Summary

A teenager's death from a beating for a minor theft prompts reflection on redemption and the potential for positive change in response to such tragedies.

Abstract

The author is deeply affected by the news of a 16-year-old boy, nicknamed Bobo, who was brutally beaten to death for stealing a bottle of beer. This incident triggers the author's own memories of being caught stealing as a teenager and the subsequent ostracism and threats of violence they faced. The author contrasts this with the compassion shown by the owner of the stolen item, which led to a transformative realization about the importance of asking for help instead of resorting to theft. The article emphasizes the lost opportunity for Bobo's redemption and questions the community's violent response to his crime. It suggests that addressing underlying traumas could prevent such cycles of violence and that every individual's actions have lasting impacts.

Opinions

The author believes in the power of redemption and that individuals can learn from their mistakes.
Violent retribution is seen as counterproductive, perpetuating a cycle of violence and preventing healing and positive change.
The author suggests that understanding and addressing the hidden traumas of perpetrators can lead to better outcomes than punitive justice.
The article implies that the community's response, while seeking justice, may have overlooked the potential for rehabilitation and the value of empathy.
The author reflects on their own experience to illustrate that personal growth and positive influence on others can stem from confronting one's own wrongdoings.

A Teenager was beaten to Death, His Crime Reminded Me of My Own

Do you believe in redemption?

A girl in the dark standing in front of a window Photo by **Kaitlyn Jade** from **Pexels**

When I received news of a body found dumped in a river, I was devastated. The postmortem revealed it was the decomposing body of a 16-year-old boy who was beaten to death for stealing.

I was devastated.

On twitter, footage circulated of him lying in a pool of blood and urine, crying for help as the one taking the video walked away.

No one knew those would be his last moments.

His crime was stealing a bottle of beer. The incident brought back a memory I had long forgotten one of my petty theft.

When I was 16 I attended a catholic boarding school. The conditions were so strict we weren’t allowed to leave the premises, even going to the shops was prohibited. This meant one had to stock as much food and essentials when returning from school holiday.

Though they provided us with food it was never enough. This was evident by the long queues outside the dining hall waiting eagerly for the matron to ring the bell allowing us to enter and eat.

One day my food ran out sooner than expected, the hunger pangs were eating at my stomach. So I decided to take my chance and steal some cornflakes. Like any thieve I never imagined being caught, all I thought of was the end goal.

However, that day the odds weren’t in my favor. I was caught red-handed and I couldn’t lie or escape. The girl who saw me told the next person, who told the next person. The news spread like wildfire. Soon I was labeled a thief and by the time news circulated the story had changed and I was accused of every theft that happened during the last 6 months.

People confronted me, asking for items I didn’t have. Others threatened a beaten to teach me a lesson. I was shunned by friends and acquaintances many were afraid to walk with me least they are affiliated with a thief.

But what touched me was the owner of the cornflakes. She befriended me, defended me, and tried to preserve the little dignity I had left.

During that time we developed a friendship. One that allowed us to open up to each other. She told me if I had asked for some cornflakes she would have shared.

Her words prompted me to reflect on my inability to ask. I realized that asking made me feel weak and stealing made me feel in control. That realization began my journey to redemption (I will write about it soon).

If I was beaten to death I would have missed the lesson and no one would have benefited from the experience. Which is why I was saddened by Bobo’s death (the teenager), he was robbed of a chance at redemption, a chance to play his part at healing our wounded world.

A girl illuminated by natural light standing in front of window Photo by **VisionPic .net** from **Pexels**

When Bobo died the community went looking for the perpetrators. Armed with heavy pieces of wood, sticks, and stones they were ready to kill. When they arrived at the house where the assault took place they set it alight. Two of the three men fled but one was caught. The crowd pelted him with rocks from behind and hit him with sticks. He fell and landed in a filthy ditch of water.

A man in a white vest walloped him 7 times in the face and neck with a plank, by this time blood was gushing from his head. Another man repeatedly punched him in the groin. For some those blows were devastating that they looked away while others celebrated the mob’s triumphs.

A slender young woman lifted a block of cement above her head and heaved it at the beaten men. A short while later police arrived in time to prevent the mob from setting the man on fire.

But the irony was by using violence to right a wrong they were perpetuating the very cycle they were trying to stop. A cycle of using physical punishment to discipline.

Studies have shown that humans are more than capable of learning from the consequences of their actions. I learned from mine and it has benefited so many people. So am I naive to believe that Bobo’s passing has the potential to heal? That we can honor his death by attaching a positive outcome. Perhaps helping the perpetrators unearth the hidden trauma that pushed them to kill.

I believe in redemption. I believe the decisions we make have ripple effects that live on after we are gone. So how we handle situations like these shapes the world we live in.

Before you leave

Have you ever been curious to know more about a particular writer, well I have. If you interested in knowing me I wrote a brief introduction here