[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO DAVID RAY RITCHESON

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this evening I rise to 
introduce H. Res. 535 in tribute to David Ray Ritcheson, a survivor of 
one of the most horrific hate crimes in the history of Texas, and 
recognizing his efforts in promoting Federal legislation to combat hate 
crimes.
  David Ray Ritcheson, a Mexican American, was a friendly and cheerful 
student at Klein Collins High School in the Houston suburb of Spring, 
Texas and a popular and talented football athlete who was loved and 
admired by his family and friends. However, on April 23, 2006, at the 
age of 16, David Ray Ritcheson was severely assaulted while attending a 
party in Spring, Texas by skinheads who assaulted and violated him 
because of his race.
  It was through his suffering of this enormous tragedy, having gone 
through more than 30 surgeries to restore his appearance and regain the 
normal use of his body, that this young man stayed steadfast and came 
to the Judiciary Committee in 2007 and gave the most passionate plea 
for the passage of the Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 
2007.
  This resolution, Mr. Speaker, is a resolution in tribute to Mr. David 
Ray Ritcheson, after having lost his life in July of 2007. We look 
forward to the debate of this resolution on the floor of the House, and 
we pay tribute to David Ray Ritcheson for his courage and for the 
tragedy that took his life.

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