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A mistrial earlier this month has not ended the complex, politically charged case against Brandon McInerney, a young boy charged with the murder of Lawrence King. In 2008 Lawrence King was a 15 year old middle school student in Ventura, California. The eighth-grade boy wore high heels to school and feminine clothing. He was, according to classmates and teachers, flirting with boys who reacted in anger. Brian McInerney was one of those boys. McInerney shot Lawrence King at point-blank range in the back of the head in a classroom at E.O. Green middle school in February 2008. On September 1st a Los Angeles jury declared it was split on a verdict. Seven voted to find Brandon McInerney, tried as an adult, guilty of voluntary manslaughter, carrying a possible sentence of 18 years. Five jurors would have found the shooter guilty of first degree murder, leaving open the possibility of 57 years to life in prison. The divide reflects the many competing factors and related sympathies in the case. Both boys were minors at the time of King’s death, at an age when sexual identity and social skills are developing at an uneven pace. Each had an unstable home life. King lived at a group home for youth and spent his childhood bouncing from place to place. McInerney, his family has testified, grew up with an emotionally and physically abusive father, who died after his son killed King. The Prosecution argued McInerney committed a premeditated murder that was also a hate crime, fueled by homophobia and a growing identification with White Supremacist ideology. The Defense argued the school failed both boys when escalating tensions became apparent. It also cast the shooting as a crime of passion, using what has been dubbed the “gay panic” defense. The controversial, often used argument, reasons that a straight person can become uncontrollably violent when faced with unwanted sexual advances from a gay person. Prosecutors are reportedly gearing up to request a new trial in the death of Lawrence King at a hearing scheduled for October 5th.

GUEST: J. Kelly Strader, Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School

Find out more at www.rememberinglawrence.org