City native's vigils try to combat violence

At noon on the day after yet another homicide in Rochester, N.Y., former Meriden resident Bill Coffey, gathered with a group of citizens for a vigil to "re-hallow the ground where blood has been shed" and to console the family members of the deceased.

Coffey has long witnessed chronic violence and racism in Rochester, since race riots in the 1960s when he first moved to the city. Since 1999 he has organized vigils following each homicide. The high murder rate is a problem he intends to help solve.

more...