Breaking: Wis. man who killed neighbor teen gets life term

[Tx4obama]

Wis. man who killed neighbor teen gets life term

Jul. 22 7:12 PM EDT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A 76-year-old Milwaukee man who fatally shot his unarmed teenage neighbor was sentenced to life in prison Monday, days after telling the court he killed the boy for justice because he believed he stole his shotguns.

John Henry Spooner's home had been burglarized two days before the May 2012 shooting, and he suspected 13-year-old Darius Simmons as the thief. So he confronted the teen, demanded that he return the guns and then shot him in the chest in front of his mother when he denied stealing anything.

Spooner's own home surveillance cameras captured the shooting, and prosecutors aired the footage in court.

A jury found Spooner guilty of first-degree intentional homicide last week, a conviction carrying a mandatory life sentence. The judge could have allowed for the possibility of parole after 20 years, but rejected that option, citing Spooner's lack of remorse and desire to also kill the teen's brother.

Spooner, who has lung cancer and other physical ailments, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

-snip-

Full article here: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/wis-man-who-killed-neighbor-teen-gets-life-term

[hobbit709]

1. Funny how that surveillance system didn't catch who really broke into his house.

If anyone did.

[Tx4obama]

2. I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if...

I wonder if he hid the guns somewhere and then forgot about it.

[JI7]

4. i think he just wanted to shoot a black kid

that's why he said he didn't regret doing what he did and said he wishes he shot the brother also.

[noiretextatique]

3. good...

justice in wisconsin, if not florida.

[mysuzuki2]

5. I'm glad he is off the street.

Although I am pretty indifferent about what kind of an institution he goes to.

[Aristus]

6. Bye-bye, asshole.

I hope they throw you so deep in the jug, you'll need a periscope to see out. When you leave the prison walls behind you someday, I hope it's toes-first...

[gollygee]

7. Wow

That's a horrible story. I am very glad he got life in prison. What a crazy, dangerous, horrible man.

"Killed the boy for justice?" What the hell?

[Igel]

16. Yup.

That's what happens when somebody decides that "justice" is what he feels in his gut and must be served, whether or not there's evidence as to the guilty person(s) and whether or not the legal system can provide for it.

"What the hell?" is exactly right. "Crazy," "dangerous," and "horrible" don't do it justice. So to speak.

[yardwork]

8. Life in prison for a 76 year old man with lung cancer who killed a 13 year old.

The murderer doesn't have that long to live anyway. The thirteen year old he killed had his whole life in front of him.

Somehow I don't see this as justice. I'm against the death penalty, but this just doesn't seem like enough.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. +1000

The teen's family should be compensated. If the 76-year-old had assets, they should be given to the teen's family.

[surrealAmerican]

12. There is no penalty that could compensate ...

... for the murder of a child. The death penalty would not be more "just" than life in prison. Either way, that child's life was senselessly wasted through malice. Poor kid, to die for somebody's paranoid hatred. I hope his family can find some way to cope.

[yardwork]

15. I can't imagine how the mother feels. Her son died in her arms.

It makes me very angry.

It's possible that this man has dementia of some kind.

[anneboleyn]

17. I think dementia is very likely. Often manifests as acute paranoia and aggression. Great that he had

guns considering his likely compromised mental state. This is the kind of stuff that happens -- demented grandpa gets a paranoid idea in his head and can go kill a thirteen-year-old since the guns are at Grandpa's disposal.

[Hoyt]

10. Sometimes kids need to take elderly dad's guns along with the car keys.

[bravenak]

11. Good.

Can't murder children in Wisconsin and get away with it. Good jury.
Couldn't have checked his surveillance to see who robbed him?

[sheshe2]

13. Good! nt

[flvegan]

14. What a tragic story. Truly saddened for that kid and his family.

I am completely sure that this will draw in the feckless nitwits who will compare this (hooray!) to the Zimmerman affair (boo, hiss!). Because, you know, they're so much alike. And that's what we do here from time to time.

And that's really sad, because this kid doesn't deserve to be politicized.