Teenagers, Racism And a Brutal Attack

His plan seemed to be working when he met Sons. A month later, they went to the crawfish festival and ran into Tuck and Turner.

The next thing the teenager remembers is waking up in a hospital bed, his body covered with burns and bandages.

* * *

In mid-November, Tuck and his victim met again -- this time at Tuck's trial.

From the witness stand, the teenager gamely fixed his gaze on Tuck, his voice steady as he described his injuries and his struggle to regain his normal life.

As he spoke, Tuck stared straight ahead, silent and motionless.

Tuck had been in jail since his arrest on April 23, contemplating his sentence -- he was given life in prison. He will be 48 on his first possible parole date.

His victim had spent three months lying in a hospital bed, undergoing close to 40 surgeries and contemplating a possible life of infirmity.

When classes began again in the fall, he returned to high school in a wheelchair. A few weeks later, he was walking without crutches. He is tethered to a colostomy bag. He tires quickly. He faces more surgeries.

"I didn't understand why, how, they could do it," he said, describing how he felt when he saw Tuck and Turner in the courtroom. "I felt like they were both still kids. It made me realize that the rest of their lives are going to be in prison. It made me sad to think of lives wasted like that."