Teen in gay-student slaying case agrees to 21-year prison term

[alp227]

Source: LA Times

The Ventura teen who shot a gay classmate he believed was flirting with him has agreed to spend the next 21 years in prison, a plea deal that ends a case that drew national attention and ignited debate on how schools should deal with openly gay students.

Brandon McInerney, who was 14 when he pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot Larry King twice in the head in 2008, has already served nearly four years in jail and would be released by the time he is 38, under terms of the deal.

"Larry had a complicated life, but he did not deserve to be murdered," the youth's father,Greg King, said after a court hearing Monday afternoon.

McInerney’s first trial ended with jurors split between convicting him of voluntary manslaughter and first-degree murder. Several of the jurors have since spoken in favor of a plea bargain, in order to avoid a second trial.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/gay-slaying.html

[NMMNG]

1. Good

Little thug deserves every minute of it.

[bluestateguy]

2. Self-censored post

because I cannot say in a DU post what I want to happen to this bastard in prison.

[TygrBright]

3. "Agreed to?" You have to agree to go to prison nowadays?? n/t

[Seedersandleechers]

4. Which means he'll get out in 10-15 years

Not long enough for the crime he committed. How sad.

[hang a left]

26. Under the sentencing structure in California he will do

85% of that. The first part in the California Youth Authority and the remaining in the California prison system. That is 17.85 years. Although the crime is heinous and I share your outrage, he still was just a child when he committed it. Hopefully, he will be able to use the time to grow up and evaluate his life. He will still be a young man when he is paroled and maybe he can do some good for society. It is just a travesty all around.

[BigDemVoter]

5. 21 Years

is actually a pretty harsh sentence. It is MUCH deserved in this case. . . If this little asshole is already homophobic, he'll REALLY not like gays when he gets raped in prison. . .

[left on green only]

34. I agree with you. What goes around comes around

Me thinks that once YOUNG Brandon meets his new friends on the inside, he is going to be introduced to a whole new meaning of the word 'chicken'; and yes, I would also say that if the sweet young lad has any misgivings about his disdain for being close with members of his own sex, then learning how to hide his repulsion may indeed be paramount to his future survival; if you know what I mean, and I think that you do. The simple request, "Bend over Brandon" has a nice sounding ring to it, wouldn't you agree? It would further appear that this fate that he has earned is even better than karma, it's called payback. And I wouldn't be too concerned about his qualifying for early release. Chances are he won't even be around long enough to petition for it.

BTW: If any of you are able to feel compassion for him, probably the most effective way to show it will be to mail him multiple tubes of Preparation H. He's going to need 'em. I know that's what I plan to do....not.

[leftynyc]

36. Your glee

over prison rape is very disturbing. Do try and stop drooling.

[left on green only]

38. I'm sure Larry King's family

did a lot of drooling as well........oh wait. Prison rape is but a small price to pay, compared with the price of losing the life of a loved one to the actions of a homophobe. Also, one would hope that you might be a little more articulate then to confuse sarcasm with glee.

[leftynyc]

40. Sorry - I don't understand

word salad.

[slay]

6. 21 years for first degree murder?

yes i know the jury was deadlocked - but if this had been a STRAIGHT teen who was murdered, McInerney would have been convicted the first time around and we ALL know it. All you need are a couple people who hate gays on a jury and Surprise plea deal for 21 years. Disgusting.

[sendero]

7. And if it had been a black kid..

... that shot a white kid, he would have gotten the death penalty. Welcome to justice in America.

[slay]

8. You are probably correct

and that's beyond fucked up. :grr:

[bluestateguy]

9. Or if it had been a pretty, blonde white (heterosexual) cheerleader

He'd already be on death row.

It's sad and pathetic, but I think had this plea not been reached and a second trial took place, I think this little killer may well have walked free outright.

[thesquanderer]

15. I don't think so

re: "if this had been a STRAIGHT teen who was murdered" ---

Considering that the kid was 14, and there's already plenty of debate about trying juveniles as adults, I would not assume the outcome here was "light" because of the gay angle. In general, 21 years may not be a stiff sentence for murder, but it is a stiff sentence for a 14 year old.

It sounds like you may not have read the article before commenting... I think it's worth reading for its additional perspective.

[slay]

31. No, I knew he was 14 at the time. Murder is murder - even worse when it's a hate crime

however - i don't know the whole case. If he showed remorse, really turned his shit around, I could see 21 years as semi-fair. But the parents of the kid he killed won't get to see their kid ever again - much less in 21 years - minus the time he's already served, minus the time he'll get for "good behavior". I understand what you're saying though.

