One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
In Case of 15-Year-Old Gay Student's Killing, Closing Arguments to Begin
Photo by ccharmon via the LAist Featured Photos pool
Closing arguments are set to begin today in the case of Brandon McInerney, a 17-year-old Oxnard boy accused of shooting his classmate Larry King to death in 2008, reports ABC 7. The trial has generated a great deal of national attention and controversy, in large part because King was gay. TIME reports that McInerney's defense has attempted to build a case around the notion that the defendant was provoked by King's actions to do what an entire classroom witnessed: sit behind King in class, pull a handgun out of his bag, and shoot King twice in the back of the head.
Defense attorney Scott Wippert has said that King taunted McInerney, and that McInerney's abusive home contributed to his violent actions:
Wippert says King's advances amounted to sexual harassment and were partly responsible for the shooting. Witnesses have said King came to school wearing women's accessories like make-up and high-heeled boots and made flirtatious comments to McInerney such as "Love you baby!"
The defense has even called witnesses in to testify about the way King dressed at school.
But the prosecution is calling bullshit. They say that defense attorneys are relying almost completely on victim-blaming and a culture of pervasive homophobia:
"This entire defense is built on a bias against the victim, and this hope that people will buy into the fact that the way he was and they way he dressed was so provoking that a reasonable person would have reacted the way the defendant did," [Prosecutor Maeve] Fox said in court. "It's tragic and nauseating at the same time."
A recent LA Times article also examined whether the school should have done more to prevent King from dressing the way that he wanted to dress, implying that maybe if he had looked...a little less gay, we have to assume?...he wouldn't have been killed:
Sponsored message
One teacher after another has testified in the murder trial about their deep worries that King's feminine attire and taunting behavior could provoke problems — and that E.O. Green Junior High administrators ignored them.
Because forcing kids to repress their sexuality is clearly the way to keep everyone safe.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
