Trial Update

[H2O Man]

73. Thank you.

In times past, I have not always responded calmly. In 1998, when a racist hate group viciously attacked one of my nephews -- a high school scholar-athlete getting a lot of press -- because they hated non-white people, I really changed. This group of 17 men had assaulted my nephew, and left him for dead in the dark of a farmer's field.

My nephew lived, though his injuries will last his lifetime. We knew that the justice system wouldn't react the same was as if a gang of black men attacked a white teen. And that this increased the very real risk that my nephew's friends -- mostly white -- would seek revenge in the town where these thugs had come from. So, I decided to "try" the case myself, in the area media.

All of the newspapers, radio stations, and television news covered the trials of the guys who were charged. At each court hearing, we had 80 to 120 community members from around the region ....including two branches of the NAACP. My friend Robert Kennedy, Jr., offered his support to my sister and brother-in-law, as well as taking a very public stance on the case.

A high point for me was that the gang leader had hired the best defense attorney in this part of the state. This attorney fancied himself the best at debating. Hence, outside the courtroom, on the sidewalk -- and in front of the television cameras -- he sought to engage me in debate. That was a terrible error on his part. Within two minutes, he lost control, and was literally screaming insults at me. The funny thing was, he didn't learn from that humiliating experience -- for weeks to come, he continued to try to "win" a debate with me. And that simply wasn't going to happen. But it made for good TV, and served to educate the public.