Convicted of murder as a teen and now a nurse

TheGooch · May 21, 2015

The people who are defending her-I wonder how many of you would feel the way you do now if it had been someone you loved that she murdered. Regardless of her being a functioning member of society I wonder what would happen if someone looked at her the wrong way.

And everything I put out there is public record.

TheGooch · 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?

You make a lot of excuses for her which I don't buy. And yes, she should have been tried as an adult and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole which is more than her victim received. Maybe you're okay with someone who is a loose cannon taking care of sick people but I'm not. And that's the view shared by a lot of people, not just the ones who post here.

It's too bad that she was tried as a juvenile and her records are sealed. The public has a right to know. We're not talking about someone who committed a victimless crime. She murdered someone in cold blood.

TheGooch · May 21, 2015

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

If people read the documents about her they would see that one person on the parole board had serious issues with her being paroled in her early 20's, something about her still having anger management problems. She wasn't a child with an underdeveloped brain then.

guest449786 · May 21, 2015

If it was justified self-defense then the individual would not have been convicted. I don't know how an individual is still permitted to be a nurse after a murder conviction, but they should not be. Regardless of age, or what-if scenario, when you are convicted of murder you should not be permitted to practice as a nurse. Call me old-fashioned, but I would not want a convicted murderer working along side me in the hospital or taking care of me or my family.

macawake, MSN · May 21, 2015

So, can I surmise because she is female, white, and privileged

You can surmise no such thing. Perhaps that's where your mind went, but that thought never crossed my mind.

You can however surmise:

1) Because she was fifteen years old at the time the crime was committed ...... and

2) Neither you nor I are privy to all the facts of the case.

she shouldn't have consequences for murdering another human being in cold blood?

How do you know it was in cold blood? I take "cold blood" to mean intentional, calculated and without feeling/emotion. I don't think we know enough to decide if that indeed was the case. The judge who ruled on the case evidently wasn't convinced that the crime was premeditated.

Hyperbole aside, if we went by this statement it would then be fair to apply that to every teenage murderer in this country.

Courts of law already recognize that there is a difference between juvenile and adult offenders. The sentencing often reflects that.

That's a very strange counterargument in defense of a killer.

I'm not sure why you think I'm defending a killer. I said that she committed a crime and that punishment should follow that crime.

I've interrogated many murderers and violent offenders (young and old). I've met many victims of violent crimes, as well as victim's loved ones. I've testified at many trials. I've read the results of court mandated psychiatric evaluations of violent offenders. I don't think that you should punish children and adolescents the same way as you would an adult. And also, all cases are different. I've done this for long enough to know not to form definitive opinions without all the facts available to me.

Julius Seizure · May 21, 2015

Ok, so has everybody grabbed their torches and pitchforks then? The vigilante justice parade is just about to begin!

Just kidding, kind of. If this is just for discussion of ethics and stuff, thats fine, but if anyone here TRULY believes that this person is lying to the BON and should not be a nurse, then shouldn't they report it or something?

Farawyn · May 21, 2015

The people who are defending her-I wonder how many of you would feel the way you do now if it had been someone you loved that she murdered. Regardless of her being a functioning member of society I wonder what would happen if someone looked at her the wrong way.
And everything I put out there is public record.

This seems personal for you and if it is, I'm truly, truly sorry.

(I hope I'm wrong.)

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · May 21, 2015

This case is interesting, of course. It's amazing and rather disconcerting to see how easy it is to find out information about a person. With just a couple of clicks, I know what the woman first changed her name to, her current married name, where she is licensed, and what city she lives in, and her husband's name.

I think she must be aware that there is no way to keep this secret. I also imagine that her criminal history has been addressed properly or she wouldn't be able to keep her license. People have known her true identity for years; surely someone would have reported her by now, and if there were any legal reasons to pull her license, it would have happened.

It seems she has been completely rehabilitated, since she has gone on to be quite productive and has gotten into no trouble at all. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on her past actions, however, and I can see how arguments can be made on both sides about whether or not one should ever be able to fully walk away from an event like that. I know if I were the victim's parents, I would probably be tempted to be quite bitter about how she was able to go on to lead a good life while my child was dead. And I'm sure there are family members of this nurse who could argue that everyone is entitled to a second chance, and point to her achievements as proof of that.

Sad story altogether.

Angeljho, MSN, NP · May 21, 2015

Call me old-fashioned, but I would not want a convicted murderer working along side me in the hospital or taking care of me or my family.

My thoughts exactly. Leave me and my family out of the sequel to that movie :nono: .

CiaMia, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN, NP · May 21, 2015

What's scary - well, apart from the fact that she now has licensure and is practicing, I can see how that happened logistically/administratively though it makes me feel DEEPLY uneasy - is how easy it is to find her current identity online and run a license check, etc.

Parakeet · May 22, 2015

Okay, I understand the forgiveness point. Yes, Jesus said we should forgive; but that does not always mean we can forget............it means we should not hold it against that person. Yes, if someone murdered one of my family members, would I forgive them because of what I believe? Yes! I am not saying it would not be a life challenge, though.

However, once a person's reputation is ruined, it cannot be restored. Would I want a former murderer or sex offender being my nurse, no matter how reformed they became? Or one for my family? By no means! In this case, I am not sure why she was given her license.

Just my two cents on the matter. :)

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · May 22, 2015

So I just finished watching the movie and while I realize that it is slanted in favor of the killer, at the same time, the girl was fifteen. She did her time and as far as we know, has stayed out of trouble and done something good with her life. She is an example of what the justice system should be doing for juvenile convicts: rehabilitating them, not feeding them to the wolves to come out worse.

As far as I am concerned, she paid her debt to society and society needs to let her move on with her life and not continue to punish her for something she did as a child.