Convicted of murder as a teen and now a nurse

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I know of someone who was convicted of murder as a teen. I won't go into details because the case is somewhat famous due to the fact there was a made-for-tv movie. The person in question did their time and is now in their 40's and is a RN. They legally changed their name but because some website had this information posted the new name has been discovered.

My question is how does someone who has a murder conviction become an RN. I know that the person was tried as a juvenile and sentenced as one but don't they have to disclose this information to the BON?

But here's the thing...it IS happening; people who have shown to be productive citizens who willing admit to their crimes may or may not be granted licensure-it is done on a case by case basis, while others who have willingly commit crimes and NEVER get caught are granted licensure and still uphold the standards are working side by side with no one the wiser of said persons actions.

My point is we can have those standards, and we should, but realistically speaking, there are many that slip through the cracks and are upholding the principals of our licensure.

How many perpetrators of heinous crimes do you think work among us?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
An important consideration is that this person was 15 when she committed the crime. Doesn't excuse what she did, but that is the premise of the young offender's act. A 15 year old lacks the insight, maturity and wisdom of a 40 year old.

Unless developmentally delayed, a 15 year old should know right from wrong. I don't know of any world where killing is right and not wrong save self-defense, and even that has repercussions for the person who did the killing (primarily emotionally/psychologically rather than law).

Should those who have been convicted of murder be allowed to become nurses? I don't believe so. There's teenage/youth transgressions and then there's this. A nursing license is a privilege, not a right, and those who have acted with such disregard towards human life don't deserve that privilege.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
How many perpetrators of heinous crimes do you think work among us?

An unknown amount...but if I needed to speculatively quantify it- 1%.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I think if someone is a psycho/sociopath & they have it in them to murder someone it doesn't matter the age, they will murder someone. There are people under age who murder then there are adults who murder.

I agree to this point-and psycho/sociopath can develop at a very young age-it depends on environmental and social factors, or even can be a biological pathology.

I will also point out that most of the public have mental traits and pathologies that, without the right type of culture fostering healthy coping mechanisms can fall prey to those pathologies, hence, they're many who are bright and crafty enough to fall through the cracks of committing psychological breaks while upholding principles of whatever they uphold, including a nursing license.

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So very unreassuring. I suppose the most narcissistic and sociopathic are the best at slipping thru the vetting.

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Way off tangent, but I remember being the immature flirty girl and witnessing two nursing students sleep with married men, one had a wife who was nearing delivery and the other a special needs child (the men were scum of course). Here I was the shallow one (omg I don't know what to wear tonight kind of shallow) but I would never do what they did. On the outside they acted more mature, on the inside they were disgusting.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
Way off tangent, but I remember being the immature flirty girl and witnessing two nursing students sleep with married men, one had a wife who was nearing delivery and the other a special needs child (the men were scum of course). Here I was the shallow one (omg I don't know what to wear tonight kind of shallow) but I would never do what they did. On the outside they acted more mature, on the inside they were disgusting.

Emphasis on "way off."

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
If he's now in his 40s, has had no other crimes or violent offenses, has made himself into a productive member of society and has rehabilitated himself, then I would be okay with it.

I'm curious....for those of you who think she should still be in prison, or should be 'outed' or whatever....how many of you are Christian? Just curious. No need to answer. Just something to think about.

I'm an atheist, and for some reason, the Christian question seems a bit unfair. Although I should be dancing around, appreciative that I'm off the hook?

You've got plenty of Christians spouting anti-gay rhetoric that turn around and are sexual molesters or lurking on Grindr for some action. Those are worthy of being labeled hypocrites. However, a believer doesn't have to be perfect, doesn't have to be always controlled and righteous...they just have to be thoughtful about their own actions and their feelings toward the actions of others. I don't think any Christian's thoughts on this should lead one to label them hypocrites. Especially with the Bible being full of so many freakin' contradictions, no wonder there are so many denominations...

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Emphasis on "way off."

Well yes and no.

A point was being made about not really knowing who's working among us. I don't have any interesting personal examples but it's true that outward appearances and personas don't mean jack when it comes to knowing the morality of your coworkers.

My example that seems pretty out there pertains to the fact that I would have been the one considered untrustworthy while the actual immoral ones flew under the radar.

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I have seen the words "psychopath" and "sociopath" thrown around a few times in these comments, and for those of you who are doing so, I highly encourage that you do some research into what these terms mean - not that I'm trying to patronize, but its actually very interesting (: For instance, some of the key features are these: being very glib, grandiose, and having a general lack of regard for social norms. If the offender were indeed a psychopath, after being released from jail she might have been more apt to couch surf and smooth-talk people into writing her blank checks than to make it all the way through a nursing education and the NCLEX.

Although I'm willing to admit that I might not feel especially comfortable working with, or being in the care of, an ex-con I would like to believe her case is one of the justice system working as it should: a rehabilitation of sorts, where you do your time and learn what it means to be a productive member of society. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall while the BON discussed her case (did they discuss her case? I didn't google the case, I didn't care to).

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

I looked up the difference between psycho vs. socio-paths.

Differences Between a Psychopath vs Sociopath | World of Psychology

I would say she would fall under the psychopath category. She is charming, trustworthy & holding a normal job. She was charming & trustworthy when she murdered the other girl. I wouldn't trust her with any life now.

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To those who say she deserves a shot as a nurse, what about a boy who abducted, raped, and murdered a 5 year old when he was 15 working in peds? You ok with that? (snipped for emphasis)

If what you wrote above was the actual case, heck no! I wouldn't be OK with it. Can't imagine anyone who would be. But this is not what is happening, and it's important to stick to the actual details of THIS case to best discuss THIS case.

"Murder is murder regardless of the circumstances" isn't representative of our system of laws. That's why we have everything from involuntary manslaughter to murder one. Circumstances do matter -- to the future of this person.

She didn't just waltz in and snatch up an RN license beneath anyone's nose. The evidence for that is all the folks struggling with 'criminal' histories and past mistakes (sounding like Josh Duggar here, sorry :p ) who literally run the gauntlet to get their licenses. Whoever facilitated her getting her RN put their butt on the line, I'd think, and to give their "OK", I imagine much went on before getting that OK.

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