Convicted of murder as a teen and now a nurse

pixiestudent2 · May 21, 2015

How does this happen when people with petty convictions have a hard time getting licensed?

I hope none of her patients laugh at her.

TheGooch · May 21, 2015

Is this person a good nurse now? Why do you know or care what she did as a teenager. There is this new word I've been hearing about called forgiveness. Maybe you should look it up? WWJD?

I don't think the person's family has "forgave her" for killing their only daughter in cold blood. In fact, I would imagine they never will.

Easy for someone who has no emotional ties to this case to preach about forgiveness.

I wonder what her victim would be doing now if she hadn't been murdered in cold blood. This POS took her life because she was afraid of being called "weird". Sorry, but I don't care what kind of nurse she is, she still is a horrible human being.

I don't believe in Jesus so what he would do is a irrelevant to me.

TheGooch · May 21, 2015

I don't think she should be a nurse but it appears she has gone of to live a full life.

Which is something her victim was denied. IMO she should have been tried as an adult and rotting away in prison for the rest of her natural life.

Farawyn · May 21, 2015

Is this person a good nurse now? Why do you know or care what she did as a teenager. There is this new word I've been hearing about called forgiveness. Maybe you should look it up? WWJD?

Cool. Next time you or one of your family members are sick, you ask for her. Walk the Walk.

That's what *I* think Jesus would do.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 21, 2015

She was in prison as an adult. I don't understand how she was able to get into a nursing program, license & job without lying.

I wouldn't want a murderer taking care of me!!!

TheGooch · May 21, 2015

She was in prison as an adult. I don't understand how she was able to get into a nursing program, license & job without lying.
I wouldn't want a murderer taking care of me!!!

She also sat on the board of some company and has written several papers for medical publications under her new name. They don't know I would think. I mean, when she went to nursing school and became a nurse she was already married so that's 2 new names. Most people probably wouldn't connect the dots. That's why she is now flying on the internet as someone she really isn't.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 21, 2015

She also sat on the board of some company and has written several papers for medical publications under her new name. They don't know I would think. I mean, when she went to nursing school and became a nurse she was already married so that's 2 new names. Most people probably wouldn't connect the dots. That's why she is now flying on the internet as someone she really isn't.

She should be putting down her old name. Any application I've filled out asks if I have used any other names. She has & she is not listing them. So she is lying to the BON, her employers & the public. If I knew I would inform her boss, but that's just me.

macawake, MSN · May 21, 2015

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 who committed the crime was a she and she did so because she was afraid the person she killed might tell her friends she was weird. She turned herself in a few months later but that was only because the cops told her that the polygraph she took showed she lied. The real names were not used in the movie.

No mitigating circumstances. Like I said, she killed her classmate because she was afraid she would tell her friends she was weird. She stabbed her several times.

It was a made for tv movie in the 90's, the murder happened in the 80's. And no, it wasn't self defense.

Despite initially saying that you won't go into details you certainly went ahead and provided enough of them to make it ridiculously easy to find out which specific case you're referring to.

If you want to find out how a person who's been convicted of murder can become a RN I suspect your chances of getting an answer are probably better on a legal forum or from the BoN, rather than on a nursing forum.

IMO she should have been tried as an adult and rotting away in prison for the rest of her natural life.

I don't know enough about this case to form a definitive opinion about it. What I do know is that the judge rejected the prosecutor's argument for first-degree murder and the teenager was convicted of second-degree murder. This means that the court didn't find that premeditation was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We don't have all the information.

Personally I trust a court of law more than I trust the "court of public opinion". Most of the time the latter is ignorant in legal matters and prone to basing decisions on emotions and without all the facts available.

The girl was fifteen years old when she committed the crime, sixteen when she was sentenced. I don't think it's reasonable to consider a fifteen-year-old, an adult. There is in my opinion a big difference between a fifteen year-old and a twenty-five year-old offender. The frontal lobes, amygdala, the cerebellum and the corpus callosum are physically changing and maturing throughout adolescence. Unless I'm mistaken, our brains do not finish developing until our early 20s.

Because of their not fully developed brains teenagers are more likely to act on impulse and misread social cues and are less likely than adults to think before they act. Surely I'm not the only one who's noticed that a teenagers' prefontal cortex is somewhat different from an adults'?

This teenager committed a crime, no doubt about it. It's a crime with tragic consequences for the victim's loved ones. She should absolutely receive a punishment for it. And she did. And for all we know, it might still be weighing heavily on her mind. I don't agree that that she should rot in jail for the rest of her life.

It's been more than twenty years since she was released. If she hasn't committed a violent crime since, I doubt that she will now. If you don't believe me, do some research on recidivism among homicide offenders and the particular circumstances of her case. From what I understand she has now become a functioning member of society, who works/supports herself and has a family.

What possible good can come from stirring this particular pot?

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 21, 2015

It's also shown that socio- & psychopaths show symptoms early in childhood. Who knows if she did & if she still is.

