UPDATE (10/5/11 11:15am): The prosecution plans on trying McInerney again as an adult but this time without the hate crime charges.
Whether you agree or not, six of the twelve jurors in the Lawrence King murder trial disagreed with trying murderer Brandon McInerney as an adult guilty of a hate crime—those charges helped hang the jury and drove the aforementioned six jurors to wear “Save Brandon” bracelets in hope of trying Brandon as a child. Nevertheless, prosecutors plan on going after McInerney with the exact same charges in a second trial, a move which may fail if the first jury serves as any indication.
ABC’s Nightline revisits the jurors, Lawrence King’s gal pal, the teacher who gave King a lime green prom dress, and McInerney’s mom to explore whether McInerney deserves lesser charges. At this point, we almost just want to see him put away period—whether for 23 years or 53 years. The real question: will 17-year-old McInerney kill again if released in his 40s as compared to his 70s?
Video via Dave Evans of Such Is Life Videos
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Sed
I’m glad the prosecutors are trying scum bucket as an adult. Let the jury acquit him if they want to. Then we can finally know where we are as a nation. It will be made clear that it’s alright in this country for a straight kid to commit the cold blooded murder of a gay kid just because he’s “flamboyant” and he made us uncomfortable.
Erich
@Sed. Agreed. He killed him in a room filled with witnesses, and somehow he’s the victim? Give me a fuc*ing break.
Mav
The fact that people are victimizing this cold-blooded savage boggles my mind. Let the thug go away for life as far as I’m concerned. If he wants to practice mortal violence, he’ll be free to do it there, far away from REAL victims.
Fitz
The CJS system is a failure. I say release him, and lets let street justice deal with it.
Michael
Laurence King is dead due to this vile bastard he shot him in cold blood and it WAS planned out as well. Laurence was the VICTIM Brandon is the VILLAIN the bad guy the MURDERER these idiotic cold and heartless jurors should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.
In all honesty Brandon should get the death penalty he was old enough to know what he was doing when he killed Laurence there is no reasonable or logical doubt about that.
Bob
Homophobic jurors. They don’t give a f**k about Larry King, just this monster.
David Ehrenstein
Of course he’ll kill again.
Marlene
He should be tried as an adult. What he did was premediated murder. This kid is a monster and I agree with David Ehrenstein. He will kill again if he is allowed to get away with this.
JayKay
HANG HIM. HAVE HIM DRAWN AND QUARTERED. RIP THE STILL-BEATING HEART FROM HIS VILLAINOUS BODY AND FEED IT TO HIM AS HE STILL BREATHES. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. RAVELRAVELRAVEL.
No but seriously, trying him as an adult was and is an incredibly stupid idea.
the crustybastard
The fact that McInerney “lay in wait” before gunning down King is what got him charged as an adult.
Just like the murder itself, there’s really no question of McInerney’s guilt in that matter. These people just don’t want to sentence the defendant to the crime he’s actually guilty of. One would hope this time the Prosecutor will choose a better legal team, who can choose a better jury and argue a better case
I’m with Sed. If another jury would prefer to vindicate the nice white student-athlete murderer rather than his dusky little crossdressing faggot victim, they should do that, answer for it, and live with the consequences. Because that fascist sociopath sure as hell isn’t going to cure cancer when he’s acquitted and released.
“Save Brandon” bracelets? Really? “He’s a child!” Yeah, that would explain why McInerney might bounce a ball off the back of Larry’s head. It doesn’t even begin to address why he put two bullets there. The fact these people cannot see that means they simply have no rational sense of proportion.
Sickening.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
drove the aforementioned six jurors to wear “Save Brandon” bracelets in hope of trying Brandon as a child
What? he’s a goddamned murderer! What the fuck is wrong with your country?
Little Kiwi
if McInerney were black and King white then he’d have been found guilty of murder years ago. easy.
it was premeditated. it was not manslaughter. what they need to do is accept that it was indeed premeditated and leave it up to a judge to figure out just what to do with a young teen that indeed premeditated a murder.
jeffrey dahmer started young, too.
j
@Fitz: I agree that the CJS is f**ked, but what you’re suggesting is a pathetic cop out. Its people like you that have f**ked the CJS in the first place.
Little Kiwi
McInerney is a monster, but was made that way. He needs treatment, he needs to be STUDIED, and society needs to stop just “locking people up and throwing away the key” and start addressing and fixing the cultural system that is creating monsters.
