An Open Letter to Kohen Wiley
Dear Kohen,
You were only one year old.
At an age when the world should have been filled with first words, first steps, bedtime stories, laughter, and the loving embrace of family, your life was taken before you had the chance to experience all that this world could have offered. No child should ever become a headline. No parent should ever have to bury their baby. No community should ever have to ask why a one-year-old’s life ended in tragedy.
Though I never had the opportunity to meet you, I write this letter because your life mattered. Your name matters. Your story matters.
There are moments that shake our conscience and force us to confront difficult questions about justice, accountability, and the value we place on human life. The loss of a child is one of those moments. It transcends politics, opinions, and divisions. It reaches the deepest part of our humanity.
You were someone’s son. Someone dreamed about your future. Someone imagined your first day of school, your favorite hobbies, your personality, and the man you might one day become. Those dreams were stolen alongside your life.
As adults, we often speak about creating a better future for children. Yet your death reminds us that our responsibility is not only to dream about that future but to protect it. Every child deserves safety. Every child deserves the chance to grow, learn, love, and live.
While nothing can undo what happened, your memory can inspire reflection and change. It can remind us to value every life, especially the lives of those who are most vulnerable and unable to protect themselves. It can challenge us to build communities where children are safe, families are supported, and tragedies like this become unthinkable.
Today, I honor your life by speaking your name.
Kohen Wiley.
May your family find comfort amid unimaginable grief. May your memory never be forgotten. And may we never become so accustomed to tragedy that we fail to recognize the preciousness of every child.
Rest peacefully, little one.
Your life mattered.