Tag: James Lewerke

Lewerke pleads guilty in slashings:

James Lewerke, the Indiana teen who was arrested for a 2004 slashing attack against his classmates, has pleaded guilty but insane to his charges. Under the plea, he could face a maximum of 10 years. Lewerke was to be tried as an adult when his trial was supposed to start next week. The sentence will be determined on February 23rd. Hopefully, the judge will take leniency on Lewerke because, in my opinion, he is one of the few cases where the suspect is legitimately mentally ill.

Trial Underway for Teenager Who Attacked Classmates:

A trial date has been set for James Lewerke. He’s the Valparaiso, Indiana, teen who attacked his classmates with a machete. His trial is scheduled to start January 8th.

Trial date set in school slashing:

James Lewerke, the Indiana teen who slashed several classmates with a machete, will stand trial in January 2007. Considering the attack took place in November 2004 I wouldn’t exactly call that a speedy trial.

James Lewerke to remain in adult court:

James Lewerke, the Indiana teen accused of slashing 7 of his classmates with a machete, will have his case remain in adult court.

Attorneys representing Lewerke motioned to have his case moved back to juvenile court after a judge ruled that he will be tried as an adult back in May. Previously, Lewerke has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys will be using an insanity defense.

As I mentioned before, I think he actually was insane at the time of the attack, and I think in this case he actually does need psychiatric help.

However, I think he should be tried as an adult because of the viciousness of his attack and if he were to be tried as a juvenile he might be released before any treatment could be completed.

James Lewerke, the 15-year-old from Valparaiso High School in Indiana who slashed several of his classmates, pleaded not guilty in court today to six charges of aggravated battery and one count of criminal recklessness.

Lewerke enters insanity plea:

For those of you who don’t remember, James Lewerke was the kid from Valparaiso High School in Indiana who slashed five of his classmates with a machete and a tree saw.

Luckily, none of the injuries were serious and no one died. As of now, he is being tried as an adult. However, defense attorneys have entered an insanity plea for Lewerke.

You might think I’m going to jump all over the defense attorneys on this one, but you’re wrong. I think that this time it’s more than likely a legitimate defense.

The reason I think that is, first off, I’ve heard no real motive come out of this case. No excuses made by the defense or otherwise. No bullying. No rejections. No previous behavioral problems. The only thing I’ve heard so far is some rumblings that he allegedly heard “voices from God”.

So, I think for once we may have a legitimate case of insanity. I’m not saying that’s 100% true, but with the facts that I have at hand, I don’t doubt it at this time. Also, defense attorneys are trying to get the case moved back to juvenile court.

Valpo teacher talks about stabbing:

There is not a whole lot of information forthcoming from the Valpo school stabbing incident. The only mention of a motive that I’ve found so far comes from this interview with the teacher in the class at the time of the incident.

Police reports later revealed Lewerke believed God directed him to do it because his classmates were “sinners.” While school violence is sometimes traced back to bullying, Dobis said she did not think that was the case. She told police Lewerke was a quiet student who got A’s and B’s and showed no signs of violence.

More on this if I receive anything.

Student Slashes Five Classmates in Indiana:

I waited to do anything on this story because it happened the day before Thanksgiving and I wanted to wait until a possible motive was discussed, but something else has happened to make me comment on this.

For those of you that have not heard 15-year-old, James Lewerke attacked 5 students at Valparaiso High School with a machete and a tree saw. Luckily, none of the injuries were that serious and all those injured have been treated and released.

So far, the only thing the media in Indiana covering this story has talked about was security concerns at Valparaiso High School. I have yet to find one story that tries to address the problem of why James Lewerke did what he did.

This also comes after a kid brought a gun to school that was used in a suicide. While security is a great concern in these issues, why isn’t the reasons behind these incidents being addressed?

Apparently, it’s a question that the local school board needs to address.