Another Dead Young Disabled Person

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wear/7177716.stm

"Brent Martin died in hospital after being found with multiple injuries on Sunderland's Town End Farm estate in August last year."

"On Tuesday, at the start of the 17-year-old's trial, the court heard that the attack began at a bus stop when he bet £5 that the 16-year-old could not knock out Mr Martin with his right hand. Both youngsters were trained as boxers, and their victim was repeatedly punched, kicked, stamped on and head butted, the jury was told."

Where to start?

Just another example of the world telling people with disabilities that they are not human. Just another example of the glorification of violence teaching youth that the role of the able bodied is to harm, subjugate, and kill those who can't defend themselves. Just another helicopter parent unable to accept that their offspring could have been in the wrong, washing blood off his clothes and defending his actions.

"The court heard that the 17-year-old defendant later told witnesses: 'I am not going down for a muppet.'"

Some part of me wonders what they said to each other while beating a human being to death. Did they call him a muppet then, too? Mongoloid? Moron? Did they continue to bet money, or was it simply fun after the first punch was thrown? Did they know when the first boy threw that first punch that they would kill a member of their own species that day, or did they simply enjoy it so much they didn't stop until he was dead? Were they surprised to find that they had killed him?

"Prosecutor Toby Hedworth QC said: 'That man Brent Martin never lifted an aggressive finger towards them and they did that to him until he was dead. They did that for their own sport.'"

Have we really not advanced one bit in 13 years?

http://trinityva.livejournal.com/tag/pwd+deaths

http://thegimpparade.blogspot.com/2007/12/robert-latimer-denied-parole.html

http://crip-power.com/2008/01/02/another-young-disabled-woman/


Robert Latimer killed his disabled daughter in 1993. Eight days into 2008, two youths kill a disabled man for fun. Among the three murderers, none show remorse. Should any of the three receive sympathy from the public?

In an appeal to his conviction, Latimer contended that he 'had the legal right to decide to commit suicide for his daughter by virtue of her complete lack of physical and intellectual abilities.'

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/283184

"Latimer will likely hurt inside for the rest of his life for what he did. What he did to his daughter was out of love."

If the two young thugs who killed Brent Martin had been two old thugs- his parents- and excused their actions by claiming they loved him and didn't want him to suffer from his learning disability anymore, would they receive this sympathy?

"How is someone supposed to show remorse for doing something they still think was right? The child was in horrible pain all of the time. This was confirmed by her specialist. He has served more than enough time for his offence. Worse criminals have served far less time. I say free him now so he can be with his family ... where he should have been long ago!"

If not, where is the threshold? When is someone disabled enough that someone else can kill them out of love? When they can't walk or talk? Should we conduct tests on children- yes, Ma'am, your son is over 90% disabled- proceed to the euthanasia chamber for immediate service! Where does the line lie between murder and mercy killing for the screaming mobs who demand Robert Latimer be paroled?

And over everything else, one fact about this story stands out to me.

Brent Martin had a learning disability. Not a physical disability. He could have fought back- he couldn't have won, but he could have thrown a punch or two, left a couple of black eyes on his assailants. But again...

"That man Brent Martin never lifted an aggressive finger towards them and they did that to him until he was dead. They did that for their own sport."

And that alone, to me, makes Brent Martin more human and more worthy of life than the murderers.