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| Brandon McInerney |
By Brody Levesque | CHATSWORTH, CALIFORNIA -- Ventura County deputy prosecutor Maeve Fox told jurors in her closing arguments today that, "It’s natural to feel sympathy for youthful murder defendant Brandon McInerney, who grew up in a home so violent and dysfunctional that he wasn’t even allowed to cry after his father punched him in the face. But the law does not allow for sympathy."
As the eight week long Larry King murder trial moves into its final phase, Fox called the case a “tragedy on all levels," as she addressed jurors in a packed suburban San Fernando valley courtroom. Fox however, cautioned that McInerney's actions in the E.O. Green Junior High School's computer lab in Oxnard, California on February 12th, 2008, was nothing less than first-degree murder.
In a separate ruling that angered prosecutors, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell will include the manslaughter instructions for the jury, which court observers say are expected to get the case by as early as Friday. The jury of nine women and three men will be now allowed to consider manslaughter... along with the murder charges... for the now 17-year-old, who is being tried as an adult.
McInerney, who was only 14 years old at the time of the killing, has been charged with shooting the then 15 year old King twice in the back of his head, execution style.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Fox told jurors in the murder case that McInerney became angry after King said either “love you baby!” or “what’s up, baby!” in a school corridor, expressions that were directed at McInerney. So angry, Fox said, that he told a friend that he was going to bring a gun to school to next day.But rather than cool off, Fox said, McInerney packed a .22 in his backpack the next morning and pulled out the weapon during a first-period class and shot King twice in the back of the head. That constitutes premeditated murder, the Ventura County prosecutor said.Any other arguments by the defense – that McInerney was provoked into the shooting by King’s aggressive flirtations or that he had endured a hellish childhood – are smokescreens, Fox said.“No amount of revisionist history and attempts to paint Larry King as some kind of predator can ever change the fact of what occurred in this case. That is: Larry King was executed for who he was.”Fox’s closing comments in the eight-week murder trial -- which was moved to Chatsworth because of pre-trial publicity -- also sought to downplay the impact of damaging testimony given by several teachers at the Oxnard junior high. The teachers testified that King’s dress and teasing behavior was causing tensions but that the administration failed to do anything about it.
The defense is expected to begin its closing arguments Friday. McInerney did not testify during the trial.
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4 comments:
If found guilty the young man deserves to be punished. The only defence he has is mitigation, assuming the evidence to be conclusive against him. And, if he did as it is stated that he did it is hard to see a plea for clemency of any degree succeeding.
And yet he is, to an extent, a victim, too. He is a stupid victim, a vicious victim, and he committed a reprehensible act, yet my heart goes out to him as it does to any child caught up in the full process of the law. If he repents then we can start to forgive him. But he has been raised not to repent.
So we take revenge on him. One young life has gone. Another is as near over as makes no difference. I want to know, in view of his background as stated by the prosecution how this will be justice being seen to be done. There is a case for mitigation here.
All very well Tim, but what if he is 'let go' early, and he does the same thing with another unfortunate victim. I'm not altogether sure that punishing him with incarceration is really revenge as much as preventive in nature. I doubt very much that there are programs to help make him 'gay friendly' considering how badly American states do at even being accepting.
Larry King was 15 when he was shot by, then 14 year old, Brandon McInerney. Whichever way you look at it it is a double tragedy. One boy's life was taken from him, and the other's life is ruined by his own action.
Even if McInerney escapes incarceration he will never have any thing like the life he would have had if he had not shot King.
It is likely some kind of prison sentence will justifiably be imposed either as punishment or for prevention purposes.
At 17, as McInerney is now, rehabilitation is possible, but rehabilitation brings with it, its own severity, its own punishment in the form of realisation of the full extent of what he did.
Alternatively, and without rehabilitation, it is likely that the prison system will provide opportunities for him to be raped, and or abused in ways that also will make his life unbearable.
Whatever the outcome for him is, his life is ruined.
As I said, this is a double tragedy, and it should leave us feeling helpless and frustrated in despair of its horror.
When you think about it, it is bad parenting and lousy church influence that has really caused this abominable situation. There should be a law that tries to prevent mind warping, warping away from what we know is an instinctively generous loving nature that we are born with. Hatred is learned, which means it is taught, which means others are just as guilty for priming this unfortunate weapon.
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