Nothing can make up to his family for the loss of Henry, of course. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t want justice to be done.
News of his death finally hit the Knoxville paper this morning. He was assaulted over a month ago. Up till now I would have thought it was news if someone beat a teenager with a tire iron and left him for dead in a parking lot. That it wasn’t news until the teenager died makes me think that Knoxville is either a lot more dangerous than I thought or that our authorities and news media don’t think assaults are newsworthy if they happen to people who “brought it on themselves.”
Henry’s mother publicly acknowledged that Henry’s addiction led him into danger, but that doesn’t mean that it was okay for him to be beaten. It sure doesn’t mean that he deserved to die. EVERY life is precious. EVERY life is sacred.
Not only must we seek justice for Henry, we must protect others in our community who might fall prey to these thugs. Please read what his mother has to say and consider telling local law enforcement and the media that we want these criminals investigated and punished for what they have done. Thank you.
In looking at the story, it appears to me that, unfortunately, the only reason the Knoxville newspaper has taken note of Henry’s tragic death now is because they consider it “news” that his mother is a local blogger. That is, after all, the headline and lead-in. What a society we live in when a young man’s death is considered newsworthy because of who he was related to.
You know, I hadn’t thought about that, but you are right. And of course Katie once worked for the News-Sentinel and has friends there, or they still might not have paid attention.