In the Aftermath of Rampage Shootings: Is Healing Possible? Hard Lessons from the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and Other Indigenous Peoples
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Authors Diamond, James D.
Publisher The University of Arizona.
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Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/631495 IN THE AFTERMATH OF RAMPAGE SHOOTINGS:
IS HEALING POSSIBLE?
HARD LESSONS FROM THE RED LAKE BAND
OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS AND OTHER INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
J atnes D. Diamond
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the Scientiea Juridicae Doctor Degree (S.J.D.) of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
April, 2015
Table of Contents
List of Tables ...... 4
Declaration ...... 5
Doctoral Approval...... 6
Author's Note ...... 7
Abstract...... ?
Forward ...... 8
Acknowledgements ...... 10
Chapter 1 Introduction ...... 12
Chapter 2 Literature Review and Research Methods ...... 18
Chapter 3 Rampage Murders ...... 31
Chapter 4 When Mass Shooting Occurs On an Indian Reservation ...... 47 Studies In Contrast
Chapter 5 The Typical Aftermath of Rampage Murder ...... 62 The Outpouring of Anger at the Parents And Other Family Members
Chapter 6 Restorative Justice in Indigenous Cultures ...... 74
Chapter 7 Forgiveness ...... 93
2 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Chapter 8 Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence Today ...... 110 How Much Can Be Borrowed?
Chapter 9 Conclusion ...... 126
Appendix I List of Mass Shootings in the U.S., 1982-2013 ...... 131
Appendix II List of International School Shootings, 1925-2011 ...... 134
3 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
List of Tables
Table 1 Red Lake Fatalities ...... 51
Table 2 American Indian Tribes Utilizing Peacemaking ...... 118
4 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Author's Note
James D. Diamond is a candidate for the Doctor of Juridical Science1 at the University Of
Arizona James E. Rogers College Of Law. He obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law
School in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1988 and a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at
Albany Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy in 1981. He is a Teaching Fellow at the James
E. Rogers College of Law and may be contacted [email protected].
Abstract
This study produces insights, ideas and findings which link mass shootings and communal responses in the United States and on Indian reservations. The study compares and contrasts the
aftermath of these tragedies in non-indigenous communities with the responses when the tragedies have occurred in certain American Indian communities. It looks to the roots of the Native American approach in international indigenous historical evidence. The author describes an institutional weakness in the Arlglo-Europeanjudicial model in how it responds to the aftermath of heinous crimes. He explores adaptation of certain practices from indigenous peoples as a method of contributing to healing, closure and reconciliation following heinous criminal behavior. He further explores the possibility of incorporating face-to-face, interpersonal interaction between mass shooting victims, their families, and offenders and their families.
1 Also sometimes referred to in Latin as "Scientiae Juridicae Doctor" and abbreviated as the S.J.D.
7 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Forward
The subject matter of this dissertation is relevant to many academic disciplines, including law,
criminal justice, indigenous studies, anthropology, sociology, history, and psychology. I have an
academic background in law and political science/government. Much of the analysis in this dissertation, however, would have greatly benefitted from a background or training in both sociology and
psychology.
In researching and writing this dissertation I benefit from a nearly thirty year career in criminal justice and litigation. It is worth observing that the very same lack of academic background or training in psychology or sociology also exists among the judges, prosecutors, probation officers and corrections officials who wield power in our courts and criminal justice system. The system hinders their ability to recognize a need for healing in criminal justice and to be successful at accomplishing healing.
Having been a criminal defense attorney for twenty-five years it is also worth noting that the lack of training or education in social work or psychology impairs defense attorneys. Criminal defense attorneys are faced with an array of clients with mental illness, and personality disorders and substance abuse addictions that make defending them a daily challenge. There are many days where the job of defense attorney is more of a social worker and psychologist than lawyer.
What skills does the criminal defense attorney need in order to help the criminal defense client?
Traditional legal education is well suited to train lawyers for the adversarial vertical system of justice discussed in this study. Traditional legal education is less well suited to train lawyers to succeed in horizontal systems and accomplish reconciliation, healing and the "talking things out" suggested here.
Lawyers, generally do not receive a great degree of training in counselling or in-depth interaction with
8 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
clients.2 Skills more commonly taught to future social workers or psychologists would benefit lawyers
involved in the rampage murder cases that are the subject of this study. These skills include empathetic
listening, evaluation, crisis intervention, and referral to experts. 3
The subjects of mental health or mental illness are rarely taught to law students.4 The spotlight
on mass shootings certainly has put this subject on the radar screen for educators. Greater focus on the
subject mental health and mental illness in American law schools is long overdue. Training lawyers to
understand mental illness and mental health will better equip them for careers, and will establish greater
receptivity to therapeutic and restorative justice in the American courts. As law schools adapt to a
changing world and changing profession these observations are worthy of consideration and attention.
2 Brigid Coleman, Lawyers Who Are Also Social Workers: How to Effectively Combine Two Different Disciplines to Better Serve Clients, 7 WASH U. J. L.& POL'Y 131, 139 (2001), see also Paula Galowitz, Collaboration Between Lawyers and Social Workers: Re-Examining the Nature and Potential ofthe Relationship, 67 FORDHAM L. REV. 2123 (1999). 3 Coleman, Id at 139. 4 Richard E. Redding, Why It Is Essential To Teach About Mental Health Issues In Criminal Law, 14 WASH.U. J. L & POL'Y 407, 410 (2004).
9 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to my dissertation committee which was comprised of Robert A. Williams, Jr.,5
who is the Director of the Committee, Marc L. Miller6 and Dr. Raymond D. Austin,7 three dedicated
faculty members at The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.
Robert A. Williams, Jr. is a world renowned scholar on the rights of indigenous peoples and
critical race theory. He is a dogged fighter for the rights of native people worldwide and racial justice.
I'm grateful to Professor Williams for his lessons on the importance of good clear writing. I appreciate
Professor Williams' interest in my research and career. As an aside, Professor Williams reminded me to
never relent when a case or principle is an important one worth fighting for.
Marc L. Miller is the Dean of the Law School. His scholarship in the area of criminal procedure
particularly prosecutorial discretion is widely acclaimed. His support for indigenous legal studies in
Tucson is making an impact worldwide.
Dr. Raymond D. Austin has been a source of inspiration for my focus on the customs and
traditions of indigenous peoples. His contribution to the integration of custom and tradition into modem
tribal law has had a profound impact throughout Indian country in the United States and beyond. Justice
Austin was kind enough to share with me sources he unearthed detailing historical Navajo handling of murder cases. I am grateful for his guidance, mentoring and support.
I am grateful to the other faculty at the Law School's Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program
(IPLP) for their inspiration and support, including Professors S. James Anaya, Robert Hershey, James
5 E. Thomas Sullivan Professor of Law and American Indian Studies and Faculty Director of the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. 6 Dean and Ralph W. Bigby Professor of Law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. 7 Distinguished Jurist In Residence, Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. 10 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Hopkins, and Melissa Tatum. Professor Tatum provided significant guidance in the early phase of my
research.
Carrie Stussie at the IPLP provided much logistical help over the last two years and Alexandra
Delgado was very helpful in library research support.
In 2013-14, I was an attorney at the law firm of Cacace Tusch & Santagata in Stamford,
Connecticut and am grateful to the attorneys and staff there for their support throughout this project.
Finally, I would never have been able to pursue this academic adventure without the day-to-day
support of my partner Marian Salzman. Her work with the victims of Newtown, Connecticut was the
light bulb that went off over my head and the beacon that shined the path to my research.
Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of the innocent victims of mass shootings wherever they have fallen.
11 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Chapter 1
Introduction
Adam Lanza blasted his way through a locked elementary school and into infamy, shattering a
window and the lives of 26 families. What happened in Newtown, Connecticut on a cold December
morning is so disturbing that a campaign to convince the world it was a hoax garnered mass interest.
Self-styled conspiracy theorists, "truthers," claim, essentially, that President Barack Obama staged the
school shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School as a prelude to disarming the United States
citizenry. They posted videos that immediately went viral on Y ouTube and were viewed by many
millions of viewers. 8
The truthers could capture the imagination of the public, in part, because the reality itself was too jarring. 20 year old Adam Lanza dressed himself in all black, put on a pair of fingerless gloves and
drove to an elementary school. At 9:30 am Lanza, armed with three powerful guns, including a military
style assault rifle and enough bullets to kill hundreds of people, shot his way through the front door and
window, bursting into the school. In just ten minutes he killed 20 first graders and 6 teachers or
administrators. His first victim, his mother Nancy Lanza, lay dead in her bed at the family home.
Lanza's last shot was to himself, 28 dead in all.
In counting victims, Nancy Lanza was usually excluded. United States President Barack Obama set the early example in not counting Nancy Lanza as a victim. When the President spoke in Newtown at
8 Hunter Stuart, Sandy Hook Hoax Theories Explained: Why Newtown 'Truther 'Arguments Don't Hold Up, THE HUFFINGTON POST (February 11, 2013), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/11/sandy-hook-hoax-theories explained-debunking-newtown-truther_n_2627233.html (last visited August 9, 2014). 12 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
the memorial service he said, "We gather here in memory of 20 beautiful children and 6 remarkable
adults," deliberately not counting Nancy Lanza.9
Lanza's crime was rather similar to that of Jeffrey Weise, a member of the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa Indians of Northern Minnesota. In 2005 Weise first murdered his grandfather, Daryl Lussier,
and then used at least one of his grandfather's guns to commit 9 murders at the Red Lake High School.
In Red Lake Daryl Lussier was always counted. The Chippewa community promptly held a memorial
service for Lussier in a tribal building. The Red Lake Chippewa community always counted Lussier as
a victim of the massacre. The Red Lake School shooting and the aftermath is covered in greater detail in
Chapter 4.
President Obama may have been the first not to count Nancy Lanza as a victim, but he was not
the last. It is as if the murder did not occur.
The University of Connecticut honored the shooting victims with a ceremony before a men's
basketball game, with 26 students standing at center court holding lighted candles. Officials and victims
family members gathered at the Newtown Town Hall to mark a moment of silence on December 21,
2012. To honor the memory of the victims of the rampage the bells of the nearby Trinity Episcopal
Church were rung in honor of the victims. The bells were wrung 26 times, not 27. In Newtown the
number was always 26.
