Subscribe to Breaking NewsRuby-Sachs: I’m happy the boy who shot Larry King is getting high profile legal representation
It was announced that Brandon McInerney, the 14 year-old who shot openly gay Larry King, is no longer being represented by a public defender.
Instead he has a high profile L.A. firm on his side.
Many may sicken at the thought of excellent lawyers on the side of the kid who killed out of hate, but the operative word in that sentence is “kid”.
Brandon is being tried as an adult despite the fact that criminal law recognizes that children make decisions differently than adults and often do not accurately understand the consequences. His charge as an adult, alone, is a violation of important legal principles.
Brandon may grow up to be a hateful adult, but while he is still a teenager, his personality and his effect on society is not set in stone. A responsible legal system would offer him alternative sentencing aimed at rehabilitation and psychiatric care rather than locking him up for 51 years. I hope his L.A. lawyers can help the judge and jury see that and act accordingly.
I strongly disagree. When I was 14 I knew very well that not only was it wrong to kill for any reason, I knew exactly what the legal consequences might be if I did kill someone. This kid does not get a pass because of his age.
You argue that his effect on society is not set in stone. He took a life. That is how he chose to affect society. Larry King is dead, and he’s never coming back.
Prison is not just to rehabilitate, I believe it should be a punishment. To say that McInerney is only in need of rehabilitation neglects the fact that he must be punished for his crime. The responsibility of the legal system is to determine justice, not to mollycoddle young murderers because some get teary at the idea of a life sentence for one so young.
A life sentence sure beats the death sentence he gave Larry King when McInerney acted a judge, jury, and executioner for Larry’s “crime” of being who he was.
ReplyNo Ruby-Sachs, you are incorrect again. Your postings simply floor me some times. At times I think that you’re simply trying to create controversy and can not believe the things that you post. But over time, I think that you really do believe these stances. This individual being charged as an adult falls well within legal principal and is exactly why he is being charged as an adult.
Being a child is not a “get out of murder free card.” I too am glad that he has outside council. I’m happy that tax money does not have to go towards the public defenders that were appointed to try his case.
I am with David on this in that prison is not just for rehabilitation. I do not think that we should work towards “rehabilitating” those that intentionally kill another person. We can really put aside the guilt or innocence in this situation as it’s really not being disputed by anyone involved. Jail for Mr. King is punishment and the price that he should (and hopefully will) pay.
Now, so long as we are not in the ludicrous situation that was the original OJ Simpson Jury, he should be a very old man by the time he gets out of jail.
… and by the way, I’d feel exactly the same if the victim were straight.
ReplyTrace, perhaps we disagree so often because you are a self-described Conservative and I am not. But keep commenting. More than one opinion is always valuable.
ReplySorry, but in this particular case I just can’t buy the “he’s just a child” argument.
Brandon acted like an adult when he planned out his crime, executed his plan and then made his getaway.
It’s not like he just burst out on Larry with his fists and beat him to death.
Brandon knew where to get a gun and how to use it.
Brandon didn’t just shoot Larry once. He shot Larry two times, once in the head and once in the back.
Just because Brandon was “physically” 14 years old, doesn’t mean that his “mind” wasn’t much older. Especially considering his childhood and how his mind had repidly matured before his body.
ReplyCalifornia - Vote “NO” on Prop. 8!
Arizona - Vote “NO” on Prop. 102! AGAIN!
Florida - Vote “NO” on Amendment 2!
Connecticut - Vote “NO” on Question 1!
As I said in an earlier post, I feel the highering of these lawyers will be an attempt to use the “gay panic defense”. They will attempt to make Brandon the victim and Larry the person doing wrong by wearing “inappropriate clothing and acting “provocatively”. This has already been suggested by Newsweek magazine. I feel for sorry that Larry’s reputation will need to be trashed during this trial.
ReplyI basically agree with David Haseltine. By the time you are a teenager, you know that killing is wrong and that there are consequences for killing. Prison is punishment with the chance of rehabilitation.
However, I am also happy with the high profile legal representation because when young mister McInerney is convicted it will tell other homophobic people that not even the best representation is going to save them.
Ultimately, I don’t see the boy getting the maximum sentence; I came to this conclusion/guess even before the legal representation change. I do think a hefty sentence is likely, and it will give him plenty of time for rehabilitation.
ReplyWhy is it only when young adults make bad decisions that society decides to view them as adults? Whereas all the kids that make good decisions are still viewed as children and aren’t allowed to vote?
Everyone should be treated the same, no matter what their decision is. Decide whether being an adult is at 14 or at 18, but you can’t have it both ways.
ReplySociety has decided that at 14, you are a child. It is wrong to hold someone to an adult standard when not treating them in the same manner. If a fourteen year old could vote and buy a beer, I might believe that it was okay to prosecute as an adult, but such is not the case.
ReplyWe’re talking about a child here. He should be tried, but not as an adult.
This _child_ is as much a victim of homophobia as any gay person. He was taught to fear and hate gay people, and perhaps to hate and fear a part of himself. Gay people were taught to fear and hate themselves. At 14, he was reacting unconsciously based on what he was taught by a homophobic culture. It is his parents and community that should be tried for murder. The child should be educated and rehabilitated, not thrown away.
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