14-year-old boy charged with murder after a shooting on a Maryland basketball court

[Journeyman]

3. The woman who raised me was murdered by a 14-year-old . . .

dragged from her car at an intersection, pistol whipped, then shot twice through the left eye. The assailant got away with 58 cents, half a pack of smokes, and the life of a young girl's mother. Quickly captured, he and his 16-year-old accomplice were sentenced to far too few years. Both were out by their 18th birthdays.

I think of Lucille, and those little criminals, often. I hope her terror was dulled by shock. And I hope both criminals went on to lead productive, fulfilled lives. But I don't imagine they did. I suspect they continued as they had chosen and their end would be something on the order of her's.

I wish we'd done more for them. I hope we do more for this young man. Though I suspect we won't. Much as I suspect he will continue in his chosen path, a path that seems quite defined, given the authorities' willingness to release information about him.

Vicious cycles in which we must all revolve. Senseless opportunities to which too many are condemned.