A national gay rights group says that Ventura County prosecutors should do the “just and merciful thing” and reach a plea deal with Brandon McInerney for fatally shooting a gay middle-school student rather than trying him a second time.
A court hearing is scheduled Wednesday morning, when it is expected prosecutors will announce whether they will try McInerney again for shooting Larry King, and if so, whether as an adult or a minor.
Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, urged prosecutors and defense attorneys to reach a compromise.
A Ventura County judge last month declared a mistrial after a nine-woman, three-man jury was unable to reach a verdict in the murder trial, which captured broad attention.
Trying McInerney a second time would “only dig into old wounds that have never been given a chance to heal," Byard said in a written statement.
McInerney’s emotional nine-week trial ended in a hung jury, with seven jurors voting for voluntary manslaughter and five pushing for either first- or second-degree murder.
One juror contacted by media after the trial said McInerney’s age at the time of the crime was a significant factor in the panel’s inability to find agreement. Many felt he shouldn’t have been tried as an adult, said juror Karen McElhaney.
McInerney was 14 at the time of the shooting, King 15.
Others who followed the case said on Twitter that they found it shocking McInerney wasn’t convicted of a point-blank shooting that his attorneys conceded he committed and wondered whether jurors couldn't reach a verdict because the victim was gay.
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