Sentencing Delayed In Derrion Albert Attack
UPDATED 03/15/11 11:03 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man's sentencing was postponed to next week for his part in the brutal beating of Fenger High School honor student Derrion Albert.
Silvonus Shannon, 20, was one of five students charged, and three convicted, of beating Albert, 16, to death in a brutal attack that was captured on video.
His sentencing was set for Tuesday, but was continued to March 24.
Shannon was convicted by a jury on Jan. 11. He could face up to 60 years in prison.
During Shannon's trial, Cook County prosecutors had urged jurors to see past his claims of self-defense, saying Albert was lying on the ground with his hand up in the air when Shannon began kicking him in the Sept. 24, 2009, attack.
Albert was an honor student at Fenger High School, 10220 S. Wallace St. He was walking home past the Agape Community Center, 342 W. 111th St., when he was caught in the middle of a fight between Fenger students who lived in "The Ville" neighborhood near the school, and students who lived more than four miles south in the Altgeld Gardens public housing development.
Albert died of his injuries.
The fight was also captured on a cell phone video, which was seen around the world and drew unflattering attention to the city.
Albert's death prompted President Barack Obama to call for a national conversation on violence. The month after the incident, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder and U.S. Education Sec. Arne Duncan visited Chicago to discuss ways to combat youth violence.
A 15-year-old codefendant was sentenced to prison until he's 21 on Jan. 19, while Eric Carson pleaded guilty to the murder on Jan. 21 and was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Two others — Eugene Riley and Lapoleon Colbert — are awaiting trial in Albert's death.
