By Amy Green
The New York Times
CROSS
CITY, Fla. — Warren Messner was 15 when he and some friends attacked a
homeless man and left him for dead. Mr. Messner jumped on a log laid
across the man’s ribs. He does not know why. He was high, does not
remember much and wants to forget the rest.
Today
Mr. Messner is a baby-faced 18-year-old serving 22 years for
second-degree murder. He used to like skipping school and listening to
rap music with friends. He imagined he eventually would help his father
install flooring. Now he talks to his parents nearly every night from
the maximum-security Cross City Correctional Institution.
“It
was just a senseless crime.” he said, his eyes down, his shoulders
slumped. “I wish it would have never happened. It made no sense. It was
stupidity.”
Mr.
Messner’s story is not unusual. Nationwide, violence against the
homeless is soaring, and overwhelmingly the attackers are teenagers and
young adults. In Florida
the problem is so severe that the National Coalition for the Homeless
is setting up speakers bureaus to address a culture that sees attacking
the homeless as a sport. It is the first time the organization has
singled out a particular state. Read more here.
