Mississippi teenager Deryl Dedmon received two life sentences for the June 26 murder of James Craig Anderson. Dedmon pled guilty to murder and a hate crime and faces federal charges. Anderson’s family also filed wrongful death lawsuits against all youths who were linked to his death.

Authorities believe Dedmon planned and instigated the attack, according to testimony from Dedmon and other youths. The night of Anderson’s death, a group of seven white teenagers from Rankin County, Mississippi set out to harass a black man on Dedmon’s suggestion, according to a CNN article March 22. They drove to Jackson, Mississippi because of its mostly black population and found Anderson walking in a hotel parking lot. The teenagers repeatedly beat him while yelling racial slurs. Then the youths got into two cars, and Dedmon drove a Ford F-250 truck over Anderson and left him to die.

This tragedy spurred marches and prayer vigils throughout Jackson, Mississippi around the time of Anderson’s death. #