Brandon McInerney walks (mistrial). He'll probably go to college and be a typical fraternity asshole

[bluestateguy]

Somehow I can't help but think that if this was a black or Hispanic assailant who murdered a pretty white blond cheerleader, he'd already be on California death row.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/mistrial-gay-student-slaying.html

A judge declared a mistrial after jurors said they could not agree whether to convict Brandon McInerney, the middle school student who shot and killed a gay classmate during a morning computer lab.

Jurors deadlocked 7 to 5 in favor of voluntary manslaughter in the emotional two-month trial in the case of the stunning 2008 shooting inside an Oxnard classroom.

nt

[LisaL]

1. Minors are not eligible for the death penalty.

[dsc]

2. He didn't walk, yet

He is subject to be, and I presume will be, retried. It is disappointing but apparently the jury was 7 for manslaughter with 5 for some form of murder.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/prosecutors-vow-to-retry-teen-who-killed-gay-classmate.html

Jurors on Thursday said they were deadlocked on a verdict, with seven favoring a voluntary-manslaughter conviction and five pushing for first- or second-degree murder. The jurors, who have not spoken to the media about the deliberations, told defense attorneys that they did not believe the killing amounted to a hate crime.

end of quote

If I were the prosecutor I would consider retrial without the hate crime at murder 2.

[HappyMe]

6. I agree. He can be retried.

You're right about the hate crime portion. That is the saddest part and also a good decision. The are more likely to get a conviction without it.

[closeupready]

3. He can be retried in the event of a hung jury, I believe.

If they had found him not guilty (unanimously), THEN you could say he walked.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. He did not walk, he is still charged with the same crime

The prosecutor can retry the case with any and all charges. No one was voting for acquittal

Unrecced for misleading title hyperbole

[provis99]

5. he has zero chance of being retried. DA will plea bargain.

Not only did the jury not agree on murder charges, they couldn't even agree on voluntary manslaughter.

The prosecutor weighs his decision based on probability of getting a conviction versus time and expense of a retrial.

This case is finished; the DA will be unable to justify the cost of another trial, with the current backlog of cases piling up on his desk.

My guess is they'll settle for something like one charge of aggravated assault, and 18 months maximum sentence.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. I expect a plea bargain at the manslaughter level with specific sentencing recommendation

[JVS]

8. No frathouse in the world wants the kind of scrutiny that guy would bring along with him.

[bluestateguy]

9. I don't know

I just see him as the Asshole Alpha Male type, and a good many fraternities (not all of course) seem chock full of such men.

[JVS]

10. Asshole Alpha Males don't much like people who are known "head cases"

This is a guy who thought it was a good idea to shoot someone he went to school with in the head. Anyone with such a poor sense of judgment is dangerous to live with for obvious reasons. Even fratty assholes know that. Also, having a guy with a really dark history doesn't really help with a frat doing it's general scofflawry (usually centering around drinking laws but also extending into vandalism and disorderly conduct) and hoping for the authorities to let things slide. Unless he's the coolest dude ever (something for which there is no evidence at all and quite a bit to suggest otherwise) he's much more a liability than an asset and the number one rule of such places are you have to be an asset to the others.