Convicted of murder as a teen and now a nurse

Caffeine_IV · May 22, 2015

The lady has already been outed otherwise it wouldn't be so easy to find her name. I found it yesterday in under 3 minutes and there are blogs dedicated to this case.

I admit I got sucked it but I found it interesting to read comments from supposed classmates.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · May 22, 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 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?

No, they do not. Judges will order the record sealed or unsealed. Not all juvenile cases are automatically sealed. Many people incorrectly believe that they are.

You can change your name but you cannot legally change your social security number. A social security number plus your fingerprints is what is used for a background check, assuming that the state had one.

If the record wasn't required to be disclosed, per the judges order, there isn't anything the BON can do about it.

Judges, when those orders are issued, usually make it very clear as to how it will affect that individual's life in the future and what they have to disclose versus not disclose.

My advice to you is to stay out of it.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · May 22, 2015

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.

Unless you have viewed the original court record (which you cannot because she was a juvenile) you don't know what happened.

OCNRN63, RN · May 22, 2015

I worked with a murderer. He served his time and worked hard to get back into the medical field. He made a mistake, he paid his debt to society, 15 years in prison. He acknowledged his debt to the survivors of his victim could never be paid. He was a great coworker and a good Emt. I would let him take care of me, or any of my family. One days mistake, lack of judgement, and burst of anger cost him 15 years of his life. Who am I to tell him he didn't miss enough time, when the justice system says he did. I don't understand this sediment that she can never be punished enough for her crime. It's very two dimensional thinking.

Ask the victim and the victim's family what his "one day's lack of judgement" cost themâ€‹

mbtsab · May 22, 2015

from a patient perspective...I have to trust that the hospital,dr office.etc... has hired stand-up nurses/doctors/..etc...,

but I don't know that for sure, we could be having drug addicts/alcoholics/past rapist/murders taking care of us for all we know... my point is we really don't know what the person has done/is doing in their "off time" or "on time".... its scary

greenerpastures · May 22, 2015

Juvenile records are normally sealed once the person had done their time depending on the state and whether your lawyer was smart enough to make sure that was part of the plea/conviction. Even if you don't change your name, as long as you don't disclose, there really is no way to find out. Unless, in this instance, it's a movie and people who know you put the information out there.

BeachsideRN, ASN · May 22, 2015

No, they do not. Judges will order the record sealed or unsealed. Not all juvenile cases are automatically sealed. Many people incorrectly believe that they are.
You can change your name but you cannot legally change your social security number. A social security number plus your fingerprints is what is used for a background check, assuming that the state had one.
If the record wasn't required to be disclosed, per the judges order, there isn't anything the BON can do about it.
Judges, when those orders are issued, usually make it very clear as to how it will affect that individual's life in the future and what they have to disclose versus not disclose.
My advice to you is to stay out of it.

And in some states sealed/expunged records still have to be reported to the BoN

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · May 22, 2015

Am I the only one who finds this whole thread increasingly creepy?
it started out with, I can't reveal the details, to everyone being able to easily figure out who it is.
Its really interesting to note that at least 2 totally different women have been "identified" on the Internet as the person in question.
i wish everyone would just let it go before some innocent person ends up being publicly named here as the "murderer."

She's already been outed as the murderer on the internet many times over before now. It's not really a secret in the true sense of the word, though perhaps some of her acquaintances don't realize the situation.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · May 22, 2015

And in some states sealed/expunged records still have to be reported to the BoN

I've read the nursing forum on nurses with criminal backgrounds here, and it always confused me a bit about this point. It seems that many states do require all convictions be reported to the BON, even those which have long been expunged, and confused nurses who didn't understand that have had their licenses pulled or been unable to sit for the NCLEX because they were deemed to be "dishonest." Apparently licensing boards can find out about expunged criminal convictions vs. the average employer who does a standard background check.

Libby1987 · May 22, 2015

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 neither Christian nor do I necessarily think she should still be in prison or outed. I haven't looked at s single link nor googled out of curiosity. Based on a teen stabbing another girl to death, whether she had a psychotic break or is pathological, it "bothers" me theoretically for someone like that to be admitted into some professions, specifically nursing. Others include education of minors, law enforcement, adoptive parents..

I would feel the same way for many heinous acts, whether they served their sentences and became productive or not, some privileges should be lost, in my opinion.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 22, 2015

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.

What does Christianity have to do with this thread? Why not all religions?

MrChicagoRN, RN · May 22, 2015

She's already been outed as the murderer on the internet many times over before now. It's not really a secret in the true sense of the word, though perhaps some of her acquaintances don't realize the situation.

As I stated earlier, at least 2 different women have been named as the one,

they can't both be the convicted teen...perhaps neither one is.

Would you want your acquaintances wondering about YOU, thinking that YOU had committed a heinous act?

There is so much conflicting information out there, so many anonymous "experts" who claim first hand knowledge that can't be verified

We don't even know if this woman is actually working as a nurse or not.

Whether a person who has killed can be redeemed. and placed in a position of trust, is a legitimate topic, though I think it's been pretty much exhausted. The rest is just gossip.