Thomas Lake's The Boy They Couldn T Kill

Originally published in Sports Illustrated on September 17, 2002, The Boy They Couldn’t Kill: How Rae Carruth’s son survived and thrives is an article where the author, Thomas Lake, intends to inspire others to be open to forgive. Lake uses the story of Saundra Adams, a grandmother raising her grandchild, Chancellor Lee Adams. Saundra’s daughter, Cherica Adams, had been talking to a player on the Carolina Panthers football team, Rae Carruth, beginning the summer of 1998 (Lake 6). Lake states that by May of 1999, Cherica had become pregnant with a baby boy and celebrated this with her mother (Lake 9). Although she and her mother were excited, Rae urged Cherica to abort the child so he wouldn’t have to pay child support (Lake 9). Cherica was

It was decided that they would kill Cherica on November 15, 1999, after she and Rae saw a movie (Lake 10). Cherica met Rae at his house, went to see the movie, then returned to his house once it was over (Lake 11). Lake states that Rae decided to go home with Cherica, so Cherica followed Rae to her apartment (Lake 11). All at once, Rae slammed on brakes causing Cherica to do the same (Lake 11). Another car containing New York and Little Man drove up beside Cherica and shot five rounds into her car; four of the bullets made contact (Lake 11). Lake then describes how Rae, New York, and Little Man drove off while Cherica struggled to call 9-1-1 (Lake 12). Cherica was transported to Carolinas Medical Center where her baby was soon born, but she passed away a month later (Lake 15). Carruth was ordered to prison for almost 19 years while his son, Chancellor, was struggling with cerebral palsy (Lake 16). Lake describes how Saundra fought for the custody of Chancellor and was finally awarded the honor of raising her grandson (Lake 26). Although Chancellor cannot comprehend well and needs help with necessities, he has out shown the doctors that said he could never walk or talk (Lake

Lake begins by painting a lovely picture of Saundra’s life as a child, “She came from the Piedmont of North Carolina, with its valleys full of corn and cotton, and her people were good and prosperous.” (Lake 3). Even though Saundra has a good history, it is not needed for the reader to understand the situation. Lake proceeds to describe the past of Carruth, “He had never really grown up. He played the victim in predicaments of his own making” (Lake 6). For the author to give previous information of Rae is not relative to the situation of Saundra, her daughter, nor her grandson. Even before the murder is mentioned, Lake has already established the reader with a positive connotation of Saundra and a negative of