Ventura County Prosecutor Maeve Fox Now Trying To Smear Lawrence King Killer Brandon McInerney As A "White Supremacist"

Update October 2nd: KTLA Channel 5 reports that Brandon McInerney has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Ventura County authorities are waging an all-out campaign to bury the killer of Lawrence King, Brandon McInerney, by any means necessary. Now Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox is not only trying to portray McInerney as a "white supremacist", but claims a "treasure trove" of white supremacist material found in McInerney's room convinced her to charge McInerney with a hate crime in addition to murder. Full story published October 1st, 2008 in the Ventura County Star.

According to Fox, the 14-year-old McInerney had among his possessions numerous items of white supremacist literature and drawings, including hand-drawn swastikas, references to the 14 Words and the number 88, which is commonly used by white nationalists to represent the words Heil Hitler and Hitler's SS. Fox further stated that the discovery of these items in large part prompted the filing of the hate crime allegation in this case.

However, McInerney's recently-discharged attorney William Quest strongly disagrees. Quest called the prosecution's evidence "vague" and said it was a "stretch" to portray his client as a white supremacist. "His best friends at school were blacks. His best friends at school were Hispanics. We have character references of teachers who are Jewish who will say that it is a stretch to say that very small amounts of drawings and scribbling of a 13- or 14-year-old, to say this guy is a white supremacist", said Quest. In September, Quest filed a motion to gather information on what the prosecution's legal theory is on the hate crime allegation. He said this isn't a hate crime.

"There are certain drawings and scribbles that I think are attributed to my client, a very impressionable young man who was studying Hitler and was writing a paper. He made some drawings of war-time Nazi Germany," said Quest.

Quest also explained that McInerney had a "fascination with war-time Germany of the Hitler youth in a historical context that - without any evidence that he is in any gang, without any (gang) tattoos, without any other evidence - that all of a sudden makes this guy a white supremacist." Quest accused the prosecution of being "very vague and just general in throwing accusations" against his 14-year-old client with very little proof.

According to Quest, McInerney never made any racist comments nor was involved in white supremacist activities. "It's a way for them to justify prosecuting a 14-year-old in this manner without any evidence that he was in a gang, any evidence that he had (gang) tattoos or had racial animus or any activity," said Quest.

Brandon McInerney is being prosecuted as an adult in Ventura County Superior Court, accused of the February shooting death of his classmate Larry King, 15, at E.O. Green School in Oxnard. King had told friends he was gay. McInerney, of Oxnard, faces a sentence of 51 years to life if convicted of all the charges. The murder count carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years to life with no possibility of parole. The gun enhancement carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years with no possibility of parole, followed by a life sentence. The hate-crime enhancement carries a one- to three-year consecutive term. All of it adds up to 51 mandatory minimum years Brandon will serve. He will be in prison until he's at least 65 - if he makes it that far, with all the predators in the California prison system.

The McInerney family can use financial help in defending their son. Click HERE to find out about the Brandon McInerney Defense Fund.

The StolenBoy website references a powerful Ventura County Star editorial published August 3rd, 2008 which refers to Brandon McInerney as a "sacrificial lamb". The editorial points out that had McInerney been born 19 days later, the state of California would by law have been banned from trying him as an adult.

The editorial strongly implies that District Attorney Gregory Totten also decided to try McInerney as an adult in order to make a political statement. With the new revelation that Fox decided to include a hate crime charge solely because McInerney possessed "white supremacist" material, this does appear to be the case. Totten obviously sees this case as a stepping stone to superstardom.

But his stepping stone to superstardom ignores the fact that Lawrence King not only was allowed to wear lipstick, heels, and other women's appurtenances to school, but also repeatedly teased and taunted McInerney, humiliating the 14-year-old in front of his fellow students. There were reports that King’s behavior had caused problems with other boys as well. The school took absolutely no action against King, instead indulging him every step of the way.

But despite all this, now they want to bury McInerney further because they found a "treasure trove of white supremacist" material among his possessions. Does that really make a difference, particularly when all the evidence shows that he did not practice "white supremacy"? Would they be punishing this kid so harshly if he was black or gay? I doubt it.

Brandon McInerney took a human life premeditately. He deserves to go away for a long time. But he does not deserve to go away until he's 65 years old. Let justice be determined solely by the crime, and NOT by politics or by all the dewy-eyed candlelight vigilantes who've demonstrated in favor of their perverted poster-boy, Lawrence King.