The Arellano Case

ABC local news in Chicago reports on the arrest of a second gang member accused of the vicious killing of Alex Arellano, whom we discussed at the time of his killing.

Another teenager has been charged in the brutal death of Alex Arellano, 15, whose burned body was found earlier this month.

Arellano was beaten, shot and set on fire on the city's Southwest Side on May 1, 2009. His burned body was found in a gangway. He was not in a gang.

Two people have now been charged in the case. One of them appeared in court on Thursday.

Jovanny Martinez, 15, -- who was arrested on a weapons charge the same night Arellano was murdered-- was denied bail at a court hearing on Thursday. He is accused of shooting Arellano in the head and police say a ballistics test shows Martinez's gun was used in the murder.

The second young man arrested is Edgar Silva, 18, who a faces first-degree murder charges in the case.

The ABC video describes the chilling details of the murder and the senseless violence that is daily fare in the world of urban gangs. It's a sad and complicated business that seems to have no easy answer. The only thing I can think of is less guns and less violence, and that includes the so-called defensive kind. The exploding proliferation of guns in America, legal guns, is directly contributing to this mentality, as well as feeding into the gun flow. The more we increase the one, the more we exacerbate any efforts at curbing this type of behaviour.

What's your opinion? Do you feel that gang violence in Chicago has nothing to do with the rest of us? Is it like that famous line from The Godfather, "They're animals anyway, so let them lose their souls?"

Should these bad boys be tried as adults? Does it sometimes seem like we need a third category, as if the sentencing guidelines for juveniles are too light and those for adults are too heavy?

Please feel free to leave a comment.

Alex Arellano - Beaten, Burned and Shot

CNN reports on the terrible violence that's taking the lives of young kids in Chicago, the most recent example of which is particularly brutal. The Rev. Michael Pfleger has ordered the American flag at St. Sabina Church hung upside-down -- a historic sign of distress -- to symbolize the growing death toll among the city's youngsters.

So far this school year, 36 children and teens have been murdered -- more than one a week -- and Pfleger is among a chorus of weary Chicagoans who say the slayings aren't getting the attention they deserve.

One of the most disturbing slayings came last week when the family of Alex Arellano found the 15-year-old's body. He had been beaten, burned and shot in the head.

"It's sad because they didn't have to torture him that way. He never did nothing wrong, never. He was a good kid. It just gets to me. It's crazy," Alex's friend Ashley Recendez said. Watch friends, family describe Alex»

Indeed, police say the teen had no criminal record, no gang affiliation. His family says he was well-behaved and shy, almost fearful of strangers. They had recently taken him out of school to protect him after gang members threatened him.

Questions arise because the rate of children being killed in Chicago is worse than in other American cities. Los Angeles, California, notorious for its gang problems, is larger than Chicago. It has reported only 23 child slayings this school year. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is about half the size of Chicago, but it has witnessed only a ninth of the child slayings: four this school year.

What could account for those differences? Are the gun control laws, which are extremely strict in Illinois, different enough in the other states to account for this? Often the pro-gun crowd uses Chicago as an example of the failure of gun control laws, but does that mean the laws are working in other cities?

My idea is that it's totally useless to have strict gun control laws in one place and lax ones in another, just like it's totally useless to require background checks on sales by licensed gun dealers but not in private transactions. What's your opinion?

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis said scuffles among youth have become more violent and a conflict that 20 years ago would have warranted a pushing or wrestling match now sometimes results in gunfire.

"There's simply too many gangs, too many guns and too many drugs on the streets," he said. "We've got a problem with some of our young people are resorting to use of weapons and violence to solve any type of conflicts they may have."

What do you think about the Police Superintendent's comment? He seems to be blaming the guns, at least in part, for the increase in violence.

Please leave a comment.