TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • McLaughlin waives jury trial for one charge

    McLaughlin waives jury trial for one charge

    Teen waives jury trial in Cold Spring killings: (Log in info)

    In an unusual turn of events for these kinds of cases, John Jason McLaughlin has waived his right to jury trial for the second-degree murder charge in the death of Aaron Rollins. The article doesn’t give too much information outside of that, but I’m assuming that he will still face a jury in the charge of first-degree murder in the death of Seth Bartell. In case you forgot from yesterday…

    McLaughlin allegedly shot Bartell in a basement hallway in front of other students, wounding him superficially in the chest, then fired a second shot that missed Bartell but hit Rollins in the neck. Bartell fled up some stairs. McLaughlin pursued Bartell into the gym and shot him in the forehead, prosecutors say.

    The defense is trotting out the usual…

    Attorney Dan Eller has said McLaughlin only intended to wound Bartell, who he thought had been teasing him, and that Rollins was not his intended target.

    Again, not a valid reason to shoot an unarmed person in the chest, chase him up a flight of stairs and shoot him in the head. If he was just trying to wound him, he wouldn’t have shot him through his skull.

    And the myth continues to perpetuate.

  • John Jason McLaughlin

    John Jason McLaughlin

    It just goes to show you that I am not the authority on the subject, nor am I omniscient. This is a story that has eluded my notice for the past year and a half.

    On Sept 24, 2003, 15-year-old John Jason McLaughlin shot two of his fellow students at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota. The victims were Aaron Rollins, 17, who was shot in the neck and died later that day in the hospital and the intended target Seth Bartell, 14, who was shot in the chest and head. Bartell held on for 16 days before passing away.

    Here’s how the suspect was originally described back in 2003…

    But lately, those who know McLaughlin said, he began to change. He seemed more withdrawn and didn’t want to come out to play. Some described him as intensely shy and self-conscious about his severe acne.

    “It really was this summer that things seemed different,” Jess Phillips, 12, who lives about a block away, told the Star Tribune.

    Neil Wackwitz, 15, who was perhaps his closest friend in the neighborhood, also told the newspaper said McLaughlin seemed to withdraw this summer.

    Sullivan said she noticed lately that he didn’t seem to have many other friends. She wondered whether his small size or his acne played a role.

    “Kids would tease him about that,” she said.

    Wackwitz said he and McLaughlin used to play video or computer games or hang out. But lately, McLaughlin usually said he didn’t want to. He also started walking home after school instead of riding the bus.

    Wackwitz said he felt bad but didn’t think anything was seriously wrong. He said McLaughlin never mentioned that anything or anyone was bugging him. In particular, he said, McLaughlin never complained to him that kids at school were picking on him.

    Sullivan said that McLaughlin had mentioned to her that people were picking on him but that he didn’t seem too concerned about it.

    But she said there were signs that something was amiss. During one of their long chats, she recalled, McLaughlin told her that he was being tested this summer for a split-personality disorder. She said he never mentioned it again.

    Others also said that teasing may have been the motive behind the shooting. However…

    If Jason McLaughlin brought a gun to school because he was tired of the teasing, classmates say they can’t figure out why he targeted Seth Barthell and Aaron Rollins.

    Those two boys, according to Richter, were not among the kids who teased McLaughlin.

    “I think his main target was some other kid,” he says.

    In July 2004, McLaughlin pleaded not guilty under the defense that he did not intend to kill Seth Bartell and that his mental state was in question at the time. Previously, a grand jury had determined that Aaron Rollins was shot accidentally by McLaughlin.

    McLaughlin was to be tried as an adult. His attorney appealed, but in November 2004, the appeal was denied. (Log in info)

    And after almost two years, the trial is finally starting to get underway.

    I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

    If anyone has any more information that I missed, please let me know.

