Editor's note: The video and following story contains language that some readers may consider offensive. (NSFW)
CNN is reporting the alleged hate crime of James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old auto plant worker, who was beaten and then murdered by a group of white teens intent on hurting a black person. Deryl Dedmon Jr., 18, of Brandon, Miss., and his friends were at a party drinking when Dedmon allegedly told friends they should leave, saying, "Let's go f—- with some niggers," according to law-enforcement officials.
The teens left the party, climbed into two trucks and drove 20 miles to a predominantly black part of town. They came upon Anderson in a hotel parking lot, repeatedly beating him and pummeling him to the ground. Dedmond, who was driving one of the trucks, ran Anderson over, killing him instantly. The beating and murder were caught on a parking-lot surveillance tape.
Shortly after he allegedly drove the truck over Anderson, Dedmon allegedly boasted and laughed about the killing, according to testimony given by some of the teens to detectives.
Drew Griffin and Scott Bronstein of CNN report that Dedmon allegedly said, "I ran that nigger over," in a phone conversation to the teens in the other car. He repeated the racial language in subsequent conversations, according to the law-enforcement officials.
"He was not remorseful; he was laughing, laughing about the killing," said district attorney Robert Shuler Smith.
John Aaron Rice, one of the teens, has been charged with simple assault, while Deryl Dedmon Jr. faces two life sentences.
Life sentences? Why not the death penalty? We're also wondering why Rice and Dedmon Jr. are the only people being charged in this senseless murder. If multiple teens participated in the beatings and were in the car during the murder, shouldn't they also be charged? There is such a thing as aiding or facilitating a crime.
Although it is always horrifying to hear of such a heinous crime, we're not surprised, given the racial climate of this country. The shooting and dragging death of Anthony Hill, 39, in South Carolina last year gave us an inkling of what is to come. The unprovoked murder of a son and brother who was just minding his business is tragic, to say the least. Laughing about the murder and eating McDonald's afterward is unconscionable.
Read more at CNN.
In other news: Police Shooting Triggers London Riot.