Free Republic

It stands as one of Chicago's most horrific crimes, in large part because of small details that are impossible to shake: The promise of a juice box that lured the 9-year-old boy off a playground and into an alley, and the basketball he dropped when he was shot and killed there. SNIP Jury selection will begin Friday in the murder trial of two of three men charged with carrying out the November 2015 attack on Tyshawn Lee, a smart fourth-grader who prosecutors say was killed by gang members to send a message to his father, a purported member of a...

The man shot and killed while trying to break up a fight that he noticed after his youth football team’s game concluded was a beloved and respected coach who had an impact far beyond the field. Police say 36-year-old Norzell Aldridge of Cheektowaga died at the hospital after a shooting just after 7 p.m. Saturday on Koons Avenue and Sycamore Street, on Buffalo’s east side. A source close to the football organization tells News 4 Aldridge had been stepping in to protect young people during a fight when he was shot in the chest. The shooting happened not far from...

To solve a problem, one must first diagnose its cause. This rings true in all walks of life. Yet this fundamental principle seems to be ignored when the problems of inner-city crime and poverty are considered. For decades, urban areas have been rife with pain and suffering due to violence. Chicago, Illinois is a prime example of this modern American tragedy. The city’s murder rate is among the highest in the nation. Shootings, drug-dealing, car-jacking, gang activity, and other categories of crime are at epidemic levels. Almost the entire conversation about criminal activity and violence in the city, as well...

Troy Ave (right) fired a shot an an unknown figure out of frame to the left. He managed to end up shooting himself in the leg, and killing his bodyguard, who appears to be the man standing behind him in this photo. We’ve pounded this drum relentlessly, and we’re going to keep pounding it: we do not have a “gun violence” problem in the United States. Per capita homicide is at an all time low according to the FBI, while gun sales are setting new records almost every month. What we do have, however, is a situation where small cultural...

n September 1813, Andrew Jackson fought with Thomas and Jesse Benton in Nashville, Tenn., in a battle featuring a whip, pistols and knives. Supposed slights had roused the prickly sense of honor of these men. No one would remember the circumstances today if the melee hadn't nearly cost the country the man who would become the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. The days when an Andrew Jackson would exchange insults with an adversary in the buildup to a duel are forever gone. But senseless violence over questions of honor is still with us. Except that the fighters are...