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Duc
... is the American-born son of
immigrant parents. His family immigrated to the
United States following his father's release from
a re-education camp at the end of the Vietnam War.
In 1978, they escaped Vietnam by boat to Thailand. Given
permission to immigrate to the U.S., they settled
in the Los Angeles area with other family members.
Hoping for a better life in America, his parents
worked hard to build a new life for themselves.
Duc was born in 1982 in Los Angeles and due to a
leg injury at birth, he spent his first year in a
cast.
As his parents struggled to pursue the
American dream, they moved & changed jobs often, causing Duc to sporadically change
schools. He was one of relatively few Asian
students in school and was thus teased frequently,
with classmates calling him "Duck" or
"Donald Duck." In response, he assumed
the name "Michael," which he says was
the most common name he could think of ...
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His parents continued to endure
the hardship & stress of sporadic
unemployment. They began to have marital
problems. There was a lot of fighting, often with
violent domestic episodes.
At this time,
Duc's academic performance
began to decline as he advanced to middle
school. As the unstable and volatile home
atmosphere continued, so did Duc's problems at
school continue.
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Duc
began getting kicked out of school for fights. After
one such incident, his father beat him
severely with an extension cord and then took a gun to his head, threatening to kill him.
Duc called 911 for help. His father was arrested and taken to jail and Duc was subsequently
put into foster care for six months. Duc reports that ...
"from that day on, my feeling about life changed.
I think that is the point where I really started to give up."
After
returning home to his family, the tension
between him and his father escalated. Duc
often felt compelled to "rescue"
his mother from his father's abuse to her. Then,
Duc ran away from home after his parents
disapproved of his girlfriend. He returned home
after a month, but arguments with his parents
continued regarding his schoolwork & his
girlfriend.
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What
he describes as "problems with
life" led to his attempting
suicide. As part
of the child abuse investigation and
his subsequent suicide attempt, Duc was
referred for psychological evaluation.
The results indicated that he scored well
above average in intelligence assessments and
his performance IQ placed him in the very
superior range, but he was likely hampered
by learning disabilities and sometimes
severe depression. His psychological
counselors felt he would outgrow
these difficulties. |
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Family members and others agree that in the
12 months preceding his arrest, Duc had begun to make
positive changes in this life. He had gone back to
high school and had a part time job.
His high school
English teacher writes:
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"During the time
that Duc was a student in my
class, he grappled with a number of personal
challenges. He worked at handling his
interaction with peers in a cooperative
manner and was trying to reach outside the limits of
being stereotyped as 'Asian'.
Certainly this was not an easy
matter, especially in a school which is
predominantly Hispanic/Latino and where
the few Asian students sent here are
assumed to be associated with Asian gangs.
Duc generally got along with the other
students at the school and was able to
work cooperatively on projects and
assignments.
Duc always came to school dressed
appropriately and behaved courteously toward teachers. He seemed
comfortable in this school environment and
showed considerable improvement in
his academic and social skills as the year
progressed." |
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all accounts, Duc matured dramatically during
his approximate 18 months spent in juvenile
custody. His academic performance and character
consistently drew praise from his
instructors: |
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"During the time
that Duc was at Central Juvenile Hall he
performed well as a student. In addition
to completing his academic assignment, he
was a teacher's assistant in the computer laboratory. It is my professional opinion
that he made substantial progress while he
was a student at Central Juvenile
Hall."
- Principal, Central Juvenile Hall |
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"As an educator
for the past twenty years, I consider
myself to be a good judge of one's character.
My personal assessment of Duc is one of
high regard…He was well liked on campus by
peers and by faculty… I remember him to
be a young man with excellent personal and
social skills with a deep
appreciation in culture diversity."
- Instructor, Central Juvenile Hall |
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Since his arrest and incarceration,
Duc has developed a love of learning, reading and
writing poetry. His poems have been published
in the LA Times Sunday Magazine, Inside Out Newsletter and ...
Yo - The Beat Within.
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His poems, letters and essays reveal the
reflection of an individual who has become painfully aware
of his mistakes, and who genuinely wishes to have a
positive influence on others.
Another teacher writes:
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"Besides his
outstanding cooperation with me in the
senior program I offer, he distinguished himself
by warning younger Asian students to the
pitfalls of gang activity. At least one other
student told me that he had clearly been
involved with a gang until he had a heart
to
heart with Duc and decided to give up his
gang associations."
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Teacher, Central Juvenile Hall |
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"On a personal
level, Duc, is a very reflective person.
He carries a lot of remorse and sorrow
for his involvement in his crime. I can
truly say that he is rehabilitated."
- Teacher, Central Juvenile Hall |
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| From the sociological
report written on him: |
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"It
is reasonable to observe that this
youngster's participation in the offense
at issue was preceded by conditions of
violence, turmoil and instability akin to
those that precipitate the traumatic
stress disorders common to military
veterans.
It
is also worth noting that, while the
defendant knew gang members ... he
struggled to preserve his independence and
never joined a gang. It was therefore
painful to the defendant and his family
for (name withheld -the on duty
police officer the night Duc was taken
into custody because of his father's
abuse), an individual who had gained the
trust of the entire Ta family and
particularly Duc, to imply that he was a
gang member. In fact, according to Duc Ta
as well as his family, he had sought this
officer's assistan | | | |
