I recently read the story of 24-year-old Derrick Lemmon of Chicago, who now awaits a court’s sentencing on his conviction for murder.

In July Derrick was convicted in the March 1, 2006 killing of his aunt’s boyfriend. According to police, Derrick was at a family barbecue when he got into an argument with his aunt and began choking her. When the boyfriend, Illya Glover, intervened, Derrick shot and killed him.

At face value one is tempted to say another out-of-control African American young man in trouble with the law.

But flash back 16 years and you begin to see the forces that may have led to this tragedy.

When Derrick was 8 he tried in vain to save his 5-year-old brother, Eric Morse, from being killed. According to published reports, Eric’s killers, 10 and 11 years old, had demanded that Eric steal candy for them. When he refused, they lured him and big brother Derrick to the 14th floor of the abandoned Ida B. Wells high-rise where they twice swung him from a window as Derrick frantically tried to save him.

Derrick succeeded in saving his brother the first time, but on the second attempt, when he grabbed his brother’s arm, one of the young attackers bit Derrick’s hand and he was forced to release his brother to certain death.

Derrick told police he ran down 14 flights of stairs thinking that he could make it to the ground level in time to catch his young brother.

Those who know Derrick say he was haunted by his failure to rescue his brother. Relatives say he would wake up at night screaming and that he had trouble trusting anyone. Derrick blamed himself for letting go of his brother and for not being able to save him.

Derrick’s attorney argues that Derrick was "forgotten by society" and should receive a lighter sentence after enduring the "horrible, horrible tragedy." Family members also point to the fact that Derrick did not receive adequate psychological counseling after his brother’s death.

Although a fund was set up to pay for Derrick’s long-term counseling, he didn't get the help he needed, his stepfather was quoted as saying.

What is not clear is why Derrick was denied the help he needed since, in addition to the fund, his family received a $2.175 million settlement with the Chicago housing authority.

Derrick Lemmon has had several encounters with the law since his brother’s death. There was a 2004 burglary conviction as well as an arrest for unlawful use of a weapon.

And while he was out on probation, awaiting trial on charges of Mr. Glover, Derrick was charged with home invasion and intimidating a witness.

Those who know Derrick best describe him as "loving and caring," pointing to his "softer side."

While the events that surely changed the life of this young man are tragic, I am left to wonder how this picture might have looked if his Mother had taken the settlement money and used it to ensure her sons future.

Two million dollar is enough money to have allowed for the extensive counseling this young man so desperately needed.

There was money enough to have allowed her to move Derrick to a new environment -- enough to allow them a new start. Having lost one child, why didn't she run to a better place with her remaining child? If the family had made the same kind of effort to save Derrick that Derrick made to save his brother, could the result have been different?

The loss of Eric must have left Derrick and his family drowning in an ocean of grief. Yet they were thrown a rope and it appears, for unknown reasons, they didn't take it and have now lost this young man as well. This makes the story so much more tragic.

The judge in this case says he will give "full attention" to all the factors before rendering his decision.
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D. Barbara McWhite grew up in York County, S.C., and lives in Orange Park, Fla., with her husband and cat.

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