Fla. teen jailed for 28 years for killing teacher
( 2001-07-28 09:13 ) (7 )

A 14-year-old Florida boy who shot to death his teacher after being sent home from school early was sentenced on Friday to 28 years in prison in a case that fueled controversy over how juveniles are tried and punished in the United States.

Nathaniel Brazill was tried as an adult and could have faced life behind bars.

But Judge Richard Wennet sentenced him to 28 years in prison on a second-degree murder conviction for shooting teacher Barry Grunow between the eyes at Lake Worth Middle School on May 26, 2000, the last day of the school year.

Brazill was also handed a concurrent five-year sentence for aggravated assault for pointing the gun at another teacher.

The teen-ager's parents expressed relief that Wennet showed leniency in the sentencing.

``The judge pretty much did what he had to do. It's a lot less than we would have expected. We'll live with it,'' the youth's father, Nathaniel Brazill Sr., said outside the court. ''Today we start the healing process.''

His mother, Polly Powell, said: ``I know (the judge) searched himself ... and it was fair. But still, for my son, I have to fight on.''

``I know my son will be coming home some day,'' she added, dabbing tears from her eyes with a tissue.

FIGHT THE SYSTEM

Relatives and supporters said they would fight to challenge a system in which juveniles are tried as adults.

``I will pray for a better system for the next child who has to go through this,'' Powell said.

The Grunow family -- some of whom had asked the judge to order Brazill locked up for life -- left the courthouse quietly. Grunow left a widow, Pam, and two young children.

Later, Pam Grunow's brother, Nick Hlawka, said the sentence was insufficient.

``I can't speak for all of the family but I can tell you that it just wasn't enough time,'' he said.

Wennet said he gave ``some great consideration'' to re-integrating Brazill into the community after he serves his time. He ordered him to serve two years of house arrest and five years of probation upon his release, complete an anger management course and obtain a high school equivalency degree.

He also barred Brazill from having any contact with Grunow's relatives.

Brazill, who faced a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life, seemed relieved, smiling slightly and nudging one of his attorneys after the judge read the sentence.

He told the court on Thursday he was ``very, very sorry'' he killed the man he called his favorite teacher.

SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Brazill was 13 when he shot Grunow. He had been sent home from school early on the last day of class for throwing water balloons. He went back to school with a .25-caliber handgun taken from his grandfather's cookie tin and shot Grunow when the teacher refused to let him speak to friends in the class.

The case attracted wide attention both as an incident of the school violence that has afflicted the United States in recent years and because of the controversy over how juveniles accused of serious crimes are sometimes tried as adults.

In March, another Florida teen tried as an adult, Lionel Tate, 14, was sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of a 6-year-old family friend.

Stephen Harper, a Miami public defender who has represented five children charged as adults with murder, said trying someone so young as an adult flies in the face of scientific research.

The part of the brain that controls cognitive function, impulse control and the sense of risk is not fully developed in early adolescence, he said.

``There seems to be a real disconnect between what science tells us about adolescents ... and how the law is treating them,'' Harper said.

Brazill would have been better off 200 years ago, when the law presumed children younger than 15 lacked the ability to form ``evil intent,'' a necessary condition to punish someone for a crime, he said. ``Nowadays we're less concerned with what the intent was than on the impact of the crime,'' Harper said.

Prosecutor Marc Shiner said the judge did the best he could with ``a horrible, horrible case.''

``The lesson I got out of this is we hope everyone gets to know their kids better ... hug them, love them,'' he added.

Defense attorney Robert Udell said he was thrilled by the verdict but would appeal.

The judge, who gave Brazill credit for 428 days already served, ordered the boy to spend at least the early years of his sentence in a juvenile prison. Brazill still faces charges of soliciting perjury stemming from a letter he wrote to a classmate allegedly encouraging her to change the story she had told police about the shooting.

Nathaniel Brazill Sr., asked by reporters what he would tell his son, said: ``I'll tell him that I love him and I've always loved him. This has been like an open wound for all of us and it's going to take time to heal.''