[thesquanderer]

35. murder is murder, but...

re: "even worse when it's a hate crime"

According to the article, the jury didn't buy that it was a hate crime, i.e. that he had anything against homosexuals in general. The prosecution tried that angle, and were going to drop it on the retrial because it didn't fly.

I think the idea of a "hate crime" is that it's not personal, i.e. it could have been done to anyone who met the criteria and found him or herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. But in this case, it was personal. (Whether or not one kind of murder is really worse than the other is a different discussion.)


re: "If he showed remorse, really turned his shit around, I could see 21 years as semi-fair. "

The article doesn't say anything about whether he showed remorse, and I guess it would be hard to prove whether it was genuine... but if he has been in jail since he was 14, after having been in some kind of dysfunctional situation up to that point, I don't know how much opportunity he'd have to turn his shit around. Hopefully, being 14, he'd have at least been getting therapy in this time, but I wouldn't count on that being the case.

I guess part of the argument would be that, at 14, he wasn't "fully mentally developed" and has more chance than most to develop the remorse and turn his life around. For those who think 21 years is not enough, what would have been? Even people who support the death penalty generally don't support it for minors. Age does have some relevance in sentencing.

I am just tossing this stuff out for discussion, btw. I don't want this to sound like I think he should have gotten off easier. I honestly don't know how I feel about this.

[customerserviceguy]

20. This is California

If I shot you in cold blood on the street, I'd probably get out in ten years, provided I was a model prisoner.

[Charronxyz]

10. Sentencing a 14 year old kid to 21 years...

Reading the reactions here I can see how "progressive" some people really are, what a joke!

[alp227]

11. a 14 year old kid who knew that he was committing an evil, deplorable crime

against another fellow human being? I'd pop champagne if that kid was found dead in a forest. What did you want, send him to a work training program?

[Charronxyz]

12. Kids are still immature at 14...

Kids are still immature at 14 and not fully responsible for their acts, anyway that's how most of the civilized world see it, then again America is in a category all it's own, the teapartiers would be proud of you.

[alp227]

14. what would you say to the 14 y/o killer if the victim were your kid?

[tomm2thumbs]

17. Definitely

I won't even bother responding to the other poster - waste of time.

This was a pre-meditated execution. When someone prepares, loads & sneaks a weapon from home, to a school, lies in wait and then kills that person, point-blank in the head... I'd call that grounds for 21 years. This was not a heat-of-the-moment fight between two people that got out of control and a gun was grabbed. This was an execution.

If the killer was cognizant enough to take all the time and careful steps he needed to, he can clearly follow the steps that come after executing another human.

[Charronxyz]

22. Yes all carefully planned...

Including the part that he would have to spend a large part of his adult life in prison, obviously he thought this out in great detail and the emotional immaturity of a 14 year old boy had nothing to do with it, give it a break...

[Charronxyz]

19. I hope that I would have the strength...

I hope that I would have the strength to not hate and seek revenge in return, knowing that another life destroyed would not save the one that has been lost.

[Diclotican]

23. Charronxyz

Charronxyz

When I was 14, I was still a really un-matured kid, but even I understood then, that shooting on another with a gun was a bad idea... Yeah, most kids at 14 is not fully responsible for all of their acts - but it sounds like this kid was clearly enough, to be able to understood that if he use a gun on another he might be in trouble...

On the other hand, to hate Gay peoples that hard, that you are willing to kill them, is telling allot of what environment he have grown up in..

Diclotican

[hang a left]

28. I would say at 14 they are responsible but do not deserve the

full weight of the punishment. Any teen that thinks it is ok to take someone's life irrespective of the reason (unless in self-defense) should be removed from society.

[slay]

32. How many 14 year olds do you know who commit murder? You know right from wrong at 14 and he fired 2

times. This was planned out. How would you feel if you were the parent of the kid he killed? Think about that.

[ieoeja]

37. Thank you! The bloodlust against a child in this thread is disgusting. n/t

[Ishoutandscream2]

39. +1

DU can really be something, can it?

[christx30]

41. How long will

Larry King be dead? I think the little jerk that shot him should be in jail for at least that long. He's damaged goods at this point. What the hell kind of person murders someone at the age of 14? He's proven that he can't function in society. I shudder to think what he'll be like after having to survive 17 years of jail. If he survives at all.

[thesquanderer]

13. Look at the pictures at the link

The pictures of the two boys are there, but not identified. I suspect we would all agree on which one looks like a potential murderer, and which wouldn't harm a fly, which I think is fascinating in and of itself.

[tomm2thumbs]

33. yes, interesting about the pictures and others

[onpatrol98]

16. This is awful...one child dead and another sent away for 21 years...

The article gives the impression that faculty tried to alert administrators to problems. This sounds like both children could have been spared with the right guidance. What will be done differently next time? Or, are children disposable now?

