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Wednesday, Apr. 25, 2007 - TIME Magazine
Henry Watson
Bill Nation / Corbis
Mug shot of Henry Watson, arrested in connection with the beating of trucker Reginald Denny during the L.A. riot.
Henry Keith Watson did not fit the description of many of those caught up in
the Los Angeles riots. He was an ex-Marine, married and a father. While he
had served time in prison for robbery, he had remained out of trouble, had reportedly held down two jobs, and was
well known and respected in his neighborhood. "I'm not
your typical gang member," he says 15 years later.
Yet like many in L.A., his emotions got the better of him on that April
weekend. So when Reginald Denny found himself in the wrong place at the
wrong time Watson suddenly found himself part of a group
beating Denny to a pulp. While Damian Williams struck Denny's head with a
cinderblock, Watson stood on his neck.
"It was rage and anger, not just about Rodney King, but the injustices that
were going on during that time," Watson explained, though he claims that
nobody really intended to kill Denny. "Nobody specifically sought out
Reginald Denny to cause him any harm. He got caught up in the moment, just
like everyone else."
A hung jury spared Watson from the felony assault charge against him.
Instead, he was convicted of simple assault, a misdemeanor, and freed after
his trial for time served. In 1993, on the Phil Donahue show, Watson
apologized to Denny for his part in the attack. His troubles with the law
were not yet over. He would later serve three years in prison for a
narcotics conviction. Today, he is still in Los Angeles, operating his own
limousine service.
Madison Gray
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