9 Kevin Sullivan, In Newtown, Nancy Lanza A Subject ofSympathy For Some, Anger For Others, WASHINGTON POST (December 19, 2012), http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-l 9/national/35929348_l _ christmas-trees-first-victim funeral-services (last visited December 9, 2013). 13 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Nancy Lanza was quietly cremated in Haverhill, Massachusetts. A funeral was held about six
months after her death about 180 miles from Newtown in Kingston, New Hampshire. 10 Her sister said
Nancy Lanza's family waited to hold the funeral "out ofrespect for the families of the other victims."11
There is a fair amount of evidence that the reason Nancy Lanza was not counted by many as a victim
was because she was blamed as contributing to the murders or failing to prevent them. The weapons
used by Adam Lanza, without exception, were legally purchased over the years by Nancy Lanza. 12
Seven years before the massacre, Adam Lanza was diagnosed with Asperger' s Disorder and was
described as having significant social impairments."13
A number of the parents of slain Sandy Hook children very clearly held Nancy Lanza responsible.
Nicole Hockley, the mother of the 6-year-old victim, Dylan Hockley, was one of them. "It's clear that he
had mental illness and intervention was not made," she told The New York Daily News. "And there was
not responsible gun ownership, either."14 "There was obviously a breakdown in terms of the parenting
and the structure in that house," said Bill Sherlach, husband of Sandy Hook Elementary school slain
school psychologist Mary Sherlach. 15
10 Alaine Griffin and Josh Kovner, Memorial Service Held For Nancy Lanza, THE HARTFORD COURANT (June I, 2013), http://articles.courant.com/2013-06-01/news/hc-nancy-lanza-memorial-service-0602-20130601 _ 1_ nancy-lanza-adam-lanza peter-lanza (last visited December 9, 2013). II Id 12 Stephen J. Sedensky III, Report ofthe State's Attorney for the Judicial District ofDanbury on the Shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and 36 Yogananda Street, Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012, (November 25, 2013), http://newtownbee.com/files/Sandy_Hook_Final_Report_l_O.pdf(last visited December 9, 2013). 13 Id. at 34. 14 Carol Kuruvilla and Vera Chinese, Families ofNewtown Victims Say Adam Lanza's Mom Shares Blame For Raising A Murderer, N.Y. DAILY NEWS (November 28, 2013), http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/newtown-families blame-adam-lanza-mom-raising-murderer-article-1.1531903 (last visited December 9, 2013 ). is Id
14 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Public opinion in the United States seems to treat Nancy Lanza, "a gun enthusiast who had taught
Adam to shoot,"16 as "an accessory to the crime, rather than its victim." 17 Emily Miller, an editor at the
Washington Times summed up that sentiment, "[W]e can't blame lax gun-control laws, access to mental
health treatment, prescription drugs or video games for Lanza's terrible killing sprees. We can point to a
mother who should have been more aware of how sick her son had become and forced treatment."18
In the case of Adam Lanza the body was claimed by his father, Peter Lanza. What happened
after that has been kept a secret by his father, who says nobody will ever figure out what was done with
his son's body. 19 There are no reports of a funeral.
The enormity of the horror of the mass killing of innocent victims causes victims to search for fault.
The parents and family members of the killers are often targeted with blame, or extreme hatred as either
the cause of the violence or having failed to prevent it. They are treated as pariahs themselves.
This study examines how American society reacts to the horrors of mass shootings. It produces
insights, ideas and findings, which link mass shootings and communal responses in the United States
and on Indian reservations, which is new fodder for the study of both the mindset of the shooters and
how communities heal in the aftermath.
Chapter 3 defines the crisis of mass shootings or rampage murders, as it is referred to and explained
here. Three mass shootings are examined in blow-by-blow detail: Columbine, Virginia Tech and
Newtown.
16 Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning, The Father ofThe Sandy Hook Killer Searches For Answers, THE NEW YORKER (March 7, 2014), 2, httpJ/www.ne\\)'orlcer.com!reporting,2014/03/17/l 403 l 7fa_fact_ solomon?ct.nrentPage=all (last visited March 22, 2014). 11 Id is Id 19 Solomon, supra note 16 at 13. See also Shushanna Walsh, The Location ofAdam Lanza's Body, Like Most Mass Shooters, Is Unknown, ABC News, Goo:l Morning America (December 31, 2012), http://abcnews.go.com/US/location-adam-lanzas-body-mass-shooters unknown/story?id= l 8100476 (last visited December 9, 2013). 15 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Patterns in the aftermath of mass shootings, responses by the community, by victims and their
families are examined in Chapter 5. The chapter includes reports of courtroom testimony of mass
killing victims or their family members. Also included in Chapter 5 are a detailed first-hand account of
the courtroom testimony of family members of a murder victim in a Connecticut murder case as
observed by the author, an expert witness in that case.
The adversarial structure of the American legal system, though, has little room for the healing
process necessary after rampage shootings. With the possibility of civil litigation or criminal convictions
looming, the legal system encourages the silence of anyone who might have answers. The system
protects rights versus solve problems.
The American system of jurisprudence, a form of the Anglican-European system, has been referred
to as a "retributive" system, punishing offenders.20 It has also been described as a "vertical" system of
justice.21 It is a vertical system because it relies upon vertical hierarchies and power. As a system it uses
rank and the coercive power that goes with rank to address conflicts. 22
Many indigenous cultures throughout the world, on the other hand, have long histories of
incorporating community healing into their dispute resolution processes. The indigenous model
employed in select indigenous cultures contrasts the vertical system and is referred to as a "horizontal" justice model.23 This model allows full victim and community participation, treats all participants as
equals, and has an end goal of restoring harmony to the community.
20 HAROLD J. BERMAN, LAW AND REVOLUTION: THE FORMATION OF THE WESTERN LEGAL TRADITION, 183 (1983). 21 ROBERT YAZZIE, Life Comes OfIt, in NAVAJO NATION PEACEMAKING, (Marianne 0. Nielson and James W. Zion eds, 2005),44. 22 Jdat 44. 23 YAZZIE, supra note 21 at 46. 16 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Dispute resolution among the Maori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, is an example of the
horizontal model. Before colonization the Maori employed a "runanga o nga tura," a council which
included elders, representatives of the offenders' family and representatives of the victim's family. 24
Many indigenous cultures have adapted pre-colonization systems of dispute resolution to modem
times. A widely cited example of this is the Navajo Nation, an indigenous tribe in the Southwest of the
United States.25 The Navajo Nation Judicial Branch employs a program called the Peacemaking
Program.26 Navajo Peacemaking along with other modem approaches to restorative justice and
therapeutic justice is described in great detail in Chapter 8.
What lessons can we learn from examining select indigenous cultures around the world and their
history of emphasis on community participation and healing? An examination of the history of
indigenous dispute resolution among a select group of peoples is detailed in Chapter 6.
The recent trend of family members of rampage killers meeting with family members of the
offenders is detailed in Chapter 7, as is the subject of forgiveness, the foundation of forgiveness in
religious belief, and the application of forgiveness to rampage killing.
Can the indigenous traditions studied provide a formula for approaching the aftermath of modem
day mass shootings when they occur outside of native communities? \Vherc is has been found, how can
indigenous traditions of offenders and their families speaking face-to-face with victims and their
families be adapted to modem non-indigenous peoples? \Vhat cultural and social distinctions exist which make adaptation of the indigenous practices cited less likely?
24 Juan Tauri and Allison Morris, Reforming Justice: The Potential ofMaori Processes, 30 THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY, 149,150 (1997). Tauri and Morris loosely translate the "runanga o nga tura," as a council or a court. 25 Id at 46. 26 See The Peacemaking Program of The Navajo Nation, http://www.navajocourts.org/indexpeacemaking.htm (last visited December 9, 2013). 17 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Chapter 2
Literature Review and Research Methods
Literature Review
The academic study of homicide itself is not new and is thorough. Rampage murders and school
shootings, however, are narrower and more specialized social phenomena that have drawn far less
academic attention.
A string of school shootings in the late 1990's brought great public attention to school shootings
and academic research followed, although it is not exhaustive. Academic attention to responses and
the aftermath of rampage killing is almost nonexistent.
James Allen Fox27 and Jack Levin28 have collaborated on a wide array of academic studies of
homicide and "senseless murder," including a text book, "The Will to Kill, Making Sense of
Senseless Murder." 29 The book, a college level text, includes a chapter covering school shootings
and a chapter covering rampage murders. The 2012 edition of the text includes updated and
expanded material covering school shootings.
Fox and Levin's research on rampage killing includes academic journals which have been relied
upon in this study, including their 1998 article, Multiple Homicide: Patterns ofSerial and Mass
Murder. 30 There are a number of other academic journal articles which have included research on
rampage killing, and a number of them are relied upon in this study.
27 James Alan Fox is the Lipman Family Professsor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University. 28 Jack Levin is the Irving and Betty Brudnick Professsor of Sociology and Criminology at Northeastern University. 29 JAMES ALAN FOX, JACK LEVIN AND KENNA QUINET, THE WILL TO KILL, MAKING SENSE OF SENSELESS MURDER, (2012). 30 James Alan Fox & Jack Levin, Multiple Homicide: Patterns ofSerial and Mass Murder, 23 CRIME & JUST. 407,408, 437 (1998). 18 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Two relatively recent text books have been published directly on the subjects of rampage killing
or school shootings. Both text books are important contributions to the study of the relatively recent
social phenomenon and both are relied upon here. They are Katherine S. Newman's 2004 book,
Rampage, The Social Roots ofSchool Shootings,31 and a 2013 compilation by Nils Bockler and his
co-editors, School Shootings, International Research, Case Studies, and Concepts for Prevention. 32
Bockler's compilation provides an excellent sociological conceptual framework into school
shootings. The compilation provides theories, models and empirical findings. Chapter 8 of the
Bockler compilation features an academic article by Mary Ellen O'Toole which includes behavioral
analysis of the Red Lake shootings. 33 O'Toole is a member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of The
United States Federal Bureau oflnvestigation. She did not examine community responses, victim
responses or "the aftermath" of the Red Lake shootings.