[bottom line]

18. $

I'm Gay, I'm 60. My sympathies to both families. They were both kids with troubled backgrounds & parenting. Not their fault! The problem is the system is broken. There should have been counseling resources for both. He should have been tried as a kid or prosecuted, sentenced with consideration. The solution is not THREE STRIKES, etc. A police state needs prisons which they already have in abundance & laws to further "weaken." We the people, are not going to be driven to hate, in a call for help. Simple resources the 99% deserve, not cuts. STOP, tune in, this broken system will be changed.

[gvstn]

21. I understand a lot of the view points in this thread

It is true if it was a black defendant he would be in jail for life. And possibly if it was a white girl who was shot the same result. Neither of those sentences would be just.

But I think 21 years as a sentence for a 14 year old who has committed murder is a just sentence. Even if he gets a few years less for good behaviour. What possible chance of rehabilitation is there if the sentence is more severe?

A fourteen year old can be rehabilitated. Save a few who are just not wired up normally. Which there is no indication that this kid is completely devoid of normal human emotion. My guess is this kid realizes his mistakes even now and would have acted differently if he could go back and relive that day. 15 more years of punishment should be enough. Remember it was not that many years ago that even the USA believed that children should not be held responsible in the same way as adults for their crimes. Most of the world still believes this and science has proven that the adolescent brain does not work the same as an adult brain. This trend of trying younger and younger kids (as low as 10 yrs.) as an adult is absurd on its face.

I sympathize with the victims family but incarcerating people is meant to protect society not punish for a lifetime.

[alp227]

24. and what if he comes out of prison and relapses? will that change your mind?

I'd have no problem locking him up for life in the name of protecting others from becoming victims of him.

[gvstn]

25. You can't live 100% safe

A 14 year old homophobic boy with anger issues and genetically programmed lack of impulse control can be rehabilitated. Millions of them are, it is just done without putting them in prison for their mistakes.

I grant that his mistake was that he actually murdered someone which is why a lengthy prison sentence is warranted. It doesn't need to be a life sentence. If he had tied the victim to a wall and dismembered him piece by piece then sure he would not deserve to live among society for that kind of depravity is not curable. But I don't see any evidence that he would be a compulsive murderer. Do you really believe that 20 years from now, upon release, he is going to start looking for another potential victim rather than try to get a fresh start and create a life for himself?

[alp227]

27. OK then either theory is plausible

First of all he could just be ignorant and then learn why his homophobic ways are wrong over the 2 decades or maybe less he'll spend behind bars.

But given how he shot the boy in the head I could be right that he could be a serial killer in the making unless that's a slippery slope fallacy.

[gvstn]

29. I don't mean to get worked up over this

I just think that as every cop show on teevee begins with the image of some naked woman's body disposed of in a park with some unfunny quip it has made us think that all murderers are serial killers. Not every crime is committed by a sociopath. Lots of them are committed by dumb people doing dumb things. Some are committed by average people doing dumb things. I know I am rather naive but I think most of them after a period of reflection would rather not have done the crime, especially those that get caught. If I had spent 20 years in jail for doing something the last thing I would want to do upon release would be to repeat the crime.

[onpatrol98]

30. Increasingly bold...

"At trial, several teachers testified that King had become increasingly bold in his behavior in the weeks before the shooting. One of the teachers, Jill Eckman, demanded that administrators do something about rising tensions but was told to teach tolerance for King's gender expression."

Is it wrong to teach kids that the world is full of people who are willing to kill you for nothing? In a conversation with some youth the other day, I was absolutely astounded with the extent they'll harass each other or bully each other, etc. I realize there have always been mean kids, but these days kids are lethal. They seem to have fewer social coping and interacting skills.

What did Jill Eckman mean by rising tensions? Was McInerney already starting to threaten the boy, saying he would kill him or what?

Were both sets of parents made aware of the hostilities and possible dangers?

It seems to me like the administration blew it off and simply dropped it back in the teachers lap. What should the teacher have done? Clearly, they need to rethink some things.

And, what if we were talking about a young man making unwanted advances toward a young woman. Surely, that happens every day, and no one has to die. I'm assuming advances were made because of the teachers comments, but exactly what happened. Who knows what their idea of "Bold" means? A nod, a comment, what?

Whatever it means, he shouldn't have to be buried for it.

One of my stepsons was in a fight years ago because some kid sat behind him and consistently made comments, messed with him when he thought the teacher wasn't looking, etc. She caught him at it constantly and sent him to the office weekly. No matter wher they moved this kid, my son and others were his target. Eventually, he was suspended. But, that took months of him harassing classmates.

The principal and superintendent were useless.