  • Blackface

    Blackface

    Vandals Spray Black Paint Over Faces In Confederate Monument:

    I don’t condone vandalism, but I’m sorry, this cracks me up to no end. Isn’t it like rain on your wedding day? 😆

  • Videospiel-Gewaltttigkeit

    Videospiel-Gewaltttigkeit

    Computer games train players to be violent?:

    I guess it’s not just Americans who harp on the alleged links between video games and violence. Now we have a study coming out of Germany from the “Stuff that we pulled out of our ass Department” at the University of Aachen from renowned German scientist Klaus Mathiak which says that video games are training people to be violent. Mein Gott, here we go again…

    Klaus Mathiak, of the University of Aachen, maintains he has discovered for the first time what goes on in players’ heads as a killer character lies in wait on a computer screen.

    Their brains react as if they are treating the encounter as real, says the academic.

    According to Dr Mathiak, when players know violence is coming, the cognitive parts of the brain become more active and during a fight its emotional parts shut down.

    How did Herr Doktor measure these activities?

    According to New Scientist, Dr Mathiak recruited 13 young men who played video games for two hours daily. He asked them to play the game while having their brains scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

    Dr Mathiak studied how brain activity changed during violent interactions.

    I’d be more inclined to believe him if he then dropped the subjects into an actual scenario of impending violence like Iraq or any violent big-city neighborhood, then compared findings. Most of these kids would probably crap their pants if they were in a real situation of violence.

    At least the British are thinking clearly…

    Last night, Mike McClure, director of public education at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said there were individuals who were susceptible to suggestions inherent in video games. But he added: “You would have to say it is a small minority. Most people can distinguish between them as a game and what they would be doing in reality.”

    And that small minority has something wrong with them to begin with.

    And as an added bonus, a follow-up to Rep. Chuck Schumer’s snit over the game “25 to Life”.

    According to the guys at Penny Arcade you can also play as the police. Notice that Chucky boy doesn’t mention that part.

    Instead of worrying about the games themselves, maybe scientists and politicians should worry about the parents that are letting these games into their houses for underage kids to play.

  • Video Game Violence 2005

    Video Game Violence 2005

    Violent game furor:

    Here we go again, folks. Last year, it was GTA: San Andreas. This year it’s a new game made by Eidos called “25 to Life”. This is the first I’ve heard about this game, so let me quote the article…

    “25 to Life,” allows players to attack police with an arsenal of Molotov cocktails, broken bottles and baseball bats. When weapons fail, players make strategic moves using civilians as human shields.

    The game even lets players choose gang colors and create personalized graffiti tags.

    It sounds like a GTA rip off to me. I bet the gameplay will suck. But of course, that’s not the point here. Certain lawmakers have their panties in a wad…

    “It’s the worst in a series of violent and gruesome games that lower the common denominator of decency,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is trying to block the game from hitting stores in September.

    “25 to Life” makes “other controversial games like ‘Grand Theft Auto’ look like ‘Romper Room,’” Schumer said.

    Schumer called on PlayStation manufacturer Sony and Xbox maker Microsoft to cancel their licensing agreements with Eidos. The senator also urged stores and retailers not to stock the game.

    Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, slammed “25 to Life” for its cavalier treatment of murder.

    “It’s outrageous that a company like this would try to desensitize our children,” Lynch said.

    First off, have you noticed that when a politician is usually involved in calling for the censoring of a video game, it’s usually a Democrat?

    Secondly, these are obviously people who have never held a game controller in their life, or at least not since Space Invaders or the Atari 2600.

    Not all video games are aimed towards children anymore, and haven’t been since the dawn of Mortal Kombat back in the early ’90s.

    Lastly, the bigger a deal you make out of these games, the more hype you’re giving them. You’re taking what looks like to be a mediocre game at best, and you’re potentially making it a blockbuster by trying to censor it. People always want what they can’t have.

    If this game ends up in the hands of children, it’s because of irresponsible parents, and I have yet to hear any kind of blame falling on them. Remember kids, censorship is the solution to bad parenting. Or so says the Democrats.

  • Osantowski Verdict Aftermath

    Osantowski Verdict Aftermath

    Michigan teen guilty of making threats to attack school:

    (Log in info) Andrew Osantowski’s defense attorney, Brian Legghio, continues to crack me up…

    Defense attorney Brian Legghio said he plans to file an appeal after the sentencing arguing, among other things, the cache of weapons discovered in Osantowski’s home should have not been admissible as evidence. Prosecutors did not have to prove Osantowski had the capability or the intent to carry out a threat, he said, and called that evidence prejudicial.

