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Loading ...Teen pleads not guilty in Larry King slaying
08.08.2008 7:19am EDT
(Oxnard, California) A 14-year-old Southern California boy has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his gay classmate.
Brandon McInerney entered the plea in Ventura County Superior Court on Thursday. McInerney is charged as an adult with first degree murder and a hate crime for the Feb. 12 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Larry King at their junior high school in Oxnard.Defense attorney William Quest said in court that the charges are “essentially a death sentence” for McInerney, and wants the boy tried on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
McInerney faces 51 years to life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
In April, a coalition of 27 LGBT rights groups called on the district attorney not to prosecute McInerney as an adult.
“The facts in this matter seem clear: one boy killed another in a climate of intolerance and fear about sexual orientation and gender expression. The alleged perpetrator, who turned 14 years old less than three weeks before the shooting, should be held accountable for his actions. But we support the principles underlying our juvenile justice system that treat children differently than adults and provide greater hope and opportunity for rehabilitation,” the groups said in a joint statement.
King was honored earlier this year at schools across the country as part of the National Day of Silence.
Several classmates have said King would wear feminine attire, making him an unpopular figure with other boys at his campus. Some students said that McInerney was upset that King had flirted with him.
McInerney’s attorney has suggested that some of the blame for the murder must rest with the school. He told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year that while the school allowed King to explore his sexuality, it did nothing to quell the unrest among other students.
“Brandon is not some crazed lunatic,” Quest told The Times. “This was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped. If there is partial blame in other places, let’s not throw away Brandon for the rest of his life.”
King was shot in the head during a morning class. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney was arrested shortly after the shooting.
King died in hospital after his mother agreed to have life-support removed.
My inclination would be to put his parents on trial for not raising their son to celebrate diversity as an example of the infinite variety of God’s Creation.
HIs attorney saying this would be a “death sentence” is interesting because in reality it isn’t. What he did to Larry King was a death sentence. A premeditated act of hate by a murderer. Yes, 14 is still pretty young – but 14 isn’t 8 either. This man willfully obtained access to a GUN and willfully and premeditatively murdered a young man. While I understand wanting to prosecute him as a juvenile – what message does this send to others who might have similiar motives? Taht I can do this ang get away with it because I am not 18? If it were your child that were murdered, would you be so lenient? I sure as hell would not be. Life in jail is an infintetly deal than what the fate that he knowingly sent Larry King to. Their is compassion and then their compassion to a fault. Sure, his parents and even school can take some blame – but they did NOT commit the crime. This young man is clearly a danger to those around him. What will these people say if he murders again? I don’t care if your 10 – if you are old enough and intelligent enough to obtain a gun (I’M not even sure how the heck I would get a gun!) and old and wise enough to premeditatively MURDER someone – you are old and wise enough to suffer the consequences.
Definitely should not be tried as an adult. Young people do not develop their reasoning abilities until about 21 years of age. Parents and close associates are their mentors; they are responsible for his actions. A harsh sentence does NOT stop others from also acting. It only creates more violence.
I can’t help but think that if this crime occurred in any other country, the key question would not be whether the perpetrator was homophobic, but how on earth a 14-year-old kid gets his hands on a firearm. In the US, no one seems to feel the need to ask such a question.
I cannot understand those who argue that a 14-year-old CHILD (who is too young, under the law, to marry, vote, smoke, drive, buy alcohol, have sex, or serve in the military) can be held accountable for his (admittedly terrible) actions in the same way that a responsible adult would. Of course McInerney should be tried for murder, and of course he should be tried as the child he is.
Rudegger Frutz, what on earth do the (presumed) sentiments of the victim’s family have to do with it?? The law of the land does not delegate handing down sentences to the families of murder victims because, quite frankly, they tend not to be thinking too rationally. The courts have to decide rationally what the best punishment for such a crime is, bearing in mind the youth of the offender and their chances of rehabilitation. All things considered, a life sentence would simply compound the terrible tragedy that has already occurred, destroying two young lives rather than one.
