Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M, where he is a member of ROTC and the school’s marching band.
As part of a plea deal, Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a charge that Judge David Chamberlain said carries up to seven years behind bars. Lester, who will be sentenced on March 7, was hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom, his hands folded.
“While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,” she said.
Have you considered: It was a black teenager and these people are fundamentally broken individuals who scream about toughness and are just about the softest little shitheel cowards you’ll ever meet?
Many people in the US have that “fear of the other” drilled into them starting at a very young age. Whether it’s skin color, religion, nationality, or sexuality — relatives, religious leaders, and politicians create this unnecessary fear. Just look at the current administration’s words and actions for example. It’s sick and sad, and it creates irrational behavior like this.
You are so very right. I was born in the mid-70’s and I grew up in a rural area, lots and lots of low-income farmers outside of the valley, no minorities. There was a city to the west, and a notorious maximum security prison to the east. The news focused almost solely on the non-white people inhabiting both, and as a result I grew up absolutely terrified of those “others”, because the bad things was all I ever heard. I had no real contact with any minorities until I was an adult and had to get a job in the city. One morning driving in to that job, my car broke down a couple miles from where I worked, in a pretty run-down area. I had to walk the rest of the way to work. Not a soul bothered me, but that fear of the “other” was so strong that by the time I got to the office I was physically ill from it. Reactions and fears like this were the norm with the people I knew back then, and the media and those in power continue now with the propaganda that the “other” are to be feared and distrusted, because keeping us on edge and divided makes us easier to control.
Also, doesn’t help that the guy is 86 years old. I have several people in the family around that age, and they’re totally unable to filter out all the garbage, the rage-bait and the fear that’s getting pushed down their throats.
They genuinely live in terror, it’s so sad…