Howard Scott is only 17, but he may be serving three life sentences. I knew him. I could see he was going to have a troubled future. He was sixteen and already had two children, at least that is what I was told. One day he told me his girlfriend had a miscarriage. I lamented then as well as now.

Maybe he’s just a statistic now. Another young black man who made bad decisions and will pay for the rest of his life, but I think anyone who knew him could see it coming. I don’t want to excuse him for his actions, but I can’t believe someone that young could exist in the world Howard Scott must have grown up in and realize where his life was going. Young people are full of passion and foolishness, so as adults, we must be the ones who reveal the truth.

I should say at this point that I have complete sympathy for the parents of Tyler Binstead. When I was Scott’s age I knew a boy and his girlfriend who were involved in a similar situation. The girl survived, but was nearly beaten to death and the boy’s body was recovered several days later after the police were able to find it in a rock quarry. It was the first time I knew someone who was murdered. So, for the Binstead’s I feel your pain and you are not alone.

However, because I knew Mr. Scott, I know his story is a tragedy as well. I’m sorry I couldn’t help him see the light.

The truth of what happened that day may never come to light, but the truth that both Tyler and Howard, for all intents and purposes, are dead is undeniable and it is a tragedy.

You can read the article in the Times Dispatch, but it is here at Southside Richmond that I will be trying to pull the community together . . . I want to say what my reason is for making this effort, I want to say that it is in order to prevent more stories like this, I want to say to save people from becoming a Binstead or a Scott, but it seems impossible or phony . . . I’m not a savior or hero, but I believe in doing what is right, and more than anything what is right is healing Richmond.

If you choose to comment, I only ask that you respect the humans involved, for I understand the feelings of both sides, the victim and the assailant, and it is very personal. Maybe you’re thinking Scott was an animal and he deserves what he got, but I knew him and he wasn’t an animal. However, I never liked him. He was angry, rude, self-centered, and miserable, but even still, he was a young man who needed guidance and someone to love him. I’d like to think that under better circumstances Mr. Scott would have made better choices.

How did it come to be? I don’t believe that people are born evil or good. I do believe some people are insane and harm others because of that, but Mr. Scott isn’t insane. I don’t think the average person can imagine his life. Sadly, the situation he grew up in and the decisions he made are not entirely uncommon in Richmond.

Let’s work together to make Richmond a place that doesn’t raise tragedies.