Wally’s father, Baron Tennelle, aspired to better things. It’s what makes their experiences different. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. For everyone who lives here, that’s just the context. The victim, who was the son of LAPD Detective Wallace Tennelle, was walking with friends in the 1800 block of West 80th Street in South Los Angeles when he was shot in the head. It’s a really stressful job. History and the mechanics of segregation, which are related ideas. Tennelle’s murder was an exception. Along with the murder charge, jurors found true a special circumstance allegation that the murder was carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang. Related book awards. “All the evidence used against me is inconclusive,” Starks told the judge. His father, Wally Tennelle, was (and still is) a detective in the LAPD. It prevents life. Amazon's Best Books of the Month. We eat tacos, we hear Spanish all the time. One of the statisticians at the CDC once told me that she had a community activist call and ask for the numbers on homicide death rates for young black males relative to everybody else, and she said that when she gave the activist the statistics over the phone he started to cry. Those kinds of things are super powerful, and so I am glad I’ve had a lot of training in it. Here is an extended version of that interview: What brought you to write about crime against African Americans?I had started covering crime more in-depth and wanted to cover it out of South L.A. It’s so impossible to describe and it’s actually fascinating to watch people grope for words. There was a bright red maple leaf on the ground. Bryant Tennelle’s murder was reported on “The Homicide Report” in May, 2007 . Why are you putting that on me?” A lot of it is a very positive response, the fact that people are desperate for this to be told and they want you to tell it. Wally’s father, Baron Tennelle, aspired to better things. I thought there were aspects of the Tennelle case that would overcome that difficulty, that the Tennelle family and situation was very relatable. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. These cookies do not store any personal information. History is what makes blacks black in this country. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. He had urged the judge to sent That physical protection of the human being is where all good law is actually rooted and everything else has to come after that or you get in some real trouble. The Costa Rican girl at the counter was sixteen years old. John Skaggs later did the same during another period of high homicide rates in the 1990s. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. It can…. To sit down with John Skaggs and Wally Tennelle at the end of my reporting and ask them, “What do you say about my take on things?” that’s a really interesting conversation, and a lot comes out.