The Wire creator requests mercy for man charged in Michael K. Williams' death

David Simon, creator of the HBO drama The Wire, has implored a judge to grant leniency to one of the four men charged in connection with series star Michael K. Williams' death.

In a three-page letter to a Manhattan judge reviewed by The New York Times, Simon maintained that "no possible good can come from incarcerating" the elderly Carlos Macci, 71, after he pleaded guilty to having sold the fentanyl-laced heroin connected to Williams' overdose in 2021, citing the co-defendant's own struggles with addiction. Williams always bore responsibility for his drug use, Simon said, adding that the late actor's opposition to mass incarceration and the drug war "convinces me that he would want me to write this letter."

"What happened to Mike is a grievous tragedy," 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." And second, "No possible good can come from incarcerating a 71-year-old soul, largely illiterate, who has himself struggled with a lifetime of addiction" and sold drugs not for profit "but rather as someone caught up in the diaspora of addiction himself."

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images David Simon and Michael K. Williams

Williams, who portrayed stick-up man Omar Little in all five seasons of the drama, was vocal about his struggles with drug abuse. During the third season of the show, Simon said, the actor acknowledged his struggles to a producer. "Then, to stay at work — which was, in fact, a stabilizing influence in his life — he readily agreed to let us help him address his drug use, going so far as to seek the constant companionship of a crew member whose job was to assure some distance between Mike and temptation," he wrote.

He called Williams "one of the finest actors with whom I have had the honor to collaborate and one of the most thoughtful, gracious and charitable souls I could ever call a friend." Simon added, "I never failed to see him take responsibility for himself and his decisions."

Macci and the three other men have pleaded guilty to the possession and distribution of narcotics, with Macci's sentencing scheduled for later this month.

Though best known for his career-defining role on The Wire, Williams, a five-time Emmy nominee, also made acclaimed turns on Boardwalk Empire, Lovecraft Country, When They See Us, and Breaking, among other titles. He died at 54.

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