Rodney King Dead At 47

He was savagely beaten when he was 25, almost to death, by a mob of police officers who were ultimately acquitted of any wrongdoing despite the fact that the entire assault was filmed by an amateur cameraman who happened to be there when it happened.

And now, at the age of 47, he is dead — found face-down in a swimming pool in Los Angeles, just when he was about to get married and hopefully find, not just some personal peace, but actually, maybe, joy. It was his fiancee who found his body, which is even more horrifying.

Here is what King looked like, shortly after his beating.