Jason Mattison's Murderer Indicted

The murderer of Jason Mattison has been incited for his crime.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy has announced that the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted 35 year old Dante Parrish of the 2400 block of E. Preston Street for first-degree murder, deadly weapon and first-degree sexual offense.

The indictment was filed December 3, 2009.

Court documents allege that on November 10, 2008 Dante Parrish was responsible for a stabbing in the 2400 block of Llewelyn Avenue. 15 year old Jason Mattison, Jr was discovered by a family member inside a second floor bedroom closet. Madison had suffered multiple stab wounds to the head and throat.

An investigation revealed Parrish and Mattison were allegedly in the second floor bedroom when Parrish sexually assaulted Madison and then killed him. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Parrish is being held at the Baltimore City Detention Center without bail.

Hopefully, Parrish will answer some questions that still remains unclear.

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A Solid Video about Gay Bashing

Blogger Shawn QT and The Five Black Guys created a reenactment of hate crimes against the LGBT community. In lieu of what has happened in the last few weeks, I think this a great idea to get the word out.

We need to be aware and look out for our people.

Here is their video


Thx to Rod 2.0 and Darian for posting this

Open Letter: Ryan C. Jones

Hi friends and family,

I am writing you this in hope you can do me a large favor. As some of you know, I lost someone very close to me this week. A student of mine was taken from us in a violent manner. His name was Jason Mattison and he was a 15-year old student, whom I have had the privilege to teach through his 9th and 10th-grade years, since he arrived on our campus during the summer of 2008.

There has been extensive news coverage of Jason’s death over the past few days. He was brutally attacked, abused, fatally injured and left for dead. His attacker, a 35-year old previously convicted murderer, has been arrested, and will meet his doom in one way or another.
However, I am writing because not enough positive things have been shown about Jason. As is often the case, the majority of news has revolved around the graphic nature of his death and the circumstances relating to his attacker. Too often, we hear news that a young, black male from Baltimore City was killed and we think nothing of it.

Jason was not just another statistic! He was a lively, unique individual who brought smiles to the faces of countless people every day. Jason was an above-average student, who excelled in many areas of academics and social life. He dreamed of finishing his career here and moving on to college, medical school and then to his own pediatric office. God, how kids would have loved his big smile and booming voice! You need to simply look at his exotic dress, flare for the dramatic in class and with friends and talk to those who knew him to understand what a loss we have all been dealt.

Jason was in no way involved with gangs, drugs or weapons. He spent his time after school doing homework in teachers’ classrooms and hanging out with friends. His nightly routine of chatting on MySpace is the same one any of our kids have, and the same one as kids all across America. But for as “typical” as Jason seemed, he was so unique. He hated normal! He was different because he could be. He wore his skinny jeans and fashionable sweaters and blazers because it made him stand out.

I’ve included a few pictures of Jason as a way to expose what a great child he was, and to allow those who didn’t know him to see more than the news coverage allows. In my eyes, this tragedy has focused so much on the negative and what is truly being lost is what a great child we had the pleasure of being around. It hurts me to watch the news and see a murderer’s face and story being told and not that of Jason!!!!!

Please do me a favor and honor Jason! I am asking that you simply forward this e-mail and pictures to everyone you know. I want Jason’s story to be told and I want everyone to see that we have lost an innocent child! And maybe more importantly, I want everyone to see how beautifully wonderful this child was!!!

Ryan C. Jones was Jason's teacher.

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Another Gay Teen Murdered

Sorry to post this, but the word needs to get out.

Jason Mattison Jr. was found raped, gagged, stabbed and hidden in the closet of his aunt's house.

The suspect, Dante Parrish, 35 was a family friend and convicted murderer. He was caught a few days later and admitted to the murder.

Here's more about Jason:

About his skin-tight jeans and funky sweaters. About his boisterous voice that seemed to run nonstop. About his exuberance in recounting the most mundane of events. About his flamboyant mannerisms.

He was 15, a sophomore in high school, and he was gay.

When someone harassed him in the halls of West Baltimore's Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, he had a sharp, witty comeback at the ready, and he walked away smiling.

"Even if it hurt him, he gave the other person the impression he was stronger," recalled his English teacher, Ryan C. Jones. But while Jason appeared strong and confident in the safe confines of his school on North Calhoun Street, unafraid to embrace his sexual orientation as part of his personality, the world outside did not offer those same protections.

My heart goes out to Jason's family and I hope this, Dante, pays for his crimes.