On February of 2012, T.J. Lane walked into a crowded High School Cafeteria near Cleveland, Ohio and murdered three students…and wounded two others before walking out of the school. He consequently was arrested and then tried as an adult. Well, there has been so much debate in the past year regarding gun control legislation and harsher gun laws with the idea that these school shootings may decrease. I myself have done research in this area and have given my own opinions and ideas regarding these heinous acts of violence.
One key notion that I have learned through my research is that not one of these mass shootings are ever completely alike and the weapons of choice have been a multitude of variety…not just automatic or semi automatic as in the Connecticut Elementary Shootings this past December.
Ok…Lets take a look at what happened yesterday when TJ Lane had his sentence hearing in court. When TJ was first arrested, he admitted to the murders, but he never truly gave a legitimate reason for them. A team of advanced medical doctors tried to prove that TJ is not sane and that he suffers from hallucinations and psychosis and fantasies. Well, what happened yesterday should just further prove that there is so much more to these crimes than just the “weapon of choice.”
Yesterday during his sentence hearing, TJ calmly walked into the courtroom and was observed smiling and making obscene gestures in a random act of obscenity towards everyone in the courtroom. After he walked into court, he calmly unbuttoned his blue dress shirt and took it off revealing a T Shirt with the word “KILLER” across his chest. The prosecutor subtly noted that this shirt was similar to the one that the boy wore the day of the murders.
At an early point in the hearing, he swiveled his chair around towards the victims families as well as his own relatives and had a smug smile and out of no where stated,” The hand that pulled the trigger that killed your sons now masturbates to the memory.” and then pointed his middle finger at them and cursed at them insidiously. This act of violence has to show that there is more to this boy than just the murders and his choice of weaponry. TJ Lane is definitely mentally incapacitated. These actions are in line with somebody that has some serious mental issues. For someone to show no remorse like that means that they are not bothered by what they have done.
The important idea to note is that all of these past murders have been committed by people that share this same mental incapacity. I think this should be the overlying factor when investigating these crimes and trying to stop future ones from occurring. Yes, stricter gun laws should make it harder for people to get guns in their hands. But who is to say that these problem children will not turn to some other weapon. I mean, last time I looked you only need “one hand” to commit a murder. I am all for better legislation to control guns in this country and get automatic weapons off of our streets.
However, after doing so much research and reading about these different cases, I think that it is apparent that these acts are caused more by the mental state of the perpetrator than the “weapon” that they chose. I grew up around mental illness my whole life so I do have a better understanding of it than the average “Joe”. I also have saw first hand what mental illness can do to a person as well as a family that has to deal with all of the stressful moments. But C’MON, these people are not just mentally ill. What TJ Lane just did at this hearing was inexplicable. Not only that, it’s unexplainable. What makes someone behave in this manner.
I mean the boy just received 3 consecutive life sentences in prison for murdering three people and leaving two others critically injured for life. Do you think he would have shown just a tad more of remorse for the heinous crimes that he committed. Do you think he would have shown just a tad more respect to the judge in the courtroom hearing his case. I mean, this is like a candidate going into a room for an interview wearing ripped jeans sneakers and a torn shirt! People just don’t act this way normally. And in this setting, I mean the victims families just want closure and instead they get this last reminder. The boy who killed their family members cursing them out and blasphemy towards the dead and the last memory these parents will have will be the killer wearing a shirt that says exactly that “KILLER”.
I think going forward there definitely needs to be more attention paid to people who have mental illness. Not only that, the government needs to spend more money on research and reform for this area of medical concern that completely gets ignored most of the time. Yes, making weapons harder to purchase may limit these crimes but they will not continue to cease. In fact, as this world becomes more violent and “worldly” I believe these instances will continue to happen more often. TJ Lane is just another example of a normal kid gone wrong. He is somehow under Satan’s power and has to be possessed to commit such horrific acts in the courtroom. One could argue That these actions further prove that it’s the mental issue that must take precedence when investigating these acts.
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