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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1999)
Page B3 Kinkel Plea K ip K inkel a b a n d o n e d an in sa n ity defense and pleaded guiltyy to m ur d erin g his p a re n ts at h o m e and then k illin g tw o c la ssm a te s in a sh o o tin g ra m p a g e la s t y e a r at S p r i n g f i e l d ’ s T h u r s t o n H ig h S chool. K in k el sa t slu m p ed in a ch a ir an d slo w ly rea d o v e r th e plea to fo u r co u n ts o f m u rd e r an d 25 co u n ts o f a tte m p te d m u rd e r in a c o u rtro o m p a c k e d w ith su rv iv o rs an d v ic tim s ’ fam ily m em b ers. H is p le a ca m e ju s t th ree d a y s b e fo re a trial th a t o ffe re d a c h a n c e to get in sid e the m in d o f a sc h o o l s h o o te r an d o ffe r a p o ssib le “ W h y ” to the b afflin g strin g o f sim ila r sp ree s acro ss th e n atio n . “ T h is is th e best re so lu tio n o f th e c a s e ,” sa id Jo h n W alley , w h o se so n w as w o u n d ed in th e sh o o tin g . “ 1 d o n ’t n eed to u n d e rsta n d w h at he w as th in k in g . Y ou can b ea t y o u r h e a d ag a in st th a t w all a n d y ou w ill go cra zy b ec au se it w as a se n se le ss th in g .” T he 1 7 -y ea r-o ld co u ld g et a life tim e b e h in d b a rs w h e n C irc u it Ju d ge Jack M attiso n se n ten ces him later for the M ay 1998 attack. K inkel to ld in v e stig a to rs ju s t h o u rs afte r h is a rre st th a t he h ad “ no c h o ic e ” b u t to kill a fte r sh am in g his p aren ts by g ettin g e x p e lle d from school. B ecau se he w as ju s t 15 at th e tim e, K inkel n e v e r fac ed th e d ea th p e n alty. B ut h is a tto rn e y s h a d h o p ed to sp a re him a life tim e in p riso n by p ro v in g he w as in sa n e , o r at le ast d istu rb e d to th e p o in t th a t he w as n o t fu lly in c o n tro l o f h is ac tio n s. I f his la w y e rs h ad b ee n su c ce ssfu l, K inkel w o u ld h av e b ee n co n fin e d to a m en tal h o sp ital u n til he w as no lo n g er a d a n g e r to so c iety . B ut late T h u rsd a y n ig h t, su rv iv o rs o f th e sh o oting and v ic tim s’ fam ily m em b ers w ere c a lle d by p ro se c u to rs an d to ld to be in c o u rt to d a y fo r a plea. T he facts o f th e c a se w ere n o t in d isp u te. K in k e l’s ram p a g e b egan M ay 2 0 ,1 9 9 8 , after he w as expelled from sc h o o l fo r h a v in g a sto len p isto l in his lo ck er. H e shot and k illed his p are n ts, te ac h ers B ill and F aith K in k el, an d th e n sp e n t the n ig h t alo n e at ho m e p la n tin g booby trap b o m b s aro u n d th e b o d ie s b e fo re d riv in g to sc h o o l. D re sse d in a long tre n c h c o a t, he w alk e d in to the c a fe te ria ju s t b e fo re c la s s e s b e g a n an d c a lm ly p u lled a ,2 2 -c alib e r se m ia u to m atic rifle from his co a t. F irin g from his hip, he sq u e e z e d o f f 50 ro u n d s in ju s t 90 se co n d s o f te rro r. C la ss m ates B en W a lk e r, 16, an d M ikael N ick o lau so n , 17, d ie d in th e sh o o t ing th a t en d e d w h en se v e ra l b o y s ta ck le d K in k el as he w as try in g to reload. “ Ju st sh o o t m e. S h o o t m e n o w ,” K inkel sa id as he w as w re stle d to the ground. L ater in a ja il interview ro o m , K in k e l lu n g e d a t a d e te c tiv e w ith a k n ife th a t h ad b e e n ta p ed to his leg and b e g g e d p o lic e to k ill him . T h ey fo u n d tw o b u lle ts tap ed to his c h e st, an d he to ld them they w ere sa v ed fo r h im self. P ro se c u tors had lined up one o f the n a tio n ’s m o st so u g h t-a fte r fo re n sic p s y c h ia trists to te stify . Dr. P ark D ietz, w h o has testified a g a in st th e U n a b o m b e r, Je ffre y D ahm er an d w o u ld -b e p resid e n tia l assa ssin Jo h n H in k le y Jr., had a l rea d y re c e iv e d p e rm issio n fo r a p h y sic al ex a m in a tio n o f the te e n ’s b rain. B ut ev e n K in k e l h im s e lf seem ed aw a re o f h is p la c e in the sa d lin e u p o f P a d u c a h , P e a rl, Jo n e sb o ro an d C o n y e rs. A fte r last sp rin g ’s L ittle to n , C o lo ., sh o o tin g that left 15 people dead, an anguished K inkel told a defense psychologist that he blam ed h im self for w hat he saw as a copycat crim e. K inkel had m anaged to convince his parents’ friends that he w as a good kid, but his c lassm ates knew he bragged about building bom bs and torturing anim als and voted him M ost Likely to Start W orld W ar III. D esper ate to control his son, K inkel’s father tried counseling, Prozac and even an attem pt to get him into a N ational G uard unit. “ I had to be 100 percent,” Kinkel told defense psychiatrist O rin Bolstad. “N o one is perfect though. Lots o f tim es, life sucked. W ith my