Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
The world appeared a little more just for the Albert family, after a Chicago jury found 20-year-old Silvonus Shannon (pictured above left) guilty of first-degree murder in the 2009 beating death of Fenger High School honor student Derrion Albert (pictured right).
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The 16-year-old's death was captured on a graphic viral video that sent shock waves throughout the web. Defense attorneys and prosecutors played the cell phone video repeatedly during the fast-moving two-day trial that began last Monday.
Both sides argued about whether the video actually portrayed Shannon kicking Albert in the head, but the jury was more decisive about his role, delivering a guilty verdict after three and a half hours of deliberation late last Tuesday.
Shannon, who faces up to 60 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 14th, is one of four charged in Albert's horrendous death, which occurred in September 2009.
"We empathize with the families of the gentlemen who have been charged, but we are grieving for our loss still," Norman Golliday said after the verdict, according to the Associated Press. "We're praying to move forward, but realistically, that probably won't happen until justice is served and all responsible are held accountable."
Shannon apologized while testifying on his own behalf. He maintained that he was a victim and was fretting for his life as a mob, including Albert, descended on him. He denied "kicking or stomping on Albert's head.''
He said Albert was part of a crew that threatened him days before the beating in an ongoing rivalry between some students. He testified that Albert had punched him in the jaw before the excruciating street fight, according to ABC News.
But during a police interrogation, Shannon said he kicked Albert three times and then began to cry after apologizing. He lowered his head as he watched the video during trial.
The videotaped beating was a wake-up call for government officials, parents and educators across the nation. It came at a time of increasing violence among young people on the war-torn streets of Chicago's South Side, a period that claimed the lives of about 20 public school students in six months.
President Barack Obama was so shaken by the event that he dispatched U.S. Attorney Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the city. Mayor Richard M. Daley redeployed police resources and extended manpower hours.
Albert's death now represents a line of demarcation in Shannon's life: before September 2009 and after September 2009.
Now, it's just a matter of learning how much time he will serve after that fateful day. The "before" pages already have been written.