Tag: Ken Bruce

Petitioners ask prosecutor for no plea deal:

There were rumors swirling in Tennessee that Campbell County High shooter Kenny Bartley was going to receive a plea bargain from prosecutors. Bartley is accused of bringing a gun to school and shooting and killing Assistant Principal Ken Bruce, and shooting and injuring Principal Gary Seale and Assistant Principal Jim Pierce. Apparently, the rumors of a plea bargain gained so much ground that a petition drive was started asking the state not to enter into any plea bargains with Bartley. According to attorneys on both sides, no plea agreement has been reached.

Kenneth Bartley pleads not guilty in Campbell County school shootings:

How does this make any sense?

A 14-year-old boy on Friday pleaded innocent in the killing of a high school administrator and the wounding of two others in November.

Kenneth Bartley stood quietly with his head down during an arraignment in Campbell County Criminal Court at Jacksboro. Defense attorney Mike Hatmaker told Judge Shayne Sexton that Bartley was pleading innocent to a seven-count indictment that included first-degree murder.

He shot 3 people, killing one, in front of witnesses and he pleads not guilty? I smell an insanity defense coming.

Kenneth Bartley indicted in Campbell County school shootings:

It’s been a while since we’ve had any news about the Campbell County High shooting, but yesterday a grand jury handed down an indictment against the 14-year-old shooter Kenny Bartley Jr…

The indictment accuses Kenneth Bartley of first-degree murder in the shooting of Assistant Principal Ken Bruce after being called to the office at Campbell County Comprehensive High School.

In the indictment he is also charged with another count of felony murder of Bruce while committing attempted murder on the other two men injured, Principal Gary Seale and Assistant Principal Jim Pierce.

Bartley is charged as an adult, but not eligible for the death penalty.

Court appearance for school shooting suspect postponed:

The hearing for Kenny Bartley, the Campbell County, Tenn. teen charged with shooting three school administrators and killing one, which could have determined if he would be tried as an adult or not, has been postponed.

According to the article, the hearing was postponed because Bartley’s psychological profile was not complete. The new hearing will begin March 30th.

Bartley transfer hearing on Tuesday:

Kenny Bartley, the teen accused of shooting three administrators and killing one at Campbell County High School, will be in court tomorrow, which could determine if he will be tried as an adult or not.

“Under Tennessee law there are certain crimes where a juvenile can be transferred, or placed in the adult justice system. Obviously, homicide or attempted murder would be one of those. A juvenile judge has to look at certain criteria such as the seriousness of the offense.”

Does it get much more serious than murder? If he is tried as a juvenile, then there will be no justice for the victims.

Campbell County school shooting survivor shares story:

One of the surviving victims of the Campbell County High School shooting, Assistant Principal Jim Pierce, decided to share his story with the local media. I’ll just quote the highlights…

“After a little discussion, bang, bang, bang,” Pierce describes what happened. “It was quick.”

Pierce, now recovering at home, says he tackled Bartley after a few shots had been fired.

The next thing he remembers is seeing Bartley tied up.

A teacher peeling Pierce off the floor told him to hang on and keep breathing.

“I know if someone didn’t do something, we were all doomed,” Pierce explained. “I just jumped to grab him, and I think that’s when he shot me.”

The bullet that grazed Pierce’s hand came close to killing him.

“It came through the back of my arm, through my side and it collapsed both my lungs,” he pointed to the scars. “I’ve never experienced that kind of pain before.”

This is the first time in 36 years of teaching Pierce has used his sick days for illness.

Pierce is left wondering why a student whose father was a boyhood friend would want to hurt him.

“We ran around together,” Pierce said of Kenneth, Sr. “I really hadn’t met Kenny Junior until he enrolled him at the high school. He introduced him because we were friends growing up.”

Other than that introduction, Pierce said the two had waved at each other in the hallway.

Both Pierce and Seale will carry bullets forever. Pierce isn’t sure how he feels about having it lodged behind his aorta.

He says he doesn’t have any hard feelings towards the alleged shooter but thinks he does need help.

He’s definitely a bigger man than me.

Mental exam ordered for school shooter:

Ken Bartley Jr. has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation before a judge will decide if he is to be tried as an adult. According to the article, this is standard procedure in trying to decide if a minor should be tried as an adult.

The article had some other interesting information…

Sheriff Ron McClellan said the investigation is continuing, more interviews were being conducted and evidence collected, including Bartley’s home computer.

Asked if a motive has been determined, the sheriff said, “We are getting more details as we go, but we couldn’t release anything on that because of the pending case.”

So still no official motive.

Nod to commenter Jack.

Campbell County school resumes, teen’s hearing delayed:

Suspect Ken Bartley Jr., 14, remained held without bond in a detention center in Knoxville, some 34 miles south, as court officials searched for a judge to hear a prosecutor’s petition to move Bartley’s case into adult court.

Judges Joseph Ayers of Campbell County and Patricia Hess of Anderson County recused themselves because they know the victims. Judge Michael Davis of Morgan County agreed late Monday to preside over the juvenile court hearing.

And according to the article, authorities are still not discussing a motive even though I’ve had several people who claim to be from the Campbell County area say that Ken Bartley allegedly brought the gun to school to sell for drugs. Why he would bring a loaded gun is beyond me if he was just going to sell it.

Anyway, the article also states that Bartley is ineligible for the death penalty under Tennessee state law because he is under 16. I’m on the fence on whether or not he would deserve the death penalty. I’m leaning towards no, since conventional wisdom is leaning towards the fact that this wasn’t premeditated.

However, it remains to be seen if the “gun for drugs” motive is the actual motive or not.

While I’ve been doing entries about Ken Bartley Jr. and the Campbell County High shooting, some people have been saying that Ken Bartley did not intend to shoot Ken Bruce and that they can’t prove intent. These people are either confused or unclear on the word “intent”.

Their main argument is that Ken Bartley did not take the loaded gun to school with the intent of killing Ken Bruce or shooting Gary Seale and Jim Pierce. That may, in fact, be true. However, if when Ken Bartley was approached about the gun, then he decided to raise the gun, aim it at Ken Bruce, and pull the trigger, killing Ken Bruce then he did, in fact, intend to kill Ken Bruce.

What you’re thinking of is premeditation. If Ken Bartley did not take the gun to school with the intent of killing Ken Bruce, then it wasn’t a premeditated killing. However, that doesn’t mean there was no intent.

If rather than going to jail, Ken Bartley decided to shoot his way out of the situation, then that shows intent, In my opinion, the only way to show there was no intent was if the gun discharged accidentally. Since the gun fired repeatedly, striking four different people, I doubt that can be called an accident. Hopefully, I’ve cleared this up for you because that was my intent.