congenitaldisease:
Standing at 4′6″, 11-year-old Robert Sandifer earned the nickname “Yummy” because of his love for cookies. His old bedroom looked like your average Chicago child’s bedroom - posters of Michael Jackson and Disney characters hung on the wall, but Yummy was anything but your average child. Born in 1983, his mother was arrested over 30 times for prostituting and his father spent most of Yummy’s short life behind bars. Before the age of 3, he was already known to the Department of Children and Family Services. His body was often riddled in cigarette burns as well as bruises. In fact, Yummy and his siblings were soon removed from his mother and sent to live with their grandmother. By the age of 8, Yummy had given up on school and resorted to a life of crime. He soon began to steal cars and break into houses. When Yummy turned 10, he was removed from his grandmother’s house and sent to the DCFS shelter. Almost as soon as he arrived, he ran away, never to return.
During his short life, he was charged with 23 felonies and 5 misdemeanours, but due to his young age, he never got more than a slap on the wrist. It’s no surprise that after running away, Yummy joined a gang - the Black Disciples. On 28 August, 1994, when Yummy was just 11-years-old, he was ordered to take out a hit. He opened fire on a group of youths, killing 14-year-old Shavon Dean. Before she passed away, she alerted authorities as to who the gunman was - an 11-year-old child called Yummy. This enraged the gang, who saw his actions as an initiation gone bad. Before police managed to track him down, he was met by two other gang members - 16-year-old Cragg Hardaway and 14-year-old Derrick Hardaway - on 31 August. They informed the young boy that they were going to take him into hiding. However, as they reached a nearby underpass, they ordered Yummy to his knees and shot him in the head. His short life and shocking murder became a symbol of the gang problem in America along with the fault in the child services and juvenile justice system.
(via mjsheartisstillbeating)