The system failed King, and it failed McInerney. Does he deserve punishment? fuck yes. But punishment won’t prevent other young people from killing and being killed. McInerney was shaped into what he is now – unless he’s a clinical sociopath. But even then, STUDY – find out what makes a killer, learn from this awful example so we can prevent it in the future.
King can’t be brought back to life, but what happened to him can be prevented. People need to stop saying “but he’s a child!” and start saying “we need to figure out what factors drive a teen to premeditated murder”
Fitz
@j: J, you are a proud Victim. It’s not a cop out to take care of your people, Victim. And Victim, I’m not someone who will shed tears and grind my hands together. No, Victim, I am someone who knows that a homophobic jury will never care as much about a gay kid as they do about a straight one. So, Victim, go fuck yourself. And go get Victimized.
J.
My god how aweful this all is. Lots of people grow up in abusive homes and who don’t kill. If this guy killed someone who wasn’t gay, there wouldn’t be any discussion about this. We live in a nasty homophobic world.
magnetic
to think this was anything but premeditated is just staggering to me. his was a very adult action and should be treated that way. Brandon felt it okay to play god and take another’s life, I see no reason why the jury should feel unease about stripping his minor status. the charge of hate crime, though…
@Little Kiwi: yes. had King been white, his would have been a more sympathetic story (“He had his whole life ahead of him!”). King’s status as the ‘other,’ as the aggressor, his short rap sheet, made it simple for the jury to qualify his culpability. he would have been a menace!
LukeM
Exactly J, if Brandon had shot a fellow straight kid instead of Lawrence King no one would accept trying a boy who was 13 at the time of the crime as an adult. He wasn’t an adult then. He’s not an adult now. Desire for revenge doesn’t make a human rights violation tolerable.
And that’s not a joke >> http://www.change.org/petitions/reverse-decision-to-try-12-yo-cristian-fernandez-as-an-adult?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=EUajlIhDIm_yUHWRzbCUP
We as progressives actually do not accept trying children as adults unless the gay community decides it’s out for blood. The prosecution is wrong. They are screwing up justice. And this kid is actually going to walk if they don’t learn a better lesson.
phallus
The guy is evil plain and simple. Kids who murder at that age whatever their reasoning is or regardless of the victim’s race, religion or sexual orientation can NEVER be rehabilitated. Just like pediophiles, they can never be set free ever because they will do the same crime over again. So that leaves life in prison or the death penalty.
magnetic
@LukeM: right, except he didn’t shoot a straight kid. he shot someone because of their sexual identity. two different things with different implications.
I agree with you that this desire for revenge is wrong (as shown by phallus above me) but the boy is simply not right. at 14 one knows the difference between right and wrong, and Brandon went ahead and offed someone anyway. he deserves help and some compassion, but he deserves punishment as well. hopefully our broken justice system will do what is right for Brandon and Larry, all in all it’s too little, too late.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
It’s been obvious from the very beginning that this kid is indeed a sociopath.People like Brandon grow up feeling entitled and they think they will always get away with everything they do they have no conscience and do not care what their words or actions cause for other people.
People like Brandon ALWAYS eventually commit ANOTHER act of violence eventually.If he gets off scott free with this then he will feel like he can get away with anything.Studying people like Brandon is an exercise in true futility as well. Ive seen enough sociopaths who do NOT want help nor counseling and do not think anything they ever do is wrong.That comes from being a sociopath sociopaths have no conscience as I said they just do not care what they do say or cause for other people. This guy is a murderer cold blooded murder Laurence Kings murder was calculated and planned Brandon knew what he was doing the entire time.He didnt just snap all of a sudden he orchestrated the entire thing that horrible day he took the life of Laurence King.
Im not saying you are wrong about this:McInerney is a monster, but was made that way. He needs treatment, he needs to be STUDIED, and society needs to stop just “locking people up and throwing away the key” and start addressing and fixing the cultural system that is creating monsters.
The system failed King, and it failed McInerney. Does he deserve punishment? fuck yes. But punishment won’t prevent other young people from killing and being killed. McInerney was shaped into what he is now – unless he’s a clinical sociopath. But even then, STUDY – find out what makes a killer, learn from this awful example so we can prevent it in the future.
