffrey and Anthony Wilson, also attended the screening.
After the screening, Moore, along with both brothers, participated in a panel discussion with more than 300 elementary and high school students. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Chicago native, singer and actor Lonnie “Common” Lynn, moderated the discussion.
At age 16, Moore was convicted of attempted armed robbery and first-degree murder of Wilson and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
But now, after meeting with Wilson’s brothers, Moore said he has finally been forgiven for a mistake he made without thinking clearly.
“You can never walk away from something like this no matter how much time you serve in prison. At the end of the day, you will still be judged by society and by God for your actions and you must face whatever consequences come with it,” Moore told the Citizen. “I know what I did was wrong and I am sorry for taking this young man’s life. It has caused pain for his family and for me because what I did was wrong and I now crave for forgiveness from the community.”
But the one question Moore, 52, said no one ever asked him until he met the Wilson family four years ago was his motive for shooting Wilson.
“I shot Ben because I felt threatened by him because he was so tall. We’re talking about a guy who stood 6’7 and looked like a giant to me when I was only 5’6 and 135 pounds,” explained Moore, who was released from prison in 2004.
Jeffrey Wilson said he struggled with forgiving Moore for years and for many years after the shooting, he wanted to kill Moore. Had he run into Moore on the street, he said he would have shot Moore “dead on the spot.” He added up until now, he carried a bullet taken out of his brother’s body and he had planned on using it to shoot and kill Moore who took away his big brother, Ben. “That time has passed though and I have forgiven him largely because of my mother, who asked me and my brothers to forgive Mr. Moore, on her death bed,” Jeffrey Wilson stated.
For Anthony Wilson, 42, he said his late mother, who was a registered nurse, asked him to forgive Moore.
“ I remember asking my mom ‘why would you ask me this at this time? Of all the things we could be talking about, you want to talk about this?’” recalled Anthony Wilson. “That just blew my mind but that was my momma. Always being a peace keeper and helping people at all times.”
After Anthony and Jeffrey Wilson met Moore, they got to know him personally and Anthony Wilson said it was a sigh of relief to finally release the anger he carried inside for so long.
“We spoke a lot after that first meeting and I am glad I met him. Meeting him and forgiving him was one of the best decisions I made in my life,” added Anthony Wilson. “All wounds will heal in time and it is time for my wounds and the hurt my family has felt for years to end. I now realize that everyone makes bad decisions and everyone deserves a second chance and for Billy, this is his second chance in life.”
The documentary was in the works for nearly five years and is expected to air on TV sometime this year, according to Charles Johnson, executive producer of the documentary.
“It [the documentary] took so long to complete because that’s how long it took for me to get the family and Mr. Moore together to finally meet,” said Johnson. “Now that the family has met him, talked with him and forgave him, it’s time to show the world what healing and forgiveness looks like through the eyes of this family that was injured by the loss of their loved one Ben Wilson.”
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