UPDATE:
Jeremy C. Julien, 21, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Michael Taylor, reports NOLA.com.
The teen gained notoriety when a video of him getting beaten by his uncle went viral.
“It was love and I wanted to really show that he’s not a gang member. I was not only going on his [Facebook] walls, I was searching his friend’s walls also,” said Uncle Lamoine Ward in an interview on WDSU.com.
“So, I was frightened about what could happen to my family. I was led by the right spirit when I did it but now the enemy is twisting it in my head like I did something wrong,” he continued. “Like, maybe I drew some extra attention to make him feel he like he needed to prove to these people he’s not soft. I regret maybe not being a part of his life a little bit more after the video.”
Taylor’s mother, Kimberly Ward, admitted that her son was picked on after the video went viral, but said that she wasn’t angry at her brother:
“I’m hurt. I’m not angry. But I’m hurt. I’m hurt, my boy was my world,” she said.
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A teen who was videotaped being spanked by his uncle for boasting about gang ties on his Facebook page was found shot to death last week nearby his New Orleans home.
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Michael Taylor, 16, was found shot to death shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7. In a video uploaded in January, Taylor’s uncle, Lamoine Ward, spanked the teen after finding out about his gang ties.
VIDEO:
In the YouTube video, posted in January, Taylor’s uncle ordered him to disavow any ties to gangs, announced that the family “don’t come from that sh–,” and then proceeded to take off his belt and spank Taylor in full view of the laptop camera.
The original video sparked tons of reaction, from people who applauded the uncle’s actions, calling it an overdue return to old-school parenting and discipline, to those who speculated the public humiliation might drive the teenager deeper into a gang’s circle because the youth had been humiliated.
REACTIONS ON TWITTER:
Public Enemy’s Chuck D tweeted, “Remember the uncle who gave his nephew a whipping on Youtube because of his gang ties, disturbing news for many critics.”
Read more at BlackAmericaWeb.com
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