King can’t be brought back to life, but what happened to him can be prevented. People need to stop saying “but he’s a child!” and start saying “we need to figure out what factors drive a teen to premeditated murder”
But at the same time people like Brandon dont WANT to be helped they never do.You have to put yourself in his mindset he had no emotions no sympathy for Laurences family and he did not care what he did to Laurence either.The mind of a sociopath is very hard to understand.The only way people like Brandon will ever get help is if they themselves are WILLING to attempt to do just that.Otherwise it is a lost cause.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
As far as these jurors are concerned it was all Lawrence’s fault. This really fucking pisses me off.
Brandon wasn’t a racist; it wasn’t a hate crime; Lawrence sexually harassed Brandon. What the fuck is happening here? It’s become clear that gay lives–the lives of gay KIDS–mean nothing to the majority of Americans.
I’m telling all my queer brothers, and sisters ion America now–arm yourselves. Stop being victims, and star killing your attackers. You live in a country that gives the constitutional right to own a gun, and most states have laws allowing you to carry a gun everywhere you go. Do it!
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
Think about it this way if someone is being studied and they don’t want to be studied and don’t care about any of it to begin with.Then it is just a waste of time and resources. I mean if they themselves are not willing to get help and dont want help to begin with then no amount of psychology or psychological studying or help is gonna ever get through to them and make them realize that they have done horrible things that have impacted other people.
Little Kiwi
you can learn a lot from people that don’t want you to learn about them, Michael.
whether or not brandon wants to be “studied” will not stop him from being studied.
a waste would be to lock him up without learning anything about the factors and steps that turned him into a monster.
it’s not just about “him realizing why he did it” – but about others realizing what made him do it.
if we can’t learn from this awful incident and use what we learn to prevent such things from happening in the future then lawrence king dies in vain.
even unfeeling sociopaths are deserving of study and understanding – without it the cycle continues
ewe
This victim switch is a disgrace and even the drug addicted mother in recovery is more aware of that then the jurors and the media.
erasure25
I read a story the other day about a 12 year old brown skinned child that was indicted for first degree murder of his toddler brother. This child had a history of abuse by his step father, who had committed suicide in front of the boy. Obviously justice has to be served but where was the public outcry for considering this boy’s past abuse during the trial? Unlike McInerney, there’s no sympathy for this brown skinned child.
Little Kiwi
can we start using “gay-panic panic”? As in “i had to shoot him because i thought he might get stricken with this ‘gay-panic’ i keep hearing about and would kill me so i had to make sure i killed him first”?
“i panicked about him possibly coming down with gay-panic and defended myself”
yeah. gay-panic panic.
ewe
The registered gun owner should be incarcerated a minimum of three years. Maybe it would make irresponsible parents think about where they store a weapon. What in the hell is going on when a person who owns a gun has no responsibility to protect society from that gun?
Mr. Enemabag Jones
When the jury acquitted the cops in the Rodney King trial, black people rioted in the streets. This jury allows a killer to go free and gay people are debating the age of the killer. Why are we not rioting in the streets? Why are we not threatening to kill the jurors like the people did during the Rodney King riots?
How much longer are we going to be America’s doormat?
The stupid bitch who defended Brandon is a fucking lesbian for Christ sake!
Little Kiwi
i’m just puzzled as to why a man with a recorded history of drug use and spousal abuse was allowed to legally keep a gun in the home. which Brandon then used.
people with histories of violence are allowed to own guns? REALLY?
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
Lawrence King already died in vain man.Considering how he has been treated since his death and this debacle that they call jurors.Its a slap in the face of Lawrence and saddens me beyond words.
I also speak from knowing a personal sociopath I met online who seemed nice… at first.
I noticed a comment he left trying to scare one of his many VICTIMS since he is just a hateful vile troll. He told the user he was trying to scare that he and his friends drove a person offline last year and the user later killed himself in real life.
My ” friend” I use that word extremely lightly now especially laughed about it and was thankful he applauded him killing himself.He gave me this explanation:RimjobTheGreat
RimjobTheGreat (5 days ago)
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Sorry if that offends you. But come? on man, you know I’m a sociopathic monster who has no regard for others. I’m basically a terrorist with a keyboard.
Same goes for the rest of Arkanus.
RimjobTheGreat
RimjobTheGreat (5 days ago)
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It wasn’t all my fault, he was already abused and depressed, and I guess nobody loved his autistic ass online either. So he offed himself. He was a social wreck? though, I wasn’t that surprised.
RimjobTheGreat
RimjobTheGreat (5 days ago)
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I remember last summer I was shitting myself because I thought I would get arrested after FurryPrideFriend789 killed himself. I got two phone calls from the Orlando Police telling me they “needed to talk to be about? an indecent online”.