parents, if I d id n 't do the best, I was an em barrassm ent to m y p are n ts." October 6, 1999 (Elje Jlo rtla x tò (ßbßeruer Supreme Court to rule on grandparents’ rights to visit Most states had enacted grandparent- visitation laws by the early 1990s. In 1992, the justices rejected chal lenges to such laws in Kentucky and Wisconsin. But in 1995, the court let stand a state court's ruling that struck down a Georgia law allowing grandpar ents to win access to their grandchildren over parents’ objections. In the Wash ington case, Gary and Jenifer Troxel seek to regain visitation rights to their young granddaughters, Natalie and Isabelle, over the objections o f the girls' mother, TommieGranville Wynn. "W e’re ecstatic that this is going to be heard,” Jenifer Troxel said from the couple’s home. “W e think it’s important to grandparents all over the nation.” A call to W ynn’s residence went unanswered. The girls’ father, Brad Troxel, committed suicide in 1993. are otherwise satisfactory,” the state court said last Dec. 24 in wiping out a Anacortes, Wash., couple’s legal right to see their tw o granddaughters. ”To suggest otherwise would be the logical equivalent o f asserting that the state has the authority to break up stable families and redistribute its infant popu lation to provide each child with the ‘best family,” ’ the state court added. The justices indicated they will hear arguments in the case in January. Their decision is expected by next June. For the second time this month, the court got a head start on its 1999-2000term, which will begin Monday, by granting cases. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who re tu rn ed ho m e T u e sd a y a fte r an 11-day hospital stay during which she underwent colon cancer surgery, ap parently participated in the court action. W A SH IN G TO N - The Suprem e C ourt set the stage Tuesday for an im portant ruling on grandparents’ rights to see their grandchildren even when parents object - a case that could affect laws in all 50 states. The nme justices - six o f them with grandchildren o f their own - agreed to decide whether a state can give visita tion rights to grandparents when, after a divorce or some other family split.the c h ild re n ’s p a re n ts say no. The case involves Washington state, where the state’s highest court ruled that such a law violates parents ’ ‘‘funda mental right” to rear their families with out governmental interference. All other states ha ve similar laws .’’State interven tion to better a child’s quality o f life through third-party visitation is not jus tified where the child’s circumstances BradTtoxelandTommieGranvillewere never married but had two daughters during their relationship. When they separated, Troxel lived with his parents. The girls regularly visited him here. After Troxel’s death, the girls continued see ing their grandparents regularly until their mother limited their visits. In late 1993, the Tioxels went into state court to obtain enforceable visitation rights, and in 1995 they were awarded visitation one w eekend each m onth, one week during the sum m er and four hours on the g irls’ birthdays. W hile G ranville appealed, she m a rrie d K e lly W y n n . H e th en adopted N atalie and Isabelle. A state appeals court and the W ashington Suprem e C ourt ruled against the grandparents even w hile recogniz ing that in som e cases children will be hurt. "T he family entity is the core ele m ent upon w hich m odem civ iliza tion is founded ..A p aren t’s co n sti tutionally protected right to rear his or her children w ithout state inter ference has been recognized as a fundam ental liberty in te r e s t... and also as a fundam ental right derived from the privacy rights inherent in the C onstitution,” the state Suprem e C ourt said. It noted that the W ashington law broadly gave “any person” the right to petition for visitation rights. G ra n d p aren ts on the n a tio n 's highest court include C h ief Justice W illiam H. R ehnquist and Justices Jo h n Paul Stevens, S andra D ay O ’Connor, Antonin Scalia, A nthony M. K e n n e d y a n d G in sb u rg . THIS WEEK S SPECIALS <O. * 88 MAZDA RX7 C O N V r t 5-spd, black, $1500 worth of wheels & tires, loaded, leather. #2415 5-spd, AC, PW, PL, tilt, CC, rich red, i<- ,.,v w/real sheepskin covers. #2341 *85 TOYOTA MR2 Sunroof, 5-spd, AM/FM cassette, AC, rear wing, alloy wheels, cruise, tilt. #2467 90 HONDA CIVIC OX 4-Dr, 5-spd, AC, AM/FM cassette, 16v, new tires, bright red. #2468 '91 TOYOTA TERCEL AM/FM cassette, may wheels, gas saver, pretty blue, new sheepskins. #2469 89 TO YO TA COROLLA GTS Twin cam, 16V. powered sunroof, 5-spd, bra, AC, cruise & tilt, mags, AM/FM cassette. #2057 89 TOYOTA CELICA 88 HONDA ACCORD 2-DR Automatic. 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