Trial of Larry King Murderer to Begin

At long last the trial of Brandon McInerney, the 14 year old who brought a gun to school with premeditation and shot classmate Larry King in the back of the head, is about to begin. In a display of just how sleazy and unethical some criminal defense attorneys can be, McInerney's attorneys plan on possibly using a "gay panic defense." A defense that even though bogus requires a "in the heat of the moment" context. Never mind that McInerney planned ahead, brought a gun to school, positioned himself directly behind King during a morning computer class and fired twice into the back of Larry King's head. Frankly, in my opinion, if defense counsel try that shameless defense, disbarment would be to lenient a punishment. The Los Angeles Times looks at the upcoming trial and has these highlights:
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When he was just 14, Brandon McInerney walked into an Oxnard classroom, took his seat, pulled a .22-caliber handgun out of his backpack and shot the student sitting in front of him. Then he tossed the weapon to the floor and walked out. The victim, Lawrence King, was an openly gay student who McInerney reportedly thought had a crush on him.
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Prosecutor Maeve Fox says she will outline a straightforward case in opening arguments set to begin Tuesday in a Chatsworth courtroom. The Oxnard teenager carefully planned and carried out the Feb. 12, 2008, execution of his eighth-grade classmate, she said. He brought a gun to school, positioned himself directly behind King during a morning computer class and fired twice into the back of the 15-year-old's head.
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McInerney is being tried in adult court under the provisions of Proposition 21, which allows prosecutors to bring murder charges against juveniles as young as 14 for certain serious crimes. McInerney's lawyers, Scott Wippert and Robyn Bramson, say their client doesn't deny the killing. But they argue it was voluntary manslaughter because the adolescent was provoked by King's repeated sexual advances.
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A voluntary manslaughter conviction would prevent a life sentence, Wippert said, making McInerney eligible for release before he's 40. Even a finding of second-degree murder would virtually assure that he wouldn't be eligible for parole until he was in his 70s, his lawyers said.
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The defense could face a challenge in portraying McInerney as a naive youth. At the time of the shooting, he looked young and sweet-faced. In court recently, the defendant was a tall, lanky young man dressed in crisp Oxford shirts and khaki pants.