Katherine S. Newman's book is a vital academic contribution to the study of school shootings.34
Newman and her collaborators examined school shootings in general, but also participated with a
National Academy of Sciences in-depth qualitative study of lethal school violence. They examined
two incidents in greatest detail, West Paducah, Kentucky and Westside, Arkansas. Newman and her
team spent months in the field interviewing witnesses, victims, family members, and community
members in order to conduct their studies. Rampage includes two chapters on the aftermath: a
chapter called "Blame and Forgiveness," and one entitled "Picking up the Pieces."
31 KATHERINE S. NEWMAN ET AL, RAMPAGE, (2004). 32 BOKLAR, SEEGER, SITZER & HEITMEYER, eds., SCHOOL SHOOTINGS: INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH, CASE STUDIES AND CONCEPTS FOR PREVENTION, (2013). 33 MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, JEFFREY WEISE AND THE SHOOTING AT RED LAKE MINNESOTA HIGH SCHOOL: A BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE, in SCHOOL SHOOTINGS, 178, (Bockler, Seeger, Sitzer and Heitmeyer, eds., 2013). 34 Katherine S. Newman is a Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. 19 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
When covering the details of rampage killings or the aftermath, aside from the academic studies
mentioned above, much of the detailed coverage reported in this study comes from journalistic
accounts in newspapers, magazines and broadcast media.
There have been many books written from a journalistic and non-academic point of view
covering rampage murders. Most offer little new insight into rampage killings and repeat the surface
analysis collected from newspapers and magazine periodicals. An example of the journalistic style of
coverage is the 2013 book, Newtown, written by Matthew Lysiak.35 Lysiak, a reporter for The Daily
News, worked quickly and capitalized on the mass interest in the Newtown tragedy. Lysiak did not
wait for the release of the very thorough official report of the State's Attorney.
A vast array of newspaper, magazine articles, television or radio accounts are relied upon
for the details of rampage shootings documented in Chapter 3. Journalistic reporting that occurs
contemporaneous with rampage killings, however, can be extremely inaccurate-misinformation is
repeated by journalists in the rush to give out information. There are many glaring examples.
In the first hours after Jared Loughner's Tucson, Arizona rampage it was widely reported that
Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was killed. She was not. The New York Times, CNN, Fox News,
and NPR all reported her death. 36 Early reporting about Columbine perpetuated a story of a dark
"Goth" "Trench Coat Mafia," ofloners and outcasts. It was not true.
One important book is the exception to the typically surface level analysis of rampage killings
and a source heavily relied upon in this study for the details of Columbine is Dave Cullen's 2009
35 MATTHEW LYSIAK, NEWTOWN, AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, (2013). 36 Alicia C. Shepard, NPR 's Giffords' Mistake: Re-learning the Lesson OfChecking Sources, National Public Radio, January 11, 2011, uhttp://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/20 l l/01/11/132812196/nprs-giffords-mistake-re-leaming-the-lesson-of checking-sources (last visited November 4, 2014). 20 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
book, Columbine.37 While Cullen was on the scene at Columbine and could have pushed out a fast
pop-culture book, he did not. He worked on the book for ten years and produced a thorough account
with much first-hand reporting.
Cullen's book relies on primary source material, but makes another very important contribution:
it busts many myths previously considered to be truth about Columbine, the offenders and their
motives.
Whenever possible for accurate reporting of rampage murders I have relied upon official reports
or the more thoroughly researched books like Newman's, Bokler's, or Cullen's. Official reports are
an important source for the details. Reports were released by either the government, as in the case of
Newtown,38 or in the case of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the internal investigative report of the
University itself. 39
Details of rampage killings or the aftermath also came from a doctoral dissertation and academic
journal articles. Details revealed in reported trial or appellate cases and actual trial transcripts were
another important source.
Chapter 6, the chapter written about the history of restorative justice in indigenous cultures,
required persistent academic research. The material is not easy to find. There are many studies
published that detail the anthropological history of individual tribes. Methods of dispute resolution is
occasionally included in tribal ethnographies. One limitation of the ethnographies is that they are
usually written by outsiders looking in.
37 DAVE CULLEN, COLUMBINE, (2009). Cullen is a journalist and author who previously contributed to the New York Times, Slate.com and Salon.com. 38 Stephen J. Sedensky III, supra note 12. See also, Final Report of The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, March 6, 2015, http://www.shac.ct.gov/SHAC_Final_Report_3-6-20l5.pdf(Last visited March 25, 2015). 39 Report of The Review Panel, Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech, August 2007.
21 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Traditional methods of resolving indigenous murders cases are rarely written about. Further, the
indigenous experience is more often an oral tradition rather than a written one and as is a guarded
tradition.
The 1941 book, The Cheyenne Way by Karl N. Llewellyn and E. Adamson Hoebel, is an
important but rare example of a detailed case study of how serious crimes were historically treated
by one tribe, The Cheyenne.40 Llewellyn and Hoebel relied heavily upon the research of George Bird
Grinnel, author of The Cheyenne Indians. 41
Llewellyn was an influential and prolific legal scholar whose other work is associated with the
legal realism movement and the drafting of the Uniform Commercial Code. Hoebel was an
anthropologist. In 1935 and 1936 the authors conducted fieldwork and interviews with informants.
Llewellyn and Hoebel studied 53 cases and five of them were murders.
As Llwelellyn and Hoebel studied the traditional Cheyenne legal system, Rennard Strickland
studied the traditional Cherokee legal system. 42
There is a body of literature documenting the legal traditions of the Iroquois. This includes the
many works of William N. Fenton,43 Lewis Henry Morgan's 1851 study, The League of The
Iroquois44 and the relatively more recent Crime and Justice Among The Iroquois Nations by William
B. Newell. 45
4°K.N.LLEWELL YN AND E.ADAMSON HOEBEL, THE CHEYENNE WAY, CONFLICT AND CASE LAW IN PRIMITIVE JURIUSPRUDENCE, (1941 ). 41 GEORGE BIRD GRINNEL, THE CHEYENNE INDIANS (2 VOLUMES, 1923). 42 RENNARD STRICKLAND, FIRE AND THE SPIRITS, (1975). 43 For a good overview of the academic research of the Iroquois by William N. Fenton, see ANTHONY F.C.WALLACE, THE CAREER OF WILLIAM N. FENTON AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF IROQUOIAN STUDIES, in EXTENDING THE RAFTERS: INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO IROQUOIS STUDIES 1 (1984), 44 LEWIS HENRY MORGAN, THE LEAGUE OF THE IROQUOIS, (1851). 45 WILLIAM B. NEWELL, CRIME AND JUSTICE AMONG THE IROQUOIS NATIONS, (1965). 22 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
In 2004 Carrie E. Garrow and Sarah Deer produced a textbook, Tribal Criminal Law and
Procedure, a project of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute and the Tribal Court Clearinghouse. 46
The book is designed to teach criminal law and procedure for those working in the field. It
incorporates and compares both Anglo and American Indian tribal approaches to criminal cases. In
doing so it serves an important function.
Two books written by members of the author's Dissertation Committee are relied upon in
Chapter 6 of this study: Navajo Courts and Navajo Common Law47 by Professor Raymond D.
Austin, and Linking Arms Together, by Professor Robert A. Williams Jr. 48
The purpose of Professor Austin's book is not a case study. It is a unique exercise in taking
indigenous customs and traditions and explaining how they form a template for modem tribal
jurisprudence.
Professor Williams' Linking Arms Together is helpful in understanding the limitations of
academic research in this field, and how the history of indigenous peoples is written, when it is
written at all, largely from the perspective of their colonial conquerors. Notably, Professor Williams
provides historical insight into the mourning rituals common to American Indian communities.
My analysis of the history of dispute resolution among indigenous peoples relied upon scholarly
articles, academic presentations, reports and books. Details of several cases come from reported
American Indian tribal court cases.
46 CARRIE E. GARROW AND SARAH DEER, TRIBAL CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE, (2004). 47 RAYMOND D. AUSTIN, NAVAJO COURTS AND NAVAJO COMMON LAW, (2009). 48 ROBERT A. WILLIAMS JR., LINKING ARMS TOGETHER, AMERICAN INDIAN TREATY VISIONS OF LAW AND PEACE, 1600-1800, (1977). 23 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The subject of "forgiveness" is integral to discussion of the postscript to intentional murder. In the last twenty years or so, the psychological study of forgiveness has expanded rapidly. 49 Until the early
1990's forgiveness had been studied largely by philosophers and theologians. As a result, it was viewed strictly as a philosophical or religious concept. 50 Since the early 1990' s the psychological study of forgiveness has grown quickly. 51
Academic studies of forgiveness encompass many disciplines, particularly in the social sciences.
Legal scholars study the implications of forgiveness for justice, guilt, retribution, and restoration. 52
Among the research, it is the question of when to forgive that been the most persistent. 53
Through the work of several notable scholars including, Robert Enright, Frank Fincham, Michael
McCullough, and Everett Worthington, forgiveness research has come to transcend clinical, counseling, developmental, personality, social, and organizational schools.
A number of theoretical models of forgiveness treatment have been developed and are discussed briefly in Chapter 7. 54 Research groups headed by R.D. Enright (Forgiveness Is a Choice: A Step-by
Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope 55 and E.L. Worthington (Five Steps To
49 For a recent review of the research about forgiveness, see, R. Fehr, M. J. Gelfand & M. Nag, The road to forgiveness: A meta-analytic synthesis of its situational and dispositional correlates, 136 PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 894-914 (2010). 50 D. E. Davis, E. L Worthington, Jr., J. N Hook, & P. C Hill, Research on Religion/Spirituality and Forgiveness: A Meta-Analytic Review, PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY (July 22 2013). 51 R. Fehr et al, supra note 49. 52 Id. 53 Id. 54N. G. Wade, W. T. Hoyt, J.E. M. Kidwell & E. L. Worthington Jr., Efficacy ofPsychotherapeutic Interventions to Promote Forgiveness: A Meta-Analysis. J. OF CONSULTING & CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY (2013). See also Suzanne Freedman, Forgiveness and Reconciliation: The Importance of Understanding How They Differ, 42 Counseling and Values (1998); and F. LUSKIN, FORGIVE FOR LOVE: THE MISSING INGREDIENT FOR A HEAL THY AND LASTING RELATIONSHIP, (2007). 55 R. D. Enright, Forgiveness Is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope: American Psychological Association, (2001 ). 24 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Forgiveness; The Art and Science of Forgiving) have set forth a framework for accomplishing forgiveness. 56
The analysis completed here suggests that further research is needed to assess the benefits of interpersonal, face-to-face interactions in reducing negative effects of heinous criminal victimization and simultaneously producing positive consequences.
