At 15, he shot and killed his parents, two classmates at his school, and wounded 25 others. He’s been used as the reason to lock kids up for life ever since.
Highly recommended read. I'm sure I heard about this when it happened but it probably didn't stick in my memory since the Columbine shooting took place around the same time.
I think it's a good thing that mandatory minimum life sentences for juveniles have been ruled unconstitutional but I find it difficult to be too enthusiastic about limiting discretionary sentencing in extraordinary cases like Kinkel's.
This was an amazing read and I agree with Dellwood that it was worth every second of time and attention. It’s so rare to ever hear from a shooter like Kinkel because they’ve usually either shot themselves or been killed by police. To read about his untreated schizophrenia is more than sobering. The telling moment for me was when he said, I love you, Mom, then shot her so many times. In the rare instances when I’ve counseled psychotic clients, there’s little I can offer if they’re not on anti-psychotic medications. When you see the return to near-normalcy when these meds are effective, you have no doubt that schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder. But I also understand the feelings of the survivors who will likely never be the same. Kinkel’s sister was incredible throughout. I’d love to read a follow up story on her. Another stellar read on Readup!
Wow. Compelling to the nth degree. Well worth the 82 minute investment.
This stands out Powerfully Here:
“He just refuses to do what the system wants him to do, and that’s just roll over and be angry and negative. He’s just choosing not to go there.”
As does his sister:
The predictions Kinkel’s sister, Kristin, made at his sentencing hearing 22 years ago have largely come true. “I was 21 years old, grieving the loss of my entire family, my privacy, and my faith in what kinds of things happen to good people, but for me this was perfectly clear. My brother was then, and still is, intelligent, capable, and full of potential and the desire to positively impact the world,” Kristin wrote in an email.
“I imagine your readers might expect me to describe the differences between who he is now and the monster he was portrayed to be in the media, but I can’t because he never was that monster. I think people feel a need to believe he was in order to reconcile what he did, but the sincere truth is that he was then and is now a good and accountable human being who suffers severely from a serious mental illness. The biggest change is external ― that we now know what it is and how to treat it and have been doing so successfully for many years.”
Highly recommended read. I'm sure I heard about this when it happened but it probably didn't stick in my memory since the Columbine shooting took place around the same time.
I think it's a good thing that mandatory minimum life sentences for juveniles have been ruled unconstitutional but I find it difficult to be too enthusiastic about limiting discretionary sentencing in extraordinary cases like Kinkel's.
This was an amazing read and I agree with Dellwood that it was worth every second of time and attention. It’s so rare to ever hear from a shooter like Kinkel because they’ve usually either shot themselves or been killed by police. To read about his untreated schizophrenia is more than sobering. The telling moment for me was when he said, I love you, Mom, then shot her so many times. In the rare instances when I’ve counseled psychotic clients, there’s little I can offer if they’re not on anti-psychotic medications. When you see the return to near-normalcy when these meds are effective, you have no doubt that schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder. But I also understand the feelings of the survivors who will likely never be the same. Kinkel’s sister was incredible throughout. I’d love to read a follow up story on her. Another stellar read on Readup!
Wow. Compelling to the nth degree. Well worth the 82 minute investment.
This stands out Powerfully Here:
As does his sister:
This was a really heavy read for me. I kept thinking of the phrase "hurt people hurt people."