Punks

I was looking up pictures of Stanley Marsh and I found this one of him and Brian Deneke at Cadillac Ranch. Brian Deneke is a well known name in the Amarillo punk community. He's like a martyr. I was in the eighth grade when one morning I came out of my room and heard my sister crying in the bathroom. I found out later that she was listening to the radio while taking a shower when they announced that Brian had been murdered the previous night. A fight had broken out between some punks and jocks in a parking lot. I think it was a Denny's or Ihop parking lot. From what I remember hearing, Brian was knocked unconscious with a bat and then Dustin Camp, a jock from Amarillo High, ran over Brian with his car. Dustin's famous line before running over Brian was, "I'm a Ninja in my Caddy" referring to the fact that his fighting was best done behind the wheel of his car. What's most sickening about the event was the trial of Dustin Camp. The defense's main case was that Brian Deneke was a menace to society and deserved to die. He tried to make it sound like Dustin did Amarillo a favor by killing Brian. So with no question of the fact that he killed Brian, and with testimony from his friends showing that Dustin intentionally ran him over, he got probation. Dustin Camp intentionally murdered Brian Deneke and got probation. Punk's weren't the only ones outraged. 20/20 did a story on it and came to Amarillo. A lot of people I knew were interviewed for it. I wish I had a recording. oh well. When Dustin got probation I was out eating some pizza with friends as they planned revenge. At first I thought they were just making empty threats, but then I realized some of them were serious. They didn't end up doing it though. I bet they realized that "upstanding young football players" get probation for murder, but punks would be hanged. The years that followed there would be Brian Deneke memorial concerts annualy. I had friends that worked for Stanley Marsh, but the only time I've ever talked to him was at one of these concerts. He was good friends with Brian and said that hearing that Brian had been killed was the saddest day of his life. Brian wasn't a bad kid. He was a punk. He dressed differently and listened to different music. Apparently that made him a menace to society. Apparently he didn't deserve to live. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Luckily Dustin was an idiot. He violated his probation by drinking under-age. He finally went to jail......for drinking beer. Not for murder. For violating his probation.