McInerney Offered Plea Deal

Some deal - either way the kid is dead meat - he will be used as a sex object in prison and turned out as a neo Nazi in one of CA's notorious prison gangs - where youngsters are recruited and used for future criminal activity. This boy was a few days past his 14th birthday - the minimum age - when the act was committed. While homophobia is never acceptable, it is also unacceptable to sexually harass another student to the point of emotional disturbance, and the school should have done something to stop this problem. Kids that age are struggling with sexuality and self identification - add to that a violent homelife, the accessibility of guns and an openly gay kid who thought it was a hoot to tease non-gay kids with come ons, and you wind up with a recipe for disaster. This is a uniquely kid-based crime - we must expect adults to be able to rise above sexual harassment - but kids that age don't recognize the alternatives - small slights are magnified to life or death situations.

I eagerly await the day that a female accused murderer mounts a defense in which she says that she killed a man because of his unwanted advances. Then we'll see how well that defense holds up.

You people can comfort yourselves with your revenge fantasies as if everything will be okay if McInerney rots in prison for the rest of his days, but I'm more interested in REALITY. 10 or 20 years from now he WILL get out of prison, hardened and more dangerous than ever before, and unafraid of returning to prison. If there is any hope for rehabilation and deactivation of this young living landmine, we need to find it. This kid was barely 13 or 14 when he murdered Larry King over a year ago. Now he has had a year plus of being a known murderer under his belt, and all the notoriety that goes with that. I can only imagine the reinforcing effect its had so far. We as a society must revolutionize the way we deal with young violent offenders, something other than the warehousing industry /lending library of mayhem we call Prison.

You are one of the ones on our local paper always trying to 'save' Brandon?? I would suggest praying for him when he is in prison, he does deserve to sit there for the rest of his life! his upbringing or homelife is no excuse for what he did. How many gang bangers have been in this type of environment and have killed someone at his age? They are in prison serving time for thier crime. Why should Brandon be the exception? Because the victim was gay? Brandon acted out in premeditated violence, he acted no different then gang bangers planning a drive by. Brandon planned this, he walked into that class and shot Larry twice, not once twice. Brandon woke up that morning and new what he was going to do, he could have stopped if he wanted to! He made a choice and he should sit in prison for it.

The only viable solution to punish murderers of any kind is to reinstate the death penalty in those states where it's been outlawed. The number of appeals has to be minimized and the death sentence must be carried out within 5 years. All existing life sentences must be revoked and substituted with the death penalty. KILL 'EM ALL!

PJR's analogy is so convoluted and disconnected, it is embarrassing. Regardless of my liberalism, I have always believed that the punishment should fit the crime. Perhaps someone as young as this twerp could be "rehabilitated", but he deliberately murdered someone in cold blood. He showed no mercy to his victim. It's one thing to shoot somebody and walk away. It's another to go back and shoot that person in the head. Where is the "crime of passions", PJR? Telling someone you love them should not result in your murder. That whiny-con canard that if "the victim isn't hetero but homo (SB the other way around, PJR), and the perp is homo not hetero" we "gay agenda types" would be in an uproar is ridiculous, the same as PJR's "logic". A case could be made to kill someone in self-defense but that isn't the issue here. This was premeditated murder, a crime of pure hatred. His age does not excuse him, either. Either the death penalty or life without parole. THAT is justice!

While I will admit that there is an emotional component that makes me desire to see this child, because that is what he is, locked away for eternity for his crime. The more reasonable side, is for attempted rehabilitation and consistent reviews by parole boards during his imprisonment. If he can demonstrably overcome his homophobia, and become an relatively well adjusted member of society then he should be released. That having been said, the imprisonment term should not be so short as to reduce the severity of the crime.

Throw that murdering bigot into jail and let him rot! He will have a lifetime to regret his actions, and I'm sure he'll make lots of like minded friends in the big house. What ever life he gets is more than his victim will ever have a chance at.

He did an adult crime, he should be tried as an adult. Period. Law is made to protect innocents from bad people. If we do not obey it, who else will?

It is not for us to say what is or is not forgivable. That is God's realm. A 15 year old boy grew up in an environment that breeds violence, and he committed a violent act. Let's accept that horror, let him into our hearts, and embrace him with the love that has been missing in his life. If we do, we will all be transformed.