I remember just sitting at my desk “And now the police are involved, Jesus Chist.
So it is extremely hard for me to find sympathy for people like ^^^^ this who actually think this way and have no conscience about ANYTHING.I feel so bad for that user who took his own life and it was mainly due to their bullying and none of these people give a damn.
I do not have much hope that these people will ever change or see the errors of their ways.But yes I would be curious very curious as to see what makes these people tick and why they are so cruel and heartless the way they are.
Little Kiwi
King did not die in vain – not if society can learn something from this whole atrocity.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
Why doesn’t someone come up with a REMEMBER LAWRENCE bracelet? Why do the haters always beat us to the punch? The anti-Lawrence groups have beaten us to the media punch by portraying Lawrence as a predator, and Brandon as a victim.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
Society would rather die then learn anything from this .After all most of society hates gay americans or has something against us.Therefore most of them could care less.Not to mention if someone does not want to learn they are not going to.Once again if a person takes the initiative to want help or want to learn then and ONLY then will they ever grow from it and become a better person possibly in the end.
ewe
Larry King was shot in the back of the head. UNPROVOKED.
Little Kiwi
“Once again if a person takes the initiative to want help or want to learn then and ONLY then will they ever grow from it and become a better person possibly in the end.”
it’s not just about the criminal learning, it’s about others learning from the criminal.
find What Makes a Monster and learn from it. then apply it.
learn what drives a 14 year old to premeditate murder. King’s death will not be in vain if this wakes people up to what culture is doing to “innocent children” – people keep sayign “he’s a child!” ok. and the child killed. time to put the pieces together to prevent this for the future.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
He was a child who knew what he was doing the entire time.It wasnt like he snapped he had this planned out for a while.
I just find it hard to sympathize with people like Brandon its obvious that no one can get through to them.It makes me wonder though what kind of parents this kid has and why they did not see any signs of a typical sociopath there are ALWAYS signs with this kind of thing.
shelleybear
He’s gonna make some lifer a nice boy toy.
No matter how long he’s in.
Hey Brandon, you sleeping with your back to the wall. Hoping your lawyer will call”
Little Kiwi
“I just find it hard to sympathize with people like Brandon its obvious that no one can get through to them.It makes me wonder though what kind of parents this kid has and why they did not see any signs of a typical sociopath there are ALWAYS signs with this kind of thing.”
It’s not about sympathizing, it’s about understanding. Clearly you don’t know the facts of the case. They’re available, you know.
McInerney’s father died within the last 12 months, and had a history of spousal abuse, substance abuse, and domestic violence. his mother had a history of drug abuse as well.
You’re missing the point – people can, and should and hopefully WILL learn about the factors and circumstances that contributed to Brandon becoming who and what he is. It’s not excusing, it’s understanding.
Through understanding comes prevention.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
Clearly you don’t know the facts of the case.
ZZZZ there you go again as usual.
You’re missing the point.
zzzzz
Anyways back to humility.
This isnt about your ego as usual little boy this is about Brandon McInerney and the senseless unjustified murder of Lawrence King.All you are doing is trying to make excuses for Brandons actions as if that JUSTIFIES what he did to Laurence and the pain his family now goes through everyday of their lives?You are unbelievable.
Yes through understanding comes prevention.Brandon wasnt understanding towards Lawrence when he shot him point blank and took his own life now was he? You are making Brandon seem like he is just as much of a victim as Lawrence was.I beg to differ highly about that one Lawrence didnt murder Brandon and he is six foot under now.Brandon did murder Lawrence and he is hoping he will get away with it.That is ALSO obvious you are the one who does not get that.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
McInerney’s father died within the last 12 months, and had a history of spousal abuse, substance abuse, and domestic violence. his mother had a history of drug abuse as well.
His father could have gotten help his mother could have gotten help Brandon could have gotten help as well.
ALL of them should have held themselves accountable for THEIR actions.Brandon makes it seem as if its Lawrences fault claiming that Lawrence was a sexual predator and bullshit like that.People like Brandon always blame other people thats their M.O.
Little Kiwi
why are you talking about “humility” and “ego”?
i’m being very specific and you’re not.
Brandon was failed. King was failed. King’s death won’t be in vain if people can learn the specifics of what makes a young person like Brandon become the unfeeling monster that they are/were.
i’m not making “excuses” for Brandon. I’m saying I don’t want these incidents to happen again. You prevent things by actually learning about them, and learning FROM them, and applying what has been learned.
