I keep hearing people claim Brandon McInerney shouldn't have been tried as an adult, and they seem to use that as an excuse/explanation as to why McInerney wasn't convicted, but the system wasn't on trial, McInerney was. The juvenile system isn't designed to handle violent crimes. No matter what someone does, they are typically released by age 25 if they are tried as a juvenile. Should we change that? Should we do something about that? Maybe. But this trial wasn't about that.
Who would want this person living beside them in a few years? And all this crap about him being 14 and not mature enough to be held accountable... That is an insult to the vast majority of teenagers who would never do something like this no matter what kind of stress they are under. What McInerney did is far outside the bounds of expected and acceptable behavior for anyone regardless of their age. And the lawyer's defense of McInerney, this "gay panic" defense was shockingly offensive. McInerney isn't the victim here. Larry King is the one who is dead. McInerney murdered him.
McInerney is a threat. He should be locked away because he is a threat. And we should give a clear message to bullies that there will be consequences for their actions. You shouldn't be able to get away with killing a gay kid just because you're 14. God help all the LGBT kids out there who are already catching way too much shit if we tell their tormenters that they have a get out of jail free card.
Could McInerney change? That's possible. It's possible for anyone to change. But he has killed another human being. I wouldn't want him walking the streets until it has been proven that he's changed. Let a parole board or the governor decide if he's safe enough to be let out at some point in the distant future, after he's spent enough time in prison to show that we take murder, including the murder of LGBT people, seriously.
I do not hate McInerney, but I do recognize he did something that is horrendous, unspeakable. I recognize that he has proven to be dangerous. I want him put away so he can't kill again. And I want his punishment to serve as a warning to bullies who may take it into their heads to kill an LGBT kid that we as a society aren't going to tolerate that.
I know that 14 is young. I know that a person's brain hasn't fully matured at that age. But guess what, a person's brain doesn't fully mature until he or she reaches the age of 25. Obviously, it would be ridiculous to suggest that we view young people as children until the age of 25. So the question becomes when do we begin to hold them accountable? I don't have an solid answer for that, but I do know that we already hold young people accountable for far less serious offenses. And this is murder. This wasn't an accident. It wasn't the result of thoughtlessness or recklessness. It wasn't a youthful indiscretion. Because of Brandon McInerney, Larry King is dead and gone, dead and gone forever. McInerney deliberately murdered him in front of a room full of people. I think we should expect 14-year-olds not to do such things, and I think we should recognize that there is something seriously wrong with them when they do, something that may not necessarily be corrected by the process of maturation. And I think it is time we stand up for young people like Larry King. We have been excusing and overlooking the abuse they've endured for far too long. They have suffered at the hands of thugs like Brandon McInerney, and even when these thugs kill, people still somehow find excuses for them.
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