Derrion Albert Update: Teen Convicted of Murder in Beating of Chicago H.S. Honor Student
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) It took just over half an hour for a jury to convict a 15-year-old boy of first-degree murder Wednesday, in the 2009 beating death of Chicago high school honor student Derrion Albert, an attack that was captured on video and seen around the world.
The teen, then 14, landed a single punch on the victim's face during a melee outside Fenger High School, but prosecutors argued that the punch "signed Derrion Albert's death certificate."
As the verdict was read, the teen's aunt ran out of the courtroom yelling "Oh lord, Oh lord."
The boy, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, fell back in his chair and shook his head.
"I am pleased. Justice was served," said Norman Golliday, Albert's grandfather. "The facts were there from the start, they stared you right in the face. The jury saw that."
But the convicted teen's defense attorney said he would appeal. Lawyer Richard Kloak acknowledged that his client punched Albert as he staggered to his feet after being knocked on the head with a long board, but argued that the punch didn't amount to the serious crime of which the teen was accused.
"I wish the jury had been given a third option. They had to decide two choices, guilty or not guilty," said defense attorney Richard Kloak. "I thought if I could give them a lesser crime that was proportionate to what he had done, it would be more palatable, but I didn't get to do that."
The convicted youth is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 18. He could be sent to prison until he is 21. But Kloak said that if he violates conditions of his sentence, he could receive 20 to 60 years in prison.
Albert's beating was captured on cell phone video and transmitted widely, providing the most vivid example of escalating violence that in a six-month period claimed the lives of more than 20
Chicago public school students. Albert's death prompted President Barack Obama to send U.S. Attorney Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the city to discuss ways to end the violence.
The convicted teen was among five people charged with murder in the case; the other four are charged as adults. The first of them will go on trial in Cook County Criminal Court on Jan. 7, according to a supervising prosecutor in the case.