In addition to forgiveness, Chapter 7 also discusses the influence of both Jewish and Christian religious and legal philosophy on modem conceptions of forgiveness. The scholarship of Harold J.
Berman made a profound contribution to our understanding of the role of Christian philosophy in the development of Western law.57
There is no lack of material written about Chapter 8's modem trend toward restorative or therapeutic justice; it is heavily documented. There are a number of important contributions in this academic field and they are heavily relied upon in Chapter 8. They include the work of Howard Zehr and John
Braithwaite.
Howard Zehr is a prolific author and early pioneer on the subject of restorative justice. He comes at the field from a religious perspective, as director of the graduate Conflict Transformation Program at
Eastern Mennonite University, where he is Professor of Sociology and Restorative Justice. His 1990 book Changing Lenses, A New Focus For Crime and Justice, was groundbreaking and influential. 58 It has been translated into seven languages; the third edition was published in 2005.59
56 E. L. WORTHINGTON JR, FIVE STEPS TO FORGIVENESS: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FORGIVING, (2001).
57 BERMAN, supra note 20. 58 HOWARD ZEHR, CHANGING LENSES A NEW FOCUS FOR CRIME AND JUSTICE 3d Ed. (2005). 59 See CLIFFORD K. DORNE, RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE UNITED STATES, (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008) 167. Also see DANIEL W. VAN NESS, KAREN HEETDERKS STRONG, RESTORING JUSTICE-AN INTRODUCTION TO RESTORATIVE JUSTICE 4th ed. (2010), 24. 25 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
John Braithwaite is a leading criminologist who has written about the history and roots of
restorative justice along with its modem application.60 His work is largely influential in this field.
His 2002 Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation is heavily relied upon here for a historical
perspective. 61 Braithwaite' s recent Anomie and Violence turns a critical eye to restorative justice in
Indonesia that was effective but not based on "high integrity truth-seeking."62
The more difficult task is making the links between indigenous history and the modem
restorative justice trend. In fact, at least two scholars have been critical of the linkage of the modem
trend to a pre-colonial past. 63 The "origin myth," the concerns of scholars such as Kathleen Daly
and Douglas Sylvester are discussed in Chapter 6. 64
Professor David B. Wexler has been a pioneer in developing therapeutic jurisprudence since the
late 1980's. Wexler is Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology at The University of Arizona
James E. Rogers College of Law. In 2003 he collaborated with fellow law professor, Bruce J.
Winick, to assemble an important compilation of articles providing a roadmap for incorporation of
restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence to the modem courtroom, their Judging in A
Therapeutic Key. 65
Winick is a professor oflaw at the University Of Miami School Of Law. He is a prolific author
on mental health and jurisprudence. Therapeutic Key has had a wide impact on practitioners;
numerous chapters are relied upon here.
60 Braithwaite is Professor of Law at Australian National University in Canberra. 61 JOHN BRAITHWAITE, RESTORATIVE WSTICE AND RESPONSIVE REGULATION (2002) 62 JOHN BRAITWAITE, VALERIE BRAITWAITE, MICHAEL COOKSON, LEAH DUNN, ANOMIE AND VIOLENCE (2010). 63 Kathleen Daly, Restorative Justice: The Real Story, 4 PUNISHMENT & SOC'Y 55 (2002). 64 Douglas Sylvester, Myth in Restorative Justice History, 2003 UTAH L .REV. 471. 65 BRUCE J. WINICK AND DAVID B. WEXLER eds., JUDGING IN A THERAPEUTIC KEY (2003). 26 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Reprinted in Therapeutic Key is the 1999 article, Working With Shame and Anger in Community
Conferencing by University of California Santa Barbara sociologist, Thomas J. Scheff. 66 In it Scheff
lays out a formula for the emotional underpinnings of restoration and reconciliation and how they
occur in a forensic setting.
Although it has been 18 years since it was published, Burt Galaway and Joe Hudson's
1996 Restorative Justice: International Perspectives is an important contribution to international
approaches to restorative justice, with 30 academic articles devoted to theory and practice.67 Article
contributors focus on the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany.
Within Galaway and Hudson's compilation is John Pratt's historical account of the history of
indigenous Maori justice.68
The Navajo Nation itself has valuable guidelines for peacemaking and its official program. In
addition to Professor Austin and articles in Marianne Nielson and James Zion's compilation, Navajo
Nation Peacemaking,69 the Navajo Nation's own directives are quoted extensively in this study.70
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is an excellent resource for peacemaking and
restorative justice for indigenous peoples. 71 Their website and compilation was the source of the
modem American Indian tribal peacemaking data relied upon here.
66 THOMAS J. SCHEFF, WORKING WITH SHAME AND ANGER IN COMMUNITY CONFERENCING in JUDGING IN A THERAPEUTIC KEY, 231, (Winick and Wexler, eds. 2003). 67 JOE HUDSON AND BURT GALA WAY, eds. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES, (Criminal Justice Press, 1996). 68 JOHN PRATT, COLONIZATION POWER AND SILENCE: A HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS JUSTICE IN NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY, in RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES,138 (Galaway and Hudson 1996). 69 MARIANNE 0. NIELSON AND JAMES W. ZION, NAVAJO NATION PEACEMAKING, (2005). 70 Navajo Nation Judicial Branch, Institutional History of HOZ}fOJJ NAAT'AAH, http://www.navajocourts.org/indexpeaceplanops.htm. (last visited June 1, 2014). 71 Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Frequently Asked Questions About Peacemaking, (Last visited June I, 2014 at http://www.narf.org/peacemaking/learn_ more/faq.html). 27 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Bluebook method of citation is used throughout this study.72
Research Methods
This study began with a series of personal observations of the author, an experienced criminal
lawyer, of the postscript of recent rampage killings. The author's close personal and professional ties
to Fairfield County, Connecticut and academic ties to Tucson, Arizona, where two recent rampage
killings occurred made these observations natural: it was hard to look away.
Personal observations of the author about rampage killings led to research of whether instances
had occurred among indigenous communities. When one was discovered, the research revealed a
distinct difference in how offenders and family members were treated.
The distinction of the response to the rampage shooting on the Red Lake Reservation of
the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians pointed the author toward a study researching the historical
traditions of criminal dispute resolution among indigenous peoples around the world.
The methodology therefore utilized a triangulated qualitative research methodology ( original
observations and investigations, third party source materials, and pattern recognition) incorporating
periodicals, textbooks, and legal case analysis, digesting those from a journalistic,
anthropological/sociological, and legal mindset, then creating a paradigm consistent with social
science investigations.
The author's findings are organized around case studies with analysis that incorporates both
traditional legal case reporting and the practices, mores and traditions of indigenous peoples.
72 THE BLUEBOOK, A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION, (Harvard Law Review Association, 19th ed., 2010). 28 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
I did not conduct interviews with human subjects. This does not mean that the author has not had
personal contact with subjects who possessed personal knowledge on the subject matter covered in
this study. The author has met with parents and family members of the Newtown victims, and has
been part of large audiences listening to the victims (or family members) of the Tucson incident.
The author has had many conversations with the chief prosecutor who investigated the Newtown
incident. Even with our coverage here of the Newtown incident, this study does not incorporate any
data which has not been filtered through third-party coverage, in order to be respectful of the
University of Arizona human subjects research guidelines. For good reason, the University requires
a rigorous process when conducting private interviews with indigenous people.
In one instance the author relied wholly on personal observation and trial transcripts: when the
author was an expert witness in a murder trial. 73
This dissertation produces insights, ideas and findings, which link mass shootings and
communal responses in the United States and on Indian reservations, which is new fodder for the
study of both the mindset of the shooters and how communities heal in the aftermath.
This study would benefit from substantial future research and interviews with human subjects
and that is the intention of the author.
The author's research led him down a number of paths that did not find a home in this study, or
were mentioned but not treated with detailed analysis. Three are worth mentioning.
After discovering that the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians paid money to the family of the
offender, Jeffrey Weise, the author sought to research victim compensation, and governmental legal
73 State v. St. Louis, 128 Conn. App.703 (Conn App 2011) cert. denied, 302 Conn. 945, 30 A.3d 1 (2011) and State v. St. Louis, 146 Conn. App. 461 (Conn App 2013). 29 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
definitions of what constitutes a victim for compensation purposes. A good beginning discussion on
the topic of compensation is Kenneth Feinberg's Who Gets What. 74 When rampage killers die,
should their families ofbe eligible for institutional compensation for bereavement counseling and
funerals? I scratch the surface on this important subject and include it in concluding thoughts
discussed in Chapter 9, but the subject is ripe for further academic study.
The second subject not included is the subject of actual criminal prosecution of parents whose
children commit atrocities, the enforcement of parental responsibility laws. I touch on the subject
but, like victim compensation it, too, is a subject for another day.
The third subject not discussed here is the substantial disparity of mass media coverage given to
mass shootings occurring at schools like Columbine and Sandy Hook versus Red Lake and
Marysville, for example. There are a number of explanations for the disparity, one being the desire
and ability of the Red Lake tribe to close off the reservation to the press. A critical race analysis of
the coverage, however, is worthy of academic attention.
The Significance of this Study
This study examines the typical American reaction to the tragedy of rampage killings. It also
examines the interplay between offenders and their families and victims and their families. It reports
an emerging and unreported trend, the desire for some level of reconciliation and healing between
the families of rampage offenders and the families of their victims. It reports a distinct difference in
how some Native American communities treat rampage killers and their families. The author's
research finds a weakness in academic attention to date to the community and judicial responses to
horrific crimes.
74 KENNETH R. FEINBERG, WHO GETS WHAT: FAIR COMPENSATION AFTER TRAGEDY AND, (2012). 30 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
This study then looks to the roots of the Native American approaches cited in international
indigenous historical evidence. The author describes an institutional weakness in the Anglo-European
judicial model in how it responds to the aftermath of heinous crimes. He explores adaptation of certain
practices from indigenous peoples as a method of contributing to healing, closure and reconciliation
following heinous criminal behavior. He further explores the possibility of incorporating face-to-face,
interpersonal interaction between mass shooting victims, their families, and offenders and their families.
In this regard this doctoral dissertation makes a unique contribution to the field of study.
