In plea deal, youth gets 21 years for killing gay teen
Brandon McInerney avoids a retrial by pleading guilty to shooting Larry King. The jury deadlocked in the first trial, with some saying prosecutors were being too harsh in trying him as an adult.
By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times
November 21, 2011, 8:59 p.m.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1122-gay-shooting-20111122,0,425342.storyA teenager who fatally shot a gay classmate in the back of the head during an Oxnard middle school computer lab will spend 21 years in prison under a plea deal reached Monday, closing the books on a case that drew international headlines and ignited debate on how schools should handle sexual identity issues.
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In an unusual arrangement, the 17-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree and voluntary manslaughter. In return, prosecutors agreed not to go forward with a second trial, which could have resulted in a life sentence.
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Posted on
Advocate.com November 21, 2011 06:40:00 PM ET
McInerney Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder
By Winston Gieseke
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/21/McInerney_Pleads_Guilty_to_Second_Degree_Murder/Brandon McInerney has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of Lawrence King and will be sentenced to 21 years in prison, reports Los Angeles's ABC 7 news.
In September, Ventura County, Calif., Superior Court judge Charles Campbell declared a mistrial in the two-month-long case against the 17-year-old after a jury was unable to decide between charges of first-degree murder with a hate-crime enhancement or voluntary manslaughter. The former charge would have netted McInerney at least 53 years in prison, the latter only about 20.
