We’ve frequently pointed out the Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy, the anti-death-penalty Houston Chronicle‘s ongoing effort to focus sympathy on criminals who have been sentenced to die in the state of Texas.
Today, Matt Bramanti found and forwarded us an unusual variant on the theme: The Chron Eye for the Anti-War Army Deserter Guy!
Several of the familiar Chron Eye rhetorical devices are present. There’s the effort to portray the “victim” as a good guy:
Wilkerson hoped to avoid a prison term after fellow soldiers testified he had an outstanding service record during a yearlong stint as a military policeman in Iraq in 2004.
[snip]
“I think he’s brave,” said Iraq Veterans Against the War Executive Director Kelly Dougherty. “Everyone has to make their own decision, of course.”
And there’s the obligatory reference to a troubled childhood:
Wilkerson traced his woes to childhood, when, he said, he witnessed his stepfather killing his mother’s male companion and attempting to kill his mother.
When the stepfather committed suicide about two years later, Wilkerson said he internalized the trauma, which thrust him into the role of peacemaker in his troubled family. Later he said he grew interested in the anti-violence movement after the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
There’s no reference to the HPD Crime Lab for obvious reasons, but otherwise the story follows the Chron Eye formula pretty faithfully.
