Turning Pain Into Learning Opportunities

Turning Pain Into Learning Opportunities
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It’s the weekend to be thankful, but there are many families who will struggle with that concept as a result of grief associated with their first Thanksgiving without a loved one.

The loss is incredibly difficult and challenging when it’s random and tragic, such as the case for the family of 31-year-old Ryan Shupert, the Lutherville resident who died last May after being sucker punched by a Sparrows Point man while walking on Coastal Highway. Darren Beattie, 22, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury in less than an hour and will be sentenced later to a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Recent precedent shows us Beattie will probably only serve a few years, if that, for the incident, but without question many lives have been impacted by this unfortunate encounter, which was fueled by alcohol and late-night antics. Unfortunately, the specifics of this case ring familiar for the Ocean City area as there have been a couple high-profile cases with specifics that are, at least on the surface, fairly similar.

In this case, the fatal altercation appeared to be another example of escalated tensions that should have never gone terribly wrong. The Beattie case, like most of the manslaughter cases in the resort area in recent years, was preventable and appears to have lacked an intent to kill. Following Beattie’s trial last week, a juror who preferred to remain anonymous, illustrated how the jury felt about one aspect of the case that is similar to at least two others in recent years outside the former 707 Sports Bar in West Ocean City and Fat Daddy’s Sub Shop in downtown Ocean City.

“Out of everybody in the room, nobody believed he intended to kill him,” the juror said. “Did he intend to fight him? Did he throw the punch that killed him? Yes, but there was an issue of intent. Nobody in the room believed he intended to kill him.”

It was a sentiment that could have been applied in each of the recent manslaughter cases in the resort area. Each began as verbal altercation and then a physical confrontation, but none appeared to have any element of malice aforethought. Nonetheless, people died and someone must be held accountable for a life being lost. Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby’s office deserves credit for securing convictions and adequate sentences in these cases.

The overriding message in each of the cases is simply to avoid physical confrontations, but in a resort area often fueled by alcohol consumption where large groups gather, fights are inevitable and often prove deadly. These messages of what can happen when drunken nights go bad need to be heard by our youth. The consequences are grave and indeed real.

While it’s an uphill battle to convince our youth to learn from others’ mistakes and struggles, it’s an effort worth making because there’s nothing more heartbreaking than seeing young lives cut short followed by the sorrow and mourning of family members that lasts a lifetime.

Unfortunately, some families are feeling those emotions and more this weekend, and we think attempts to educate and inform on the dangers of what can happen when alcohol and drugs lead to poor judgment are worthwhile to prevent future incidents. Time may show that the effort was fruitless, but demonstrating an awareness and recognition should be considered meaningful.

About The Author: Steven Green

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The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.