Chapter 3
Rampage Murders
Hardly a week seems to pass in the United States without shocking news of a gunman appearing at a
school or workplace and opening fire at innocent victims. The term which seems to capture this
epidemic is "rampage."75 A rampage is defined by the fact that it involves the attack on multiple parties,
selected almost at random. 76 The killers might start out with an idea of one or more victim, but they typically fire off a barrage that kills and maims many. These attacks usually target whole institutions
such as schools or workplaces rather than individuals. In most instances the killer does not know their
victim and has no relationship with them.
75 See Ben "Ziggy" Williamson, The Gunslinger to the Ivory Tower Came: Should Universities Have a Duty to Prevent Rampage Killings? fnl, 60 Fla. L. REV. 895, 898 (2008). Many terms are used in academic references to describe the same type of occurrence. See also James Alan Fox & Jack Levin, Multiple Homicide: Patterns ofSerial and Mass Murder, 23 Crime & Just. 407,408,437 (1998) (mass murder, spree killing, going berserk, running amok), and Helen Hickey de Haven, The Elephant in the Ivory Tower: Rampages in Higher Education and the Case For Institutional Liability, 35 J.C. & U.L. 503 (2009). 76 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 15. 31 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
A rampage is a mass murder. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably with serial murder, spree
murder,77 or more recently, rampage murder. 78 Mass murder is a single episodic act of violence
occurring at one time and in one place. The number of victims required to classify as a "mass murder"
varies. 79 Some authorities have set the number at three80 victims, while others have defined it as four. 81
For purposes of this paper, I exclude political killings, acts of warfare or terrorism, and killings
committed by more than two actors.
The terms "rampage killings," and "rampage murders" are used interchangeably here, as are "mass
murder" or "mass killing." When the term "shooting" is appropriate it is used, as guns are the primary
weapon in most of these incidents. When the incident occurred at a school, a common but not universal
theme, the term is applied.
Two lists of rampage killings are included in the Appendix. A list of mass shootings ( all categories)
in the United States over the last thirty years (1982-2013) is included in Appendix I. A list of
international school shootings (1925-2011) is included in Appendix II.
The less of a relationship the killer has with the victims, the more likely the victim is completely free of any conceivable bad conduct toward the killer. Recent cases such as Lanza in Newtown,
Connecticut, Jared Lee Loughner in Tucson, Arizona, James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado, and Aaron
Alexis in Washington D.C. are all cases of shooters who had no relationship with their victims. For the country as a whole82 these shootings have set up searching self-examination as only a total shock can. 83
77 Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes, Understanding Mass Murder: A Starting Point, 56 FED. PROBATION 53 (1992). 78 See Fox, et al, supra note 29 at 408,437. 79 Id, 53. 80 Ronald M. Holmes and J. Deberger, Profiles in Terror; The Serial Murderer, FED. PROBATION 49(3) 29-34. 1988. 81 R. Hazelwood and J. Douglas, The Lust Murder, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 49(4) 1-8. 1980. 82 The focus of this paper is on mass shootings primarily in the United States although they occur throughout the world. 83 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 14. 32 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The rampages pose more questions than answers. Americans struggle to determine what causes the
tragic rampages and why they seem to occur with great frequency. Are we no longer able to keep
ourselves and our children safe in our communities? Are there no such things as safe places, like
schools, movie theaters or shopping malls? Is there more mental illness than there was before and is it
going untreated? Are powerful weapons so commonplace that we are no longer surprised when they are
used here at home to mow down innocent people? Were there warning signs exhibited by the killers that
were ignored?
So often with rampage killing, society itself is the target. The school, the factory, the mall itself is
where the rage is focused. Pain and hurt is felt across the greater community. It is felt nationally or even
internationally.
Having defined our terms, we discuss how the adversarial structure of the American legal system
leaves little room for the healing process necessary after rampage murders. Before we examine the
aftermath we review in detail exactly what transpired in three recent and well known school rampages in
the United States.
Rampage Shootings in the School Setting:
Three Non-indigenous Cases
1. Columbine High School, Jefferson County, Colorado
It is referred to with one word: "Columbine." It is a word that evokes strong reaction. Eric Harris and
Dylan Klebold referred to it with two words: "Judgment Day." 84 Courtesy oflive television coverage
84 CULLEN, supra note 37 at 32. 33 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
the world witnessed the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School shootings in real time. The images were
shocking.
Columbine High School is located in Jefferson County, Colorado. Although it is typically reported
as being in Littleton, Colorado, the school actually sits about a mile outside the City limits and is part of
the Jefferson County public school system.
Somehow, without ever alerting their parents, teachers, friends or the local police, for nearly two
years high school students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, plotted and schemed murderous
mayhem. 85 They barely hid their murderous intentions. In their bedroom closets they assembled a vast
arsenal of guns and bombs.
Harris and Klebold planned a military style attack designed to out-do Timothy McVeigh, the man
who killed 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. 86 If
their scheme worked as planned the two would have achieved their objectives: many hundreds would
have died.
The bombs were made with typical barbeque grill propane tanks anybody could purchase at any
supermarket in America, and other ingredients. 87 Harris found the design for the bombs on a website,
"The Anarchist Cookbook." 88 The propane tanks were twenty-pound tanks the two obtained in their neighborhood. One design of bombs used an aerosol can as a detonator wired to a nostalgic alarm clock
used as a timer, including the old-fashioned bell on top. The propane tanks were connected to gasoline cans, nails and BB' s attached as shrapnel.
85 Id at 359. 86 Id at 32. According to Cullen Eric Harris bragged in his journal about killing more people than Mc Veigh killed. 87 Id 87 Id 88 Id
34 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The scheme had several phases. The first phase would be to first detonate two "decoy" bombs in a
neighborhood park so to draw police away from the High School. 89 Klebold and Harris would then
nonchalantly walk into the school lugging in heavy duffel bags filled with the propane and gasoline
bombs. One set of bombs would be placed in the school outdoor "commons" filled with students. The
third set would be set to explode in the school cafeteria at a time when it was filled with students eating
lunch.
The boys planned for the two sets of bombs to set the school in a fiery blaze and instill mass
confusion and chaos. More strategically they were intended to send students and teachers fleeing for the
exits and the parking lots. Harris and Klebold planned to place themselves in two strategic locations in
the parking lot- at two of the three main school exits, armed with powerful guns literally mow down
fellow high school students and adults as they came running out the doors.
Harris and Klebold planned to gear up in infantry style clothing, with web harnessing to allow them
to attach ammunition and explosives to their bodies. They planned to each use two guns. Dylan Klebold
was going to use an Intratec TEC-DC9 semiautomatic handgun and a shotgun to do his shooting.90 Eric
Harris had a Hi-Point 9mm carbine rifle and a shotgun.91 Each carrying a backpack and duffel bag the
two would also carry in some eighty pounds of explosives, including pipe bombs and Molotov cocktail
style bombs.
On the morning of April 20 1997, Klebold and Harris left their homes, their parents having no idea what mayhem they had conceived for the day.
s9 Id. 90 Id. at 33. 91 Id.
35 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Fortunately for the students and teachers of Columbine High School not one of the homemade bombs and detonators worked as planned. First, the decoy bombs in the park only partially detonated, producing a bang and a grass fire, not the ball of fire and smoke envisioned by the two conspirators. 92
The boys entered the crowded school and placed the bomb laden duffle bags in the commons and cafeteria as planned. They literally walked past hundreds of students, faculty and staff placing down the deadly bombs. Not a single person noticed anything awry. Harris and Klebold went to their two cars in the parking lot and suited up as planned, strapping guns to their bodies.
When the sets of propane and gasoline bombs in the commons and cafeteria did not go off as planned Harris and Klebold came together outside in the parking lot and grabbed their guns. Students had been picnicking outside, or exiting the school doors. Harris and Klebold started shooting at the students outside and throwing pipe bombs in their direction. At that time two students were killed outside.93
Harris and Klebold then went into the school, walking through the halls. Their spree is captured on surveillance cameras. Harris and Klebold next shot students in the cafeteria and the library, throwing pipe bombs down the halls. They killed ten students in the library. 94
Police and television station camera crews flocked to the high school and within twenty-eight minutes television stations went live with the scene of the mayhem. Shockingly, students who remained in classrooms actually watched the live coverage on classroom televisions. Inside, fires were burning, fire alarms were ringing and sprinklers were spraying water. It was a war zone.
92 Id. at 44. 93 Gina Lamb, Times Topics, Columbine High School, N.Y. TIMES, Updated April 17, 2008, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/columbine_high_ school/index.html (last visited May 2, 2014). 94 Id.
36 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The world watched on television as Patrick Ireland, a severely wounded and partially paralyzed 17-
year old wounded student, managed to climb out of a classroom window. CNN spoke live to another
student on his cell phone as he described the scene inside-all while Harris and Klebold continued their
assault.95 Bodies lay dead or wounded outside and throughout the school building while hundreds of
students hid in classrooms and closets. Police begged the television stations to stop broadcasting the
scene.
As students flocked out of the school in horror they were interviewed on television, and many were
eager to speak. Reunions with parents, too, were broadcast live.
Harris and Klebold did not die in a shoot-out with police, or even at the last second before being
captured. All alone in a quiet spot in the library, Harris and Klebold used their own guns to commit
suicide with self-inflicted fatal shots to their heads. 96 It was three hours before police found their
bodies.97
Police processed the interior of the school as a bomb scene for an entire day, surrounding the
perimeter of the school in police tape. Names of deceased students were not released to parents. During this day of unimaginable terror, parents of missing children were given no information. Bodies lay dead
outside and inside the school.
One boy, Danny Rohrbough, 15, lay dead on the sidewalk in a pool of blood for twenty-eight hours.
His dead body was visible to the public and to the news media. A friend telephoned the boy's father and
95 CULLEN, supra note 37 at 67. 96 Id. at 353. 91 Id.
37 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
warned him that there was a photo in the morning Rocky Morning News of a boy laying "motionless" in
a pool of blood on the sidewalk. 98
In all, thirteen were killed by Harris and Klebold, twelve students and one teacher.99 The two
suicides of the killers made the death toll fifteen. 100 Twenty-four students were wounded, several
permanently disabled. 101
The viewing live on television of this horrific spectacle and the terror caused shockwaves throughout
the world. Whether the stereotype is fitting or not, Littletown, Colorado appeared to Americans to be the last place they would expect to witness mass murder. As such, Columbine became a tremendous media story. It was the number one story of 1999 on the Cable News Network (CNN) and the seventh highest media event of the 1990' s. 102 Sixty-eight percent of Americans closely followed the Columbine news story.