AdamantiteEnigma · May 21, 2015

Despite initially saying that you won't go into details you certainly went ahead and provided enough of them to make it ridiculously easy to find out which specific case you're referring to.
If you want to find out how a person who's been convicted of murder can become a RN I suspect your chances of getting an answer are probably better on a legal forum or from the BoN, rather than on a nursing forum.
I don't know enough about this case to form a definitive opinion about it. What I do know is that the judge rejected the prosecutor's argument for first-degree murder and the teenager was convicted of second-degree murder. This means that the court didn't find that premeditation was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We don't have all the information.
Personally I trust a court of law more than I trust the "court of public opinion". Most of the time the latter is ignorant in legal matters and prone to basing decisions on emotions and without all the facts available.
The girl was fifteen years old when she committed the crime, sixteen when she was sentenced. I don't think it's reasonable to consider a fifteen-year-old, an adult. There is in my opinion a big difference between a fifteen year-old and a twenty-five year-old offender. The frontal lobes, amygdala, the cerebellum and the corpus callosum are physically changing and maturing throughout adolescence. Unless I'm mistaken, our brains do not finish developing until our early 20s.
Because of their not fully developed brains teenagers are more likely to act on impulse and misread social cues and are less likely than adults to think before they act. Surely I'm not the only one who's noticed that a teenagers' prefontal cortex is somewhat different from an adults'?
This teenager committed a crime, no doubt about it. It's a crime with tragic consequences for the victim's loved ones. She should absolutely receive a punishment for it. And she did. And for all we know, it might still be weighing heavily on her mind. I don't agree that that she should rot in jail for the rest of her life.
It's been more than twenty years since she was released. If she hasn't committed a violent crime since, I doubt that she will now. If you don't believe me, do some research on recidivism among homicide offenders and the particular circumstances of her case. From what I understand she has now become a functioning member of society, who works/supports herself and has a family.
What possible good can come from stirring this particular pot?

Interesting.

So, can I surmise because she is female, white, and privileged she shouldn't have consequences for murdering another human being in cold blood? Should we then do that for all teenage murderers?

Hyperbole aside, if we went by this statement it would then be fair to apply that to every teenage murderer in this country. 7 years, and opportunity to end up in the public trust - because their brain hadn't fully developed yet?

That's a very strange counterargument in defense of a killer. Personally, I'm fine with her changing her identity, even profiting from her story. Rebuilding her life, getting married and having children. No qualms there.

The buck stops however at being in a position of public trust. I am not comfortable with the concept of convicted murderers having access to vulnerable populations.

**emergenceRN17, ASN, BSN, RN** · May 21, 2015

Despite initially saying that you won't go into details you certainly went ahead and provided enough of them to make it ridiculously easy to find out which specific case you're referring to.
If you want to find out how a person who's been convicted of murder can become a RN I suspect your chances of getting an answer are probably better on a legal forum or from the BoN, rather than on a nursing forum.
I don't know enough about this case to form a definitive opinion about it. What I do know is that the judge rejected the prosecutor's argument for first-degree murder and the teenager was convicted of second-degree murder. This means that the court didn't find that premeditation was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We don't have all the information.
Personally I trust a court of law more than I trust the "court of public opinion". Most of the time the latter is ignorant in legal matters and prone to basing decisions on emotions and without all the facts available.
The girl was fifteen years old when she committed the crime, sixteen when she was sentenced. I don't think it's reasonable to consider a fifteen-year-old, an adult. There is in my opinion a big difference between a fifteen year-old and a twenty-five year-old offender. The frontal lobes, amygdala, the cerebellum and the corpus callosum are physically changing and maturing throughout adolescence. Unless I'm mistaken, our brains do not finish developing until our early 20s.
Because of their not fully developed brains teenagers are more likely to act on impulse and misread social cues and are less likely than adults to think before they act. Surely I'm not the only one who's noticed that a teenagers' prefontal cortex is somewhat different from an adults'?
This teenager committed a crime, no doubt about it. It's a crime with tragic consequences for the victim's loved ones. She should absolutely receive a punishment for it. And she did. And for all we know, it might still be weighing heavily on her mind. I don't agree that that she should rot in jail for the rest of her life.
It's been more than twenty years since she was released. If she hasn't committed a violent crime since, I doubt that she will now. If you don't believe me, do some research on recidivism among homicide offenders and the particular circumstances of her case. From what I understand she has now become a functioning member of society, who works/supports herself and has a family.
What possible good can come from stirring this particular pot?

OK... so just because this was more than twenty years ago, this make it ok? Who cares if she has become a functioning member of society? What does the BON state? I bet if she murdered your family member you would be singing a different tune.

esrun2015, MSN, RN · May 21, 2015

If she was convicted as a juvenile, the records would be sealed forever and she does not have to mention it. When she was released she basically had a clean record. She changed her name legally and went on with her life. I don't approve, but this is why she could become a nurse.