Derrion Albert: Trial Starts for Honor Student Who Was Beaten to Death

The trial is about to begin for a 14-year-old boy who was one of five suspects accused of beating Derrion Albert (pictured), a 16-year-old honor student, to death last year. The beating occurred in September 2009 as Albert was on his way home from school. It was captured on cell phone video and seen around the world.

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The teen on trial isn't being identified, because he is a juvenile, but there are four other suspects awaiting trial as adults. The prosecutor portrays the young men as part of a mob who attacked Albert and eventually killed him. The video shows the men kicking and punching Albert and eventually slamming a board on to his head. He died from the injuries to his skull.

The defense attorney for the boy claims that the suspect was caught up in a fight that he didn't initiate. He did acknowledge that the boy hit Albert when he stood up, but says that his client didn't cause Albert's death.

The death of Derrion Albert was nothing less than a senseless tragedy. His death was a symptom of growing violence throughout the nation, especially in the city of Chicago. More than 20 Chicago public school students were killed during that six-month period, and the spiral of violence hasn't come to an end.

If the boy is convicted of first-degree murder, his attorney says that he could be sentenced up until the age of 21. If he violates the conditions of his release, he could get another 20 to 60 years in prison. After Albert's death, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley proposed the idea of deploying more police officers to work during school dismissal periods. He also plans to increase police presence at bus stops.

After seeing the death of Derrion Albert in the news, I couldn't help but replay images of my own childhood. I remember being bullied at times and not having anyone willing to help me. When the pressure got too tough, I would consider seriously hurting another person (i.e., a brick upside his head might end the problem) and I even thought about suicide. Those days were horrible for me, so I can feel Derrion Albert's pain as I write about his experience.

If there were adults that Derrion could have spoken with about his situation, that might have made a difference. I also feel some degree of sympathy for the boys accused of killing him. Perhaps if there were adults directly involved with these boys when they were younger, they wouldn't possess the anger in their souls which led to this horrible incident.

President Barack Obama deserves credit for sending Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago shortly after Albert's death.

I am hopeful that he and his advisors will also take note of the fact that black teen unemployment is 46 percent. This sad economic situation means that not only are these children being inadequately educated in the public school system, but they also have nothing to do after school other than playing sports or committing crimes.

These teens must be engaged in a different way, and the notion that most of Mayor Daley's response to this incident involved the police is a very telling statement about the way black men are managed in America.

Re-watch the beating Derrion Albert endured here:

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Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.