More than three years after 15-year-old Lawrence King was gunned down in class—in front of up to 30 students—the murder trial of his former classmate and accused killer Brandon McInerney begins this week in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. Opening statements were Tuesday and the first witnesses for the prosecution testified on Wednesday.
Only days before the February 2008 shooting, the now-17-year-old McInerney asked several boys to help him ambush and stab King, according to the testimony of a student identified as "Christian."
"He said he was going to get some guys together and rush him and shank him,” Cristian said in court, adding that McInerney showed no emotion when he made the statement.
Cristian testified that he saw King occasionally wearing makeup, jewelry and high heels with his public school uniform. When that happened, some students would taunt him with homosexual slurs, Cristian said.
When asked by defense attorney Scott Wippert if he ever saw King "chasing boys around," Cristian answered no.
Wippert is trying to portray King to the jury as an aggressor who flirted and taunted McInerney until it triggered their fatal clash. Prosecutor Maeve Fox has described King as a shy, effeminate student who had recently come out of his shell to assert his sexuality and paid a price for it at the hands of a classmate with white supremacist tendencies.
The defense has portrayed King as sexually "aggressive" and suggests that McInerney was "provoked". The theory was first advanced by Newsweek in a disturbing cover story—describing the 4-foot-11 Lawrence King as sexually harassing his male classmates.
McInerney shot his classmate twice in the head at point-blank range in a computer lab, according to the medical examiner's testimony on Wednesday. There were a few more details, too. "Fifteen-year-old King had nail polish on his fingers and his toes and had recently shaved a small mustache," reports the LA Times.
McInerney is being tried as an adult for the murder of his classmate. The state also alleges McInerey had close ties to white supremacists and neo-Nazis, which has led to a hate crime charge. McInerney has plead not guilty and rejected a plea bargain. McInerney faces 53 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges.
A shameful gay-panic defense. Lawrence King is re-victimized in death.
Rod 2.0's complete coverage on Lawrence King HERE.
DISGUSTING!
Posted by: AJ Terrel | 08 July 2011 at 07:57