Australian Gunned Down in OK by "Bored" Teens

[Coito ergo sum]

The Oklahoma teens who face first-degree murder charges have been named as Chancey Luna, James Edwards and Michael Jones.

But their parents yesterday protested their innocence.

Jennifer Luna, whose son is suspected of firing the fatal shot, claimed her son was at home saying: "My son is not that way. My son is a good kid."

Earlier today, former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has urged Australian tourists to boycott the US in the wake of the shooting murder of the Melbourne baseball star.

Mr Fischer said he was deeply angered by the latest tragedy and said turning our backs on America would help send a stern message about the need for tighter gun control.

Christopher Lane, 22, was randomly gunned down while jogging through the town of Duncan in Oklahoma on Friday afternoon local time.

Mr Fischer, who led Australia's gun control reforms alongside former prime minister John Howard in 1996, said choosing not to travel to the US would help build pressure on the US Congress to finally act.

"Tourists thinking of going to the USA should think twice,'' Mr Fischer said.

"This is the bitter harvest and legacy of the policies of the NRA that even blocked background checks for people buying guns at gunshows.

"People should take this into account before going to the United States.

"I am deeply angry about this because of the callous attitude of the three teenagers (but) it's a sign of the proliferation of guns on the ground in the USA.

"There is a gun for almost every American.''

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/three- ... 6700172461

Meanwhile, Lane's American girlfriend today revealed her heartbreak at losing her "best friend", and parents of the accused protested their innocence.

Sarah Harper, 23, also told the Herald Sun that she didn't know what punishment would be appropriate of the three teenagers, aged 15, 16 and 17 years, accused of Lane's murder.

It comes as Duncan Police Chief Danny Ford said he had secured the confession of the 17-year-old who summoned investigators to his jail cell and claimed he and the younger boys were bored "so they decided to kill somebody".

"He said he was the driver of the car," Chief Ford said.

"They saw Christopher jog by the house they were at, they chose him to be the target, they got in the car, drove up behind him and shot him in the back.

"He said the 16-year-old fired the shot."

The three teenagers are being held in the Stephens County Jail in Duncan.

The trio were due to appear in a local court over the shooting at 1.30pm Monday (4.30am Tuesday AEST), but it has been pushed back a day.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Jason Hicks said the charges were still being reviewed.

The mother of the 16-year-old accused of firing the single bullet from a handgun into Lane's back said she didn't believe her son was involved.

The father of the 15-year-old admitted his son had been in trouble with the law, but described him as a good boy.

Lane, who grew up in Oak Park in Melbourne's north, had only been back in the US for three days after an eight-week break in Australia with Ms Harper.

"I don't want them to have any future that Chris wasn't able to have as well," Ms Harper said of the accused teenagers today.

"It's been pretty rough. It's been hard knowing he was taken so close to home, let alone taken in the way he was. To be pointed out like that …"

Ms Harper said she and Lane had joked about America's soft gun laws before he was shot.

"He wasn't a fan of guns," she said.

She fondly described Lane as a smart, kind and curious guy who would "do anything for anybody".

Ms Harper, also a talented sportswoman, said she and Lane just "meshed together" within weeks of meeting at college in Oklahoma in August 2009.

"It was more of a personality (we had in common), not so much interests. He was intellectual, into world news, and I found that quite boring," she said.

"He really wanted to travel more. He loved the idea of seeing the world."

Two of the accused teens' parents insist they were not involved in the killing.

"That's my baby boy," said the mother of the 16-year-old accused of firing the single bullet from a handgun into the back of Mr Lane.

She doesn't believe her son was involved in the shooting, saying today he was not a member of a gang and definitely not the one who pulled the trigger.

The father of the 15-year-old accused of being in the car admitted his son had been in some previous "kid stuff" trouble with the law, but described him as a good boy who also was not part of a gang.

"I don't think so," the father replied when asked if his son could have been part of the murder.

"Because he's not the type of person. He likes to wrestle. He's into sports."

The two teens have suffered tragic lives, their parents said. The 15-year-old's mother is in jail. The 16-year-old last year dealt with the death of his stepfather and brother.

The parents of the teens sent their condolences to Lane's family in Australia and Ms Harper.

"My prayers go out to them," the father said.

"I have lost several loved ones recently myself. I feel sorry for the individuals and family."

[Collector1337]

I think you got bigger problems than guns on your hands when you have kids who say, "I'm bored, let's kill somebody."

[Coito ergo sum]

Well, that's nothing knew, really. Billie the Kid was 15, 16 or 17 when he killed his first man.

George Stinney was 13 when he murdered 2 girls in the 1920s.

A kid by the name of Jesse Pomeroy started killing kids when he was like 13 years old, in the 1860s,

A 10 or 11 year old girl named Mary Bell murdered a three year old for no reason in the 1950s.

Alexander the Great's first battle was when he was 17 or 18.

King Harald Hardrada of Norway was 15 or 16 when he fought in the Battle of Stiklestad

People kill people, and always have.

[laklak]

The best solution is to do what you'd do with any rabid, vicious animal, just put it down. A quick one to the brainstem and no more problem. Fucking cheap, too, compared to keeping the useless meatsuits in a prison for life.

Of course there will be the inevitable outcry for stricter gun laws, despite the fact that minors are already legally prohibited from possessing handguns in Oklahoma and despite the fact that murder is also illegal. They should find whoever legally owned the gun and charge them with accessory to premeditated murder, if the gun wasn't reported stolen. If some of these asshole parents or relatives were put away for 25 years it might make others think twice before leaving unsecured weapons lying about where shitstains like these three can get to them.

