Posted on 02/12/2016 10:41:52 AM PST by MarvinStinson
Nehemiah Griego was 15 when he killed five family members at their home
A judge cleared the way Thursday for a New Mexico teenager who shot and killed his parents and three younger siblings to be sentenced as a juvenile and released from state custody by the time he turns 21.
Nehemiah Griego was 15 when he opened fire in his family's home south of Albuquerque, killing his mother as she slept and then his nine-year-old brother and two sisters, ages five and twod.
Griego's father was the last to die. The teen waited in a bathroom and ambushed the gang member turned pastor after he returned home.
Griego pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree murder for killing his parents and three counts of child abuse resulting in death for killing his siblings, ages 9, 5 and 2
'It all points in the same direction,' said Jeffrey Buckels, Griego's public defender. 'He's getting better and deserves a chance.'
Judge John Romero ruled on Griego's treatment after a hearing to determine whether he could be sentenced as a juvenile, which allows his release from state custody in just more than two years. Griego turns 21 in March 2018.
Prosecutor Michelle Pato described the killings as predatory and cold-blooded, with Griego waking his younger brother to show him his mother's body before shooting the 9-year-old too. Griego took a photo of the two victims before shooting his younger sisters in their beds. 'He played with his brother that day knowing he was going to kill him,' Pato said.
Judge Romero said state law called for the hearing and his findings to focus on Griego and his prospects for rehabilitation, not the offense.
A hearing will be held to sentence Griego as a juvenile in three to six weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Sympathy for the poor orphan?
“He killed his parents, judge.”
“Well, dammit, that makes him an orphan and
I can’t put an orphan in the gas chamber!”
The 15 year old, who could be released when he is 21, killed his entire family, father, mother, brother and two sisters, pictured above.
Obviously bad parenting.
His parents should be punished instead of him.
Don’t blame the victim.
Maybe someone will want to adopt him.
Then Mr. Buckels will have no problem with boarding his client in his spare bedroom for the first year or two after his release from incarceration, will he?
This “kid” has had a taste of killing. He’s no longer a human. It’s over.
A judge actually believed that someone of any age who plans and commits the murder of 5 family members can “get better”?
But it is entirely possible that the little bastard won’t survive till age 21 in state custody...
Seems they'd have to do better than that. As a kid, uncontrollable rage at his parents for extreme abuse might be treatable, but also sadistically murdering his little sisters puts him in the "fry 'em" category, to me.
He's a mass murdering sadistic psychopath. Let him out, he'll do it again.
My brother-in-law is a prominent Oncologist in the metro Detroit area and back in the early to mid '90's he was approached by Geoffrey Fieger's law firm to join them as an expert witness on malpractice lawsuits.......he wouldn't have anything to do with them. With that being said, he is occasionally asked to be a witness for malpractice defense teams.
this monster is getting a better defense than his murdered family. The prosecutor had the change to charge this monster as an adult because of the nature of the crime, especially since they have determined that it was premeditated. Shame on the prosecution.
Death penalty: for the judge.
Second to last paragraph, honestly just curdled my stomach.
“A residential supervisor at Sequoyah Lodge, where Griego is undergoing treatment, said the 18-year-old had matured into a role model for other troubled boys, while one teacher described the teen as a thoughtful student despite having expressed racist viewpoints, a fascination with war and Nazi Germany, and the notion of absolute power”.
Sadly, until the judges who make these decisions suffer the consequences, nothing will change.
Many years ago I worked at a “youth center” aka juvenile prison. Had a kid who at 15 with his twin murdered his step father and left his step mother for dead. Because it was a juvenile facility, the philosophy of the time encouraged, strongly encouraged, release after about 3 months—unless the youth in question exhibited problems while locked up. By law he would have to be released on his 18th birthday.
Juvenile justice, at least as it was practiced then, was not to be punishment for crimes, but guidance away from “delinquency”. Many would be surprised at how truly evil a 13 or 14-year-old kid can be—and that rarely changes on his 18th birthday.
I noticed that too.
No way on earth he should be set free that soon. Assuming this boy can recover from what he did he’ll need to be in therapy years after he’s no threat to society, if that is even possible. To commit such a horrendous crime would indicate extreme mental illness. It is very sad.
Being ‘born evil’ is hogwash. Something happened to this boy physically or psychologically or both.
I’m tired of this ‘trying kids as adults’ bs. If they can be tried as adults, what the heck is the point of juvenile laws?
Nehemiah had a 12-year-old girlfriend.
He exchanged text messages and a photograph of his dead mother with the girl on the night of the killings.
http://www.abqjournal.com/164529/news/griegos-give-him-a-second-chance.html
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