The dramatic nature of the events of Columbine led to the high level of media coverage. It became a
"defining event" for journalists. 103 Journalists had never experienced an event like Columbine before.
98 Id. at 102. 99 Here is a list of the victims who died at the hands ofKlebold and Harris: Cassie Bemall, 17, Steven Curnow, 14, Corey Depooter, 17,Kelly Fleming, 16, Matthew Kechter, 16, Daniel Mauser, 15, Daniel Rohrbough, 15, Rachel Scott, 17,Isaiah Shoels, 18,John Tomlin, 16, Lauren Townsend, 18, Kyle Valasquez, 16, William "Dave" Sanders, 47. Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts, CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts/ (last visited May 2, 2014). 100 Lamb, supra, note 95. 101 Susan Donaldson James, Columbine Shootings JO Years Later: Students, Teacher Still Haunted by Post-Traumatic Stress"ABC News (April 13, 2009), http://abcnews.go.com/Hea1th/story?id=7300782&page=l#.Ua4zCuuXxTA (last visited May 2, 2014). 102 Glenn W. Muschert, Media and Massacre: The Social Construction ofthe Columbine Story. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder. 2002, Unpublished, 96-97, as cited in Glenn W. Muschert, Frame-changing In The Media Coverage ofa School Shooting: The Rise ofColumbine as a National Concern, 46 THE SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL 165 (2009), http://www 15. uta.fi/arkisto/aktk/projects/sta/Muschert_ 2009_Frame-changing-in-a-Media-Coverage of-School-Shooting.pdf (last visited May 2, 2014). 103 Id. at 165. 38 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Further, it came to symbolize the school shooting crisis, and to a lesser extent, the juvenile crime
problem as a whole. 104
With the vast media coverage and influence, it is not surprising that Columbine has played an
important role in influencing school shootings that followed it. In September 2006 Brian Draper and
Tory Adamcik killed Cassie Jo Stoddart in Boise Idaho. Draper was obsessed with Columbine and he
and Adamcik warned people that they were going to commit a "Columbine-like" school shooting. 105
In a videotape mailed to NBC News, Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech college student who killed thirty-two people in 2007 referred to Klebold and Harris as "martyrs."106
The official report of State's Attorney investigating the Newtown, Connecticut Sandy Hook
Elementary School of murders reports that Adam Lanza "had an obsession with mass murders, in particular the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado."107
A recently as April 2014, a copycat scheme was discovered and foiled in Minnesota, planned to coincide with the fifteenth anniversary of Columbine. John LeDue, a 17 year old high school student in
Waseca, Minnesota stockpiled guns and bomb making materials at his home and a storage facility. Like
Klebold and Harris, he planned a "decoy" event to distract police and like them he planned to detonate bombs in the cafeteria. 108 A neighbor who observed him walking through her yard with large bags called police. Authorities arrested LeDue before he could stage his Columbine-like tragedy.
Thus we now tum our attention to Virginia Tech.
104 Jd. 105 Stoddart v. Pocatello School Dist. # 25, 239 P.3d 784 (2010). 106 "Shooter: You Have Blood On Your Hands," CNN.com, (April 18, 2007), htip://edition.cnn.com/2007 /US/04/18/vtech.nbc/ (last visited May 2, 2014). 107 Sedensky, supra note 12 at 3. 108 Pat Pheifer, Waseca Teen Accused in School Shooting Plot Had Been Planning For Months, STAR TRIBUNE, (May 2, 2014), htip://www.startribune.com/local/257505631.html (last visited May 2, 2014). 39 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
2. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia109
Virginia Tech University is a state university located in the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia.
Blacksburg is located in Montgomery County in the New River Valley and is 38 miles southwest of
Roanoke.
The university is a historic land-grant institution that currently enrolls about 30,000 students on a
sprawling 2,600 acre campus of 135 buildings. 110
Seung Hui Cho, born in Seoul South Korea, moved with his family to Maryland, U.S. in 1992. As early as 1999 as an eight year-old middle school student, teachers noted suicidal and homicidal ideations in school writings and references to Columbine. 111
Cho entered Virginia Tech in 2003 as a Business Information Systems major. In 2005 problems begin to surface and an English professor noted a concern about a trend of violence in his writing.
Numerous complaints were made about him from females. Cho was treated for mental health in 2005 and 2006. In spring, 2006 Cho wrote a paper for a Creative Writing class about a student who hated his fellow students and planned to kill the students and himself.
From February to April 2007 Cho, then 23 and an English major, purchased numerous guns and ammunition. He ordered on-line a .22 caliber Walther P22 handgun and picked it up later at a pawn shop across the street from the university. He bought a 9mm Glock-19 handgun at Roanoke Firearms. He purchased the ammunition for the guns at Walmart, Dicks Sporting Goods and on eBay. 112
109 The actual name of this school is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. See https://www.vt.edu/. 110 Virginia Tech, https://www.vt.edu/ (last visited May 3, 2014). 111 Report of The Review Panel, supra note 39 at 21. 112 Id. at 24. 40 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Cho planned his rampage and assembled a package intended for the news media. In the package
were photographs of himself holding guns, an 1,800 word "diatribe," videotaped material of himself
expressing his rage, resentment and a desire to get even with his "oppressors."113
Cho committed his murders in the early morning hours of April 16, 2007 moving from a dormitory
residence to classrooms in the engineering building. He started at about 7 :00 am at the West Ambler
Johnston residence hall where he shot student Emily Hilscher in her dorm room. 114 A Residential
Assistant (RA), Ryan Clark, whose room was next door, likely came to investigate the noise. Cho shot
him next and he died from the gunshot. The Wall Street Journal reports that Hilscher died three hours
after the shooting and that her family was not notified of her shooting until after she died. 115 There are
no known links between Hilscher and Cho. 116
Cho next went to the Blacksburg post office where he mailed the media package to NBC News in
New York. It arrived at NBC the next day. Cho then walked to Norris Hall, an engineering building. In a
backpack he carried a stash of guns, a knife, a hammer and 400 rounds of ammunition in a backpack.
Using chains he bought at Home Depot he chained shut from the inside the three main doors of the
building.
Cho next entered a classroom room in Norris Hall where a small graduate engineering class,
"Advanced Hydrology" was taking place. There were just thirteen students in the class. Cho shot and
killed the professor, then shot at the students. 117
113 Id. at 26. 114 Id. at 25. 115 Chris Herring, Report Faults Virginia Tech in Shootings, WALL ST. J. (December 5, 2009), https://web.archive.org/web/20131006163612/http:/!online. wsj .com/article/SB 125994296734476833.html (last visited May 2, 2014). 116 Thane Burnett, Virginia Tech Massacre, Cho, Hilscher Had No Link, THE LONDON FREE PRESS (April 19, 2007), https://web.archive.org/web/20140427113056/http://pbdba.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p= 180040&s=societe (last visited May 2, 2014). 117 Report of The Review Panel, supra note 39 at 27. 41 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Cho then moved across the hall and entered another classroom where an Elementary German class
was taking place. He shot the teacher and then shot at students. Cho next moved down the hall and
entered a French class. Cho walked down one row of that classroom and shot at students and the teacher.
Cho next returned to the German class, trying unsuccessfully to get back into the room but students
were able to barricade him from entering. He went back to the French class, shooting again at the
teacher and several of the students. Eleven students and the teacher died in that classroom. 118 Six
surviving students in that classroom suffered gunshot wounds.
Cho next tried to enter a classroom where a Mechanics class was being taught by 76 year old
professor Liviu Librescu. Librescu barricaded Cho from entering by bracing his body against the door,
yelling to students to jump out of the window. Cho shot through the door, killing Librescu through the
door. Most of Librescu's students escaped out of the classroom window. Cho shot at two students as
they attempted to escape through the window. 119
Librescu's students later viewed him as a hero. He never gave up on trying to keep Cho out of his
classroom. When Librescu succumbed to a fatal shot in the head, Cho made his way into the room. The
irony of Librescu's life was that as a Jew he survived a Nazi labor camp in Romania, only to succumb to
a school shooting rampage in the U.S. 120
After Librescu's Mechanics classroom Cho then returned to the Hydrology class and shot more
students there. In total he killed nine of the thirteen students in that classroom and wounded three more.
118 Id at 91. 119 Id at 27. 120 Matti Friedman, Holocaust Survivor Killed in VA Shooting, WASH. POST (April 17, 2007), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007 /04/17 / AR200704l701224.html (last visited May 2, 2014 ). 42 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Police managed to blast their way into Norris Hall and proceeded to the second floor where they
heard the sounds of the mayhem. Just as the police reached the second floor, Cho, in the French
classroom, shot himself in the head. The shot was fatal.
Cho's shooting spree in Norris Hall took just 11 minutes. During the eleven minutes he fired 174
rounds, killed thirty people and himself and wounded another seventeen. 121 Counting the two students he
killed at the dormitory he murdered a total of thirty-two; he was the thirty-third. 122 Five of the fatalities
were faculty members and twenty-seven were students. In addition to the seventeen students wounded
by gunfire another six were injured jumping out of second floor classrooms. 123
While there are mass murders in history with more fatalities, more casualties were suffered in the
Virginia Tech rampage than any other school shooting in history. 124
As with Columbine there were many missed warning signs about Cho, his violent writings, stalking
complaints and mental health history.
After Virginia Tech the school shooting with the highest casualty toll is the 2012 rampage in
Newtown, Connecticut. It is the second most catastrophic overall school shooting in history and the
most catastrophic in a high school or grade school. It is that rampage we examine next.
3. Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut
121 Report of The Review Panel, supra note 39 at 28. 122 The Associated Press reports the victims of Virginia Tech as follows: Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20,Christopher James Bishop, 35, Brian Bluhm, 25, Ryan Clark, 22, Austin Cloyd, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, Kevin Granata, Matthew G. Gwaltney, 24, Caitlin Hammaren, 19, Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, Rachael Hill, 18, Emily Jane Hilscher, a 19, Jarrett L. Lane, 22, Matthew J. La Porte, 20, Henry J. Lee, also known as Henh Ly, 20, Liviu Librescu, 76, G.V. Loganathan, 51, Partahi Lombantoruan, 34, Lauren McCain, Daniel O'Neil, 22, Juan Ramon Ortiz, a 26, Minal Panchal, 26, Erin Peterson, 18, Michael Pohle, 23, Julia Pryde, age unknown, Mary Karen Read, 19, Reema J. Samaha, 18, Waleed Mohammed Shaalan, Leslie Sherman, Maxine Turner, 22, Nicole White, 20. List of Virginia Tech Victims, 6ABC.COM (April 19, 2007), http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/national_world&id=52l68l l (last visited May 2, 2014).
123 Id. at 92. 124 See Appendix I and Appendix IL 43 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Sandy Hook is a historic community located within the Town of Newtown, Connecticut in the
United States. Newtown is located at the northern end of Fairfield County, about equidistant
(approximately 45 miles) from New York City, N.Y. and Hartford, CT. It is a racially and socially
homogenous, mainstream and affluent suburban community.
Sometime early on the morning of December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed his mother,
Nancy Lanza, who was sleeping in bed in the family home in Newtown. He used a .22 caliber Savage
Mark II rifle 125 shooting her twice in the head. 126
At around 9:30 am Lanza drove his Honda Civic to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Newtown. He was suited up mostly in black, including black fingerless gloves. He put earplugs in both
ears. 127 Lanza parked his car in front of the school and then approached the entrance. Lanza approached the school armed with three guns: a Bushmaster Model XM 15-E2S rifle, a Glock 20 10mm handgun, a
Sig Sauer P226 handgun and hundreds of rounds of live ammunition. 128 A fourth gun, an Izhmash
Saiga-12, 12 gauge shotgun was found left behind in the car.
The front door of the school was locked, but Lanza blasted his way into the school building, blowing out plate glass windows next to the front door. When the first shots rang out the school Principal Dawn
Hochsprung, 4 7 and School Psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56, were in a meeting. Hearing the gunshots, the two women ran down the hall to investigate. With the rifle, Lanza shot and killed both of the women. 129
125 Sedensky, supra note 12 at 5. 126 Edmund H. Mahoney and Dave Altimari, A Methodical Massacre: Horror and Heroics, THE HARTFORD COURANT (December 15, 2012), http://articles.courant.com/2012-12-15/business/hc-timeline-newtown-shooting-1216- 20121215 _ l _ schoo I-psycho lo gist-classroom-special-education-teacher (last visited May 3, 2014 ). 127 Sedensky, supra note 12 at 22. 128 /d at 9. 129 Mahoney and Altimari, supra note 126. 44 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Lanza shot at other staff members in the hallway, wounding two. 130 He next turned his attention to the classrooms. He entered two first grade classrooms. One first grade classroom was taught by a
substitute teacher, 30 year old Lauren Rousseau and 29 year old behavioral therapist Rachel Davino.
Lanza shot and killed both adults in that classroom and fifteen first grade students.
In the other first grade classroom was twenty-nine year old teacher Victoria Soto and fifty-two year
old Behavioral Therapist Anne Murphy. Lanza shot and killed both women. 131 Five of the children
belonging in that classroom were found by police, four died of gunshot wounds. The fifth died at the hospital. 132 Nine children ran out of Soto's classroom and two hid in the bathroom. At 9:40 am Lanza
committed suicide in that classroom by firing one fatal shot to his head with the Glock 10 mm handgun. 133
In the other classrooms and offices, students, teachers and staff members hid in classroom bathrooms and closets wherever they could find them.
The school librarian, Yvonne Cech, for example, locked herself and another staff person and eighteen fourth graders in a closet behind file cabinets while listening to the disturbing sounds of the gunshots. 134 They hid there for forty-five nightmarish minutes until a police SWAT team arrived and escorted them out of the closet and out of the building. 135 Police officers led children past the carnage of blood, dead students, teachers and staff members. The police told the children to "close your eyes, hold hands" according to nine year old Vanessa Bajraliu. 136
130 Sedensky, supra note 12 at 10. 131 Mahoney and Altimari, supra note 126. 132 Sedensky, supra note 12 at 10. 133 Id 134 Peter Applebome and Michael Wilson, Who Would Do This To Our Poor Little Babies, N.Y. TIMES (December 14, 2012), http://www.nytimes.com/2012/ 12/ 15/nyregion/witnesses-recall-deadly-shooting-sandy-hook-newtown connecticut.html?_r=O (last visited May 3, 2014). 135 Id 136 Id
45 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Carnage suitably describes the scene. Lanza fired many rounds at each victim. Wayne Carver, the
Chief Medical Examiner said that every casualty was struck more than once, and some as many as eleven times. 137 "This is a very devastating set of injuries," Carver said. 138
Lanza's rampage lasted just ten minutes. At the school he killed twenty children139 and six adults
(teachers and staff members) before killing himself. 140 Adding his mother and himself there were twenty-eight fatalities. Two adult staff members were wounded. Seventeen of the children were just six years old and three had turned seven.
Surviving children were taken to the nearby Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue station house.
There were many joyous reunions at the firehouse, as parents arrived who had flocked to the school from wherever they were. Meanwhile, in the same firehouse twenty families began to grasp the reality that they would never speak to their children again. Those parents were ushered into a separate, somber room.
Lanza's targets: first graders, set him apart from other rampage killers. The faces of twenty dead children, twelve innocent little girls and eight innocent little boys, tore open a raw and exposed nerve across the world.
137 James Barron, Children Were All Shot Multiple Times, N.Y. TIMES (December 15, 2012), http://www.nytimes.com/2012/ 12/ 16/nyregion/gunman-kills-20-children-at-school-in-connecticut-28-dead-in all.html ?pagewanted=all (last visited May 3, 2014). 138 Jd. 139 Two of the children died at Danbury Hospital. 140 National Public Radio (NPR) reports the names of the victims at Sandy Hook as follows: Charlotte Bacon, 6, Daniel Barden, 7,Rachel Davino, 29,0livia Engel, 6, Josephine Gay, 7,Ana M Marquez-Greene, 6, Dylan Hockley, 6,Dawn Hochsprung, 47,Madeline F. Hsu, 6,Catherine V. Hubbard, 6, Chase Kowalski, 7, Jesse Lewis, 6, James Mattioli, 6, Grace McDonnell, 7, Anne Marie Murphy, 52, Emilie Parker, 6, Jack Pinto, 6, Noah Pozner, 6, Caroline Previdi, 6, Jessica Rekos, 6, Avielle Richman, 6, Lauren Rousseau, 30, Mary Sherlach, 56, Victoria Soto, 27, Benjamin Wheeler, 6, Allison N Wyatt, 6. Sandy Hook Elementary Victims' Names Released, The Two Way Breaking News From NPR, http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/15/167344805/sandy-hook-elementary-victims-names-released (December 15, 2012) (last visited June 24, 2014).
46 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The children were referred to as babies. "I've been here for eleven years," said Laura Feinstein, a reading support teacher who survived the rampage. "I can't imagine who would do this to our poor little
babies."141
American suburban communities like Newtown, Connecticut and Littleton, Colorado are settings easily recognizable to many people. Similarly, Virginia Tech is a college campus providing a recognizable setting. Having examined in great detail three school rampage murder cases occurring in settings understood by many we look at rampages occurring in a less familiar setting, American Indian reservations.
Chapter 4
When Mass Murder Occurs On an Indian Reservation: Studies in Contrast
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians is an American Indian tribe with a reservation (Red
Lake Reservation) located on a vast expanse ofland and water on nearly 800,000 acres in Northern
Minnesota. 142 There are four reservation communities: Little Rock, Ponemah, Redby and Red Lake. 143
The Tribe is governed by an eleven member Tribal Council. Seven Hereditary Chiefs serve for life in an advisory capacity. The seven are descendants from the leaders who negotiated land agreements with the
United States in 1889. 144 The seven chiefs resisted the allotment of the Dawes Allotment Act of 1887145
141 Applebome and Wilson, supra note 134. 142 Indian Affairs Council, State of Minnesota, http://mn.gov/indianaffairs/tribes_redlake.html, (last visited November 3, 2013). 143 Id. 144 Id. 145 Indian General Allotment Act, February 8, 1887, c.119, 24 Stat. 390. 47 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
and as a result, all land is now held in common by all tribal members. As such the Red Lake Reservation
is referred to as a "closed" reservation and very few non-members live there. 146 A very high percentage
of the Reservation residents are Indian.
The Tribe refused efforts to have it join together with other Minnesota tribes, as it did in 1934,
when it refused to join together with six other Chippewa bands. 147 The Red lake Band has persevered to
preserve the Anishinaabe heritage and tradition. The Ojibwe language is the first language of many tribal members. 148
Tragedy Strikes the Red Lake Reservation
Sixteen year old Jeffrey Weise, a Red Lake Chippewa Indian, lived with his grandmother, Shelda
Lussier. He had been suspended from Red Lake High School and was tutored at home by a visiting teacher. 149 Weise's mother lived in a nursing home in another city and suffered from brain damage resulting from an earlier auto accident. 150 Weise's father committed suicide years before.
On the morning of March 21, 2005 Weise went to his grandfather's home. His grandfather, Daryl
Lussier, 59, was a thirty year veteran of the Red Lake tribal police department who had reached the rank of sergeant. With a .22 caliber pistol 151 Weise shot and killed his grandfather along with his grandfather's thirty-one year old girlfriend Michelle Sigana as they both lay in bed asleep. 152 Weise searched his grandfather's home for more weapons. He grabbed from the house a 12 gauge shotgun, and
146 Indian Affairs Council supra note 142 (see fn 1). 147 Red Lake Tribal History, Official site of The Red Lake Nation,http://www.redlakenation.org/index.asp?SEC=C4 DEC6ED-B3F l -4CFA-95A3-9260D0073AAO&Type=B _ BASIC (last visited November 3, 2014). 148 Indian Affairs Council, supra note 142. 149 O'TOOLE, supra note 33 at 178. 150 Id. 151 The ownership and source of this gun remains unknown to this day. 152 O'TOOLE, supra note 33 at 130. 48 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
a .44 caliber automatic pistol and ammunition. He loaded the two guns and drove his grandfather's tribal
police cruiser to Red Lake High School, located on the Reservation.