    “When you peel that away, all you’re left with is a text message,” said Legghio, who doubted the message alone would have been enough to get a conviction.

    He added that he would “bet my bar card” that the conviction would be overturned on appeal.

    I would love to take that bet. Osantowski pleaded guilty to the stolen weapons charge, so why shouldn’t it have been presented as evidence? Why is it prejudicial if it’s fact?

    What is also very interesting is this quote from Chippewa Valley Superintendent Mark Deldin…

    “There probably would have been some fear in our community if he had gone back home, in our neighborhoods,” Deldin said. “But I think the biggest message that this verdict sends today goes beyond Chippewa Valley Schools. It’s a resounding message that threats of violence and terrorism in our schools will not be tolerated.”

    Emphasis mine.

    That’s a great point. This case should have gotten more media attention than it did. This case should serve as a warning to those who would entertain the thought of attacking their school that this is their fate. I hope the sentencing phase drives home that point as well.

  • Osantowski found guilty

    Osantowski found guilty

    Macomb County teen found guilty of threatening terrorism:

    A jury found Andrew Osantowski guilty of threatening an act of terrorism and using a computer to threaten terrorism. Each charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set to take place on July 11.

  • Arrogance

    Arrogance

    Trial ends for terror suspect:

    This is another article about the Andrew Osantowski trial. It doesn’t provide much more information than already given, but a couple of the paragraphs regarding Andrew Osantowski’s attorney, Brian Legghio, made my jaw drop…

    Legghio, however, voiced some doubt about the authenticity or completeness of McGinty’s record of the chats as submitted to her father; he also likened himself to fictional Atticus Finch for defending a marginal and unpopular client and compared his client to Japanese Americans during World War II or blacks in the old South.

    Legghio said the teen was misguided or a geek, who probably needs therapy. He said Osantowski did not show any intent to coerce civilians or the government.

    “That’s the most important element,” Legghio told the jury in closings. “Otherwise, by God you can just forget your free speech, because you aren’t going to have any left.”

    Emphasis mine.

    Could this guy be any more arrogant? And here I thought doctors were the only ones with God complexes. I guess criminal defense attorneys do too.

  • Osantowski Trial Concludes

    Osantowski Trial Concludes

    Jury weighs terror, firearm charges against teen:

    I guess I watch too much Law & Order. I was expecting a longer trial. The trial for Andrew Osantowski on terror charges ended yesterday, and the jury will deliberate on his fate today. I guess that’s what they mean by your right to a speedy trial. However, the way juries have been acting lately, I’m not getting my hopes up on a conviction.

  • Osantowski claims bullying. I claim bullshit

    Osantowski claims bullying. I claim bullshit

    Teen accused of plotting massacre at high school said he was bullied:

    According to this Associated Press article Andrew Osantowski claims he was bullied in his IM chat with Celia McGinty. In the partial chat transcript that’s been released the only thing he says about bullying is…

    nazi_bot_sadistic:(expletive) bullied…made fun of….pushed….people can get away with murder

    So I call bullshit on the Associated Press. Not to mention the fact that Andrew Osantowski attended Chippewa Valley High School for 10 days before he was arrested. How can you have so much hatred for a school in such a small amount of time? I doubt he got the idea to shoot up a school in just 10 days. This is more telling as why he wanted to shoot up a school…

    “I’m going to bring nightmares back to everyone, roam the land as a ghost still killing people,” Osantowski wrote. “I’ll have followers. I’ll be famous too.”

    Just another mutant.

    Celia McGinty was supposed to have testified today against Osantowski but…

    “She really doesn’t want to see (Osantowski) face-to-face,” assistant Macomb County prosecutor Steve Kaplan said.

    Can you blame her?

    Her father, Sgt. George McGinty, a Washington State University policeman, did testify saying that…

    …his daughter left a printout of Osantowski’s messages with him while he was sleeping. He said he took it to work, read it and asked co-workers to follow-up with Michigan authorities.