[mistermack]

The best solution is to do what you'd do with any rabid, vicious animal, just put it down. A quick one to the brainstem and no more problem. Fucking cheap, too, compared to keeping the useless meatsuits in a prison for life.

But would you put your own life on the line? You are fully prepared to kill others. Or to have them killed.
But what if the law was that if it turns out that an innocent person was executed, then YOU had to be executed, to atone for it?
Or is it that you're happy to risk other people's lives, but not your own?

[Coito ergo sum]

I think the advocates of stricter gun laws are of the mind that restricting only certain people from owning and carrying, and restricting them only in certain areas, while allowing a huge supply of guns available for trade under the table doesn't really do the job. They want the guns to become unavailable, so that nobody can get them.

Obviously, if there were no guns around, nobody could shoot another person with a gun.

[mistermack]

I think you got bigger problems than guns on your hands when you have kids who say, "I'm bored, let's kill somebody."

Kids plus guns equals trouble. If the guns are there, some kids will give it a go. If there were nuclear weapons lying around, some kids would give them a go.

It's bleedin obvious. That's what kids do. And adults also, to a lesser extent. If it's there, someone will try it out.

[laklak]

The best solution is to do what you'd do with any rabid, vicious animal, just put it down. A quick one to the brainstem and no more problem. Fucking cheap, too, compared to keeping the useless meatsuits in a prison for life.

But would you put your own life on the line? You are fully prepared to kill others. Or to have them killed.
But what if the law was that if it turns out that an innocent person was executed, then YOU had to be executed, to atone for it?
Or is it that you're happy to risk other people's lives, but not your own?

I'm perfectly happy to execute mad dog criminals. Not under our present system, of course. No point in it at all, takes 15 or 20 years and costs millions. I'm certainly not willing to put my own life in jeopardy, because .....wait for it..... I'm not a mad dog criminal. Pretty simple, actually.

The 17 year old confessed and dropped the dime on the other two. If this proves to be true then why should the taxpayer fund their miserable, useless lives for the next 70 years or so? They have already shown, at the tender ages of 15, 16 and 17, that they are not fit to live in any sort of civilized society. They should be euthanized.

That said, I don't support capital punishment under our current judicial system. Life imprisonment with no possibility of parole would be my realistic choice. Meaning NO possibility of ever being let out into society to prey on others, they die in prison. But a man can dream, eh?

[mistermack]

I'm perfectly happy to execute mad dog criminals. Not under our present system, of course. No point in it at all, takes 15 or 20 years and costs millions. I'm certainly not willing to put my own life in jeopardy, because .....wait for it..... I'm not a mad dog criminal. Pretty simple, actually.

So, you refuse to address the fact that, if you have capital punishment, you will kill innocent people, as well as guilty ones?
That's just an intellectual cop-out.

Anyone can say kill the mad-dog criminals. But it's utter bollocks, till you face up to whether you are prepared to pay the price, which is that you will also kill innocent people.

I would personally make it law, that if a jury votes for the death of the person they convicted, and it turns out he was innocent, then the jury members who voted for death are also executed.
That way, they might take the life of others a bit more seriously.

[laklak]

As I said, I don't support capital punishment as currently implemented. Not just because innocent people may be executed, but because it's horrendously expensive and has no deterrent value. However, in a case where there is no possibility the person is innocent and there are aggravating circumstances then I'd absolutely support the death penalty.

In this case there is a confession, which just by itself isn't enough. People have confessed to crimes they didn't commit before. However, if there were multiple confessions, and physical evidence bore out those confessions, then I would volunteer to pull the trigger. They shot down a man in cold blood, for absolutely no reason; the poor babies were bored. That is about the most aggravating of aggravating circumstances I can think of. These people have, by the utterly heinous nature of their crime, forfeited any possibility of mercy, compassion, understanding or sympathy. They are due no more consideration than a rabid dog. I don't care whether they're 15 or 55, there is no possibility that people this fucked up can be rehabilitated. Why does society owe them food, shelter and free TV? Why should any law abiding, decent human being be forced to pay for their upkeep? To put it simply, some people need killing, and if these three are guilty as charged they certainly qualify.

[laklak]

CNN reporting that the two younger suspects will be charged as adults with felony murder in the first degree. The older was charged with use of a vehicle in the discharge of a weapon and accessory after the fact to murder in the first degree. Not sure why there is a discrepancy, but the older is the one doing the talking, so maybe they're cutting him a deal. Cops haven't found the murder weapon yet (.22 handgun) but they did find a shotgun in the car with the serial numbers filed off, pretty good evidence it's stolen.

Scum. Fucking scum.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/20/justice/a ... index.html

[Tero]

I think the advocates of stricter gun laws are of the mind that restricting only certain people from owning and carrying, and restricting them only in certain areas, while allowing a huge supply of guns available for trade under the table doesn't really do the job. They want the guns to become unavailable, so that nobody can get them.

Obviously, if there were no guns around, nobody could shoot another person with a gun.

Good idea! Let's do it!

[pErvinalia]

Sad story this. Don't worry about Tim Fischer. He's a bit of a twat.

What's got me the most is the "bored" thing. Bored people don't kill people. Fucked up people kill people. Not sure how it got to this point, but it's a problem if it really was an act of boredom by sociopaths.

[Boyle]

I remember being 15 and fighting for the hell of it. I was bored. I also remember being very angry and hurt and had a screwed up method of determining right and wrong. This does seem like a case in which the death penalty could be invoked.

I just wanna know what the hell flew through their heads as they followed an innocent man. How did they get to pulling the trigger?

[Jason]

What's wrong with kids today? In my day we just tortured small animals when we got bored.