“Three victims, random in this kind of way, has a kind of extremeness that leads everyone in the public to be upset about the crime,” Berman said. “It could be a moment of thinking ‘This could be my kids.’ That would lead the public to be more eager that justice gets done.”
BY MICHAEL MUSKAL
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LOS ANGELES — As Chardon High School took steps to return to normal, the Ohio legal system prepared to deal with T.J. Lane, the suspect in this week’s shooting that left three students dead and two injured.
Teachers were back at the suburban school on Wednesday, in preparation for the return of the more than 1,100 high school students later in the week. Grief counselors were on campus and will be available as needed, officials have said.
But as the city, about 30 miles from Cleveland, struggles with its grief over Monday’s shooting, questions remain about what will happen to the suspect. Lane has admitted to firing 10 rounds at random students, prosecutor David Joyce said in court Tuesday. Later, he told reporters that Lane is “someone who is not well” and said the shooting is not about bullying or drugs.
Lane, 17, is currently being held as a juvenile, pending formal charges due by today.
Joyce has said he expects Lane to be treated as an adult and to be charged with three counts of aggravated murder, one for each of the students who has died. Lane could also face other charges involving the gun and knife he was carrying. Hearings have already been scheduled for March.
Because he is a juvenile, Lane will not face the death penalty, according to Douglas Berman, a professor of law at Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the death penalty for anyone who commits a crime while younger than 18 years old.
But Lane could still face a severe sentence, including life in prison with or without parole, if convicted.
Complicating the issue could be Lane’s mental health.
“My sense is that certainly his competency to stand trial or enter a plea will be considered,” Berman said in a telephone interview. But “there is a high standard to have him declared incompetent. … There is a general disinclination to declare the younger offender insane.”
In this type of extreme crime, a high school shooting, “When is the law prepared to say somebody is mad rather than just bad?” Berman asked. “The modern tendency is to be very restrictive.”
Public opinion could also play a role, Berman said. How the crime is perceived could lead to the prosecutor feeling pressure to be tougher.
“Three victims, random in this kind of way, has a kind of extremeness that leads everyone in the public to be upset about the crime,” Berman said. “It could be a moment of thinking ‘This could be my kids.’ That would lead the public to be more eager that justice gets done.”