Months after a jury couldn't decide his fate, a Southern California teen has agreed to plead guilty for gunning down a gay classmate three years ago in their junior high classroom.
In September, a judge declared a mistrial in the case of Brandon McInerney, now 17, after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked following a nine-week trial on whether he should be found guilty of manslaughter or murder. The next month, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced that McInerney would be retried on first-degree murder charges as an adult. McInerney also was tried as an adult in the first trial.
The district attorney's office said Monday that, since then, it had "carefully reviewed the jury's determination" and talked with some jurors. It also engaged in talks with the victim's family, McInerney and his attorneys after which the relevant parties "agreed upon a disposition that balances the unique facts of the case with the need to protect the public."
Specifically, McInerney pleaded guilty to killing Lawrence King "under the penal code sections for both murder and voluntary manslaughter," as well as to using a firearm in that crime. He will serve 11 years for manslaughter and 10 years for the use of a firearm, according to the district attorney's office. His formal sentencing is set for December 19.
"He will serve the entire 21 years without time off for good behavior and will not receive time off his sentence for the three years and nine months he has spent in juvenile hall before sentencing," the prosecutor's office said, concluding that he'd then serve nearly 25 years total.
Is this sentence too strict? Or are the courts justified in their verdict?
What do you think? Please use complete sentences (no texting) and don't forget spell check!
i think it is to strict.
ReplyDeleteno because he still gunned down a human being and most people ussually get 25 years for killing someone
ReplyDelete