It’s having an intellectual opinion and not just an emotional response.
You can’t prevent more of these crimes from happening if you don’t truly learn what drove McInerney to what he has become. That’s been my point the entire time. Prevention of crimes like this.
Little Kiwi
@Michael: were you aware of the history of McInerney’s parents drug abuse and the family’s history of domestic violence until this afternoon?
Cam
Curious. If he had killed a girl in his class, or a straight boy, would they be wearing bracellets trying to save him? Doubtfull.
Little Kiwi
@Cam: of course not, Cam.
teh jury clearly thinks that King was guilty of the “obvious crime” of being a brown gender-nonconformist gay kid.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
Yes I had already known that Brandon had issues behind closed doors.People still do not have to let themselves turn into monsters based on how they are treated.I don’t understand for the life of me why he wasnt able to legally emancipate himself from his parents to have a better chance at growing up to be a decent human being with an actual conscience.In some states teens can do that they can seperate themselves from their parents .
King’s death won’t be in vain if people can learn the specifics of what makes a young person like Brandon become the unfeeling monster that they are/were.
There is no were to this Brandon McInerney is STILL an unfeeling monster.I am just angered by this entire thing especially the way the court and jurors are trying to make it look like Brandon is the VICTIM and Laurence was a sexual predator which is a load of dishonest intolerant and irrational crap.
Little Kiwi
ok. but if we can learn from this and effectively understand what makes a person an “unfeeling monster” and thus prevent more incidents like this then his death will not be in vain.
it’s about getting to the root of the problem to prevent these things from happening again.
locking him up and throwing away the key without working to find out what factors led to Brandon becoming what he’s become only ensures that events like this one will happen again.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
No one wants something like this to happen.There have been enough hate crimes in this country as it is.
Perhaps it would be beneficial in someway though .Maybe if we knew why they became what they became we would be able to better understand how to go about making a change to that kind of behavior or way of living life.
Everyone in this world needs to be held accountable for their actions and words.Otherwise it is meaningless. Even sociopaths will EVENTUALLY have to hold themselves accountable for the way they treat people.Part of the reason I have always believed in karma what goes around comes around.
Little Kiwi
“Maybe if we knew why they became what they became we would be able to better understand how to go about making a change to that kind of behavior or way of living life.”
That’s what I’ve been saying all afternoon so I’m not sure why you were arguing with me.
adam
@magnetic: Going into a bar to buy a drink or applying to join the military are “adult actions” but doing them when you are a kid in America doesn’t mean you magically become an adult or will be treated as an adult by the law.
He was a young teenager at the time of the shooting. The nature of the activity does not change his age. He should be tried as as what he is, a young offender. Treating him justly and recognizing the fact he’s a kid will make it more likely to secure a conviction, it is the right thing to do, and it still provides plenty of opportunity for a long sentence. Also, in future cases if a gay 14 year old comes into school and shoots someone who’s upset him I think most of us would want a practice in place that will get that will have that boy treated as a boy by the courts.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Michael
@Little Kiwi:
I wasnt arguing with you just mistakenly thought you were insulting my intelligence… again.
Sorry.
Erik
@adam: A 14 year old who commits premeditated murder, execution style with a gunshot to the back of the head, should NOT have their crimes absolved when they turn 18 or 21, which is what trying McInerney as a child would guarantee.
Would you want him as your neighbor in a few years?
magnetic
@adam: I need you to explain the relevance of your bar/military examples because as it stands they signify nothing. call me dense, but I don’t see it. buying a beer and enlisting underage is not murder. I agree with your post almost completely, except for the fact that I have this little part of me that thinks someone planning to take another’s life is disgusting.
if a gay kid does the same thing to another kid, I would be writing the same things I mentioned earlier. the “if it were a gay” card gets played too often.
Michael Allen
You’ve got to love America where the murderer of a gay boy is considered the victim.
ewe
@Michael Allen: and it was a premeditated murder as well.
Marlene
One thing really bothering me about this case aside from the fact that the jury are idiots, is the prosecutor allowing the defense to get away with portraying Brandon in the press as a victim of bullying. Larry is the victim here and Brandon is a cold blooded killer and the prosecutor needs to make sure that fact is hammered home everyday. This kid is dangerous and damaged beyond repair and he belongs behind bars.