I know some GLBT violence, hate crime, etc. also terrible! If we can let others know more about that, like GLBT life, etc. maybe we can avoid some terriost things. I know the site BiLoves (a website for bisexuals and bicurious looking to explore their sexuality) is doing a good job.
What a tragedy. I do think that this boy should be tried as an adult and that he should receive an appropriate sentence. There needs to be a clear message to young teens that this kind of response to a situation of harrassment is not acceptable. Killing someone for that is not acceptable. His life was not in danger. I also feel, however that some definite guidance was needed for the victim and his sense of expressing himself which was lacking. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t have loving parents who could have provided him with that help. This cycle of murdering gay people has to stop somewhere and it needs to stop with this younger generation. If a young girl would have flirted with the 14 year old perpetrator, he would have told her “NO” in no uncertain terms and let it go at that. HE needs to be tried as an adult.
“A coalition of 27 LGBT rights groups”? Seriously? 27? Who the heck do these people think they are? The murder victim’s family must feel really great knowing that the community their son was a part of is so quick to jump to speak up on behalf of the murderer. Disgusting. How many of those 27 groups contacted the victim’s family with support? I’m so sick of the aggressors being made to look like victims or objects of pity. I don’t care if he was 14 or 41; he killed a boy who flirted with him. How many adults gay-bash GLBTs to death for less than that? Don’t tell me the state of his adolescent mind should be a mitigating factor. If this were a gay kid who shot the school bully, do you think any straight-groups would be asking for leniency and reduced charges? Dream on.
I understand the school should have talked to the other students about it. They should have talked about intolerance and acceptance.But if Brandon’s lawyer is saying they should have stopped Larry from expressing his sexuality because they had not talked to the other students, then I don’t know what I believe in anymore. I’m gay and I understand where Brandon got his hate from, but that doesn’t leave him less guilty then he is. He thought about it, got a gun, went to school WITH the gun, and proceeded to shoot Larry. If anything, the school should have paid more attention to people bothering Larry. And it’s not only the school’s fault. It’s up to parents to teach their children not to hate or resort to violence when they are upset. The school can’t teach your child everything. Most teaching should happen from a parents or legal guardian.
This is an adult crime with a weapon and was premeditated.
The access to guns is an issue and this young murderer should be tried as an adult. This will send a message to all that this intolerance is intolerable.
If young women was to kill after recieving a flirt from an unwanted admirer, this would be a nation of bloodbaths!
Good points, Ron. Premeditated, absolutely. Yet, let’s not try him as an adult, because fourteen-year olds usually are quite mixed-up in the head. Certainly, the obtaining of a gun, all by itself, speaks volumes, however the kid is tried.
There is no way that he could “right” that wrong.
So, they want to put some of the blame on the school for Larry King’s death. How about some of the blame on the parents. Where did Brandon learn his hatred and intolerance? Also, I’ve never read (maybe I missed it) where he got the gun? Brandon was 14 years old. You can’t tell me that he didn’t know what he was doing. It seems premeditated to me.
Listen, i’m gay, but i can understand the pressors that were placed on Brandon, yes he learned his fear from religion,parents, a ignorant society, at 14 years old he should NOT be tride as an adult, one youth is dead, there has to be hope for this kid to rehabilitate and right his wrongs…
So what punishment should the parents and school administrators receive? I am sure they will get none.
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They (we) all need to teach that murder (or violence of any kind) is not a valid solution to any situation.
And just what would the system and its proponents do if the situation were reversed and Larry King had killed in self-defense?
This case is surely a litmus test for what we can expect to be done in the future.
The boy’s parents should be on trial for murder as well. They were the ones who enabled this to happen. If they had showned the child acceptance of others King would be alive today. Shame on the parents and shame on the type of country that allows this to happen!