Weise drove up to the front of the school and parked directly in front of the main entrance. 153
Dressed in all black he walked out of the car and very casually walked into the school. He held the
shotgun close to his side, muzzle pointed to the ground. Without hesitation Weise walked straight through the front entrance metal detectors. The metal detectors were attended by two unarmed uniformed security officers, Derrick Brun and a second female guard.
Without flinching or hesitating, Weise shot and killed the 28-year old Brun. 154 He fired a shot down the hallway almost hitting Neva Rogers, a teacher. 155 She ran down the school hallway to alert teachers and students of what was happening, rushing into a classroom occupied by a ninth-grade study hall. 156
As people began to comprehend what was occurring teachers locked classroom doors and hid with students behind bookcases and desks. 157
Weise walked through the school in what is described as a "cool," "calm" and "collected" manner.
158 He didn't run and he seemed at ease. 159He kicked out glass from doors, stepped into a classroom and shot at the students and teachers gathered on the floor and under desks. 160
Ninth grader Jeffrey May, sitting in the study hall, flipped a table on its side, crouching behind it with classmates. Weise blasted his way into the classroom. "God save us," pleaded the teacher, Neva
153 Id 154 O'TOOLE, supra note 33 at 181. 155 John Rosengren, Everyday Hero: Jeff May, READER'S DIGEST (September, 2005), http://www.rd.com/true stories/inspiring/everyday-hero-jeff-may/ (last visited August 13, 2014). 156 Id 157 O'TOOLE, supra note 33 at 181. 158 Jd 159 Jd. 160 Boyd Huppert, Red Lake School Shooting Survivor Shares Her Story, KARE 11 News (May 2, 2010), http://www.kare11.com/news/article/84 9250/0/Red-Lake-SchooI-shooting-survivor-shares-her-story, (last visited November 8, 2013). 49 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Rogers. Weise shot her in the head, killing her. He then turned his attention on the students huddled in
the back of the room. "Do you guys believe in God?" he asked. One boy said "no." Weise started
shooting, killing five students. He tried to shoot the teacher, Missy Dodds, but the gun was empty. 161
Weise went to reload. May, a six foot tall, 250-pound varsity football player, lunged at Weise as he
was reloading, and tried to stab Weise with a pencil, but Weise was wearing a protective vest. They
wrestled. Weise shot May in the face with a pistol. The bullet entered his cheek below his right eye,
fractured his jaw and lodged in his neck. 162
Weise went into several classrooms at least twice, killing and wounding students and teachers both
times. The classrooms he entered more than once were the rooms where he did the most harm. 163
Four Red Lake Tribal police officers rushed to the school and moved quickly. Rather than wait for a tactical team to arrive they decided to enter. 1640nce inside the officers located Weise and shot at him. 165
Weise ran back into the classroom where most of his victims lay dead, and holding his grandfather's
shotgun to his head he pulled the trigger. He died instantly.
Missy Dodds and many students in her study hall classroom credit Jeffrey May with saving their lives. May was airlifted to a hospital over 100 miles away in Fargo, North Dakota. He suffered a stroke that immobilized his left side. The bullet was surgically removed. May survived and went through a lengthy rehabilitation. 166
161 Rosengren, supra note 155. 162 Rosengren, supra note 155. See also Howie Padilla, "A Long Year at Red Lake: Suddenly It Was Up To Shane," STAR TRIBUNE (March 19, 2006), http://www.startribune.com/local/11584426.html?page=2&c=y (last visited August 14, 2014). 163 O'TOOLE, supra note 33 at 181. 164 Id. at 182. 165 Reports differ as to whether the tribal police wounded Weise. 166 Padilla supra note 162. 50 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
In addition to Lussier (Weise's grandfather), Sigana (Weise's grandfather's girlfriend), Brun (the security guard), six students and teachers were killed by Weise. (See Table 1).
Table 1 Red Lake Fatalities
1. Darryl Lussier, 59 Weise' s Grandfather
2. Michelle Sigana, 31 Lusier's Girlfriend
3. Derrick Brun, 28 School Security guard
4. Neva Rogers, 62 English Teacher
5. Dwayne Lewis, 15 Student
6. Chase Lussier, 15 Student
7. Alicia White, 14 Student
8. Thurlene Still day, 15 Student
9. Chanelle Rosebear, 15 Student167
10. Jeffrey Weise, 16 Perpetrator
Including Weise, ten people died at Red Lake on March 21, 2005. Five students were treated for wounds at two hospitals and two students received head wounds that required specialized surgery. 168
167 Kirk Johnson, Survivors ofHigh School Rampage Left With Injuries and Questions, N.Y. TIMES (March 25, 2005), http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/national/25shoot.html?_r=O (last visited November 11, 2013). 168 Grief and Shock After Red Lake School Shootings, INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY (March 30, 2005), http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/200 5/03/30/ grief-and-shock-after-red-lake-school-shootings-94651 (last visited September 3, 2013). 51 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Aftermath of the Red Lake Tragedy
There were many obvious similarities between the Red Lake tragedy and Columbine. In both
cases teenage boys, dressed in all black, who claimed to follow and admire Adolph Hitler, acted out
fantasies, committed mass killings at a school, and then ended the massacre by killing
themselves. 169Although many people focused on Jeffrey Weise and what might have led him to the
murders at Red Lake, the response from the community differed significantly from the community
response in other mass kiUings studied here.
On the Red Lake Reservation there was very little public talk of anger toward Weise or
revenge. 170 There was no talk of filing lawsuits against the Tribe or others. "That's not our way," said
Brenda Child, a historian at the University of Minnesota who grew up on the Red Lake Reservation. 171
"We're all one community. It's an Indian thing. It's different than a suburb of Denver. We have a long history together in this particular place. Since it's your own extended family suffering in the aftermath of this, people are feeling a lot of sympathy ... It makes our relationships deeper and more complicated."
172
Another example of unusual compassion and a surprising lack of bitterness at Red Lake was that of Jodi May, Jeffrey May's mother. Jodi May knew Weise's grandparents, in fact his grandmother helped raise her when she was a child. With the existence of these family ties on the reservation it is understandable that Jodi May held no bitterness toward Weise:
I have a lot ofthings going on in my mind about the shooter. But, that was when it first happened. I can't really say for anybody else, but it happened -- we can't take it back. If he was a
169 Dana Hedgpeth, Tribe Responds to Killings With GriefRather Than Anger, WASH. POST (March 27, 2005), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3286-2005Mar26.html (last visited September 7, 2013). 110 Id 171 Jd 172 Jd
52 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
loner, and to my knowledge my boys were his friends -- I don't know. I don't have no grudge against nobody, !just want my son to get better. 173
May remained in the hospital for more than a year, including difficult physical rehabilitation. He could speak, but with a slight slur. He limped and his left arm was paralyzed. 174
Memorials and Funerals
Red Lake tribal members began collecting bundles of sage to be given as gifts and burned during funeral ceremonies. 175 They assembled blankets and toys to be placed in caskets. A private memorial service was held on the Wednesday following the tragedy. 176
Like Columbine, the Red Lake tragedy also mirrors the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in many ways. Adam Lanza accessed guns from his mother, Nancy Lanza, before he murdered her.
Weise accessed one of the guns he used from his grandfather Daryl Lussier before murdering his grandfather. Yet the community, surviving victims and victims' families did not blame Lussier for the murders.
Lussier's family had no difficulty arranging a memorial or funeral for Lussier. He was one of the first to be buried and a memorial service was held for him at the Tribe's own Humanities Building. At the memorial service for Lussier there was singing and a drum circle. 177Lussier was given a dignified burial. He was allowed to be dressed in his police uniform, an eagle feather was placed in his hands, and an American flag placed in his casket. 178 More than 100 police officers attended the five hour funeral
173 Padilla, supra note 162. 114 Id. 175 P.J. Huffstutter, Red Lake Reservation Readies Burial Rituals, L.A. TIMES (March 24, 2005), http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/24/nation/na-shooting24 (last visited September 7, 2013). 116 Id. 177 3 Red Lake Shooting Victims Buried, WASHINGTON TIMES (March 27, 2005), http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/mar/27/2005032 7-l 204 l 7-8694r/?page=all (last visited September 7, 2013 ). 178 Jd.
53 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
for Lussier, which was attended by United States Senator Norm Coleman and Minnesota Governor Tim
Pawlenty. The Governor actually spoke at the funeral. 179
Publicly, Lussier was spoken about reverentially. He was referred to by his nickname, "Dash."180
"If you knew him, you said Dash, and everyone knew who you were talking about," said Ed Naranjo, a
retired Bureau of Indian Affairs official who worked with Lussier. "He was that kind of individual who
could calm a very hot situation," said Naranjo. 181
Other more traditional Indian funerals followed for three of the victims from the Town of
Ponemah, which is on the north side of Red Lake. 182 Those funerals, conducted in the Ojibwe language
by the victim's families with a tribal spiritual leader typically last two nights and three days, feature food, pipe ceremonies and the burning of sage. At Red Lake they practice the same ceremonies practiced long before the arrival of the Europeans. 183
The spiritual leader conducting the ceremonies in Ponemah was likely Thomas Stillday, Jr.
Speaking in general terms about the Red Lake funeral ceremonies for the Red Lake victims, Still way said:
Our traditional funerals, we talk about God, the creator and all his helpers. We talk about the Holy Ghost and all his helpers. These are the things we talk about in ceremony, to show these kids' souls when they go to the spiritual world. 184
179 Id. 180 What Happened At Red Lake on March 21, 2005? RED LAKE NATION NEWS (March 21, 2012), http://www.redlakenationnews.com/story/2012/03/21 /news/what-happened-at-red-lake-on-march-21- 2005/03212012103127380720.html (last visited October 7, 2013 ). 181 Id. 182 Hedgpeth, supra note 167. 183 Id. 184 Tribal Elders Protective ofRed Lake Culture, Minnesota Public Radio (March 25, 2005) http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/25 _gundersond_redlakeelders/?refid=O (last visited December 1, 2014). 54 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Community's Treatment of Jeffrey Weise
While the treatment of Lussier stands in contrast to that of Nancy Lanza, it is the community treatment of Jeffrey Weise himself which is most noteworthy.
The family of Jeffrey Weise did not have any difficulty finding a place to hold a funeral or to bury him. Minutes after the funeral for Derrick Brun, concluded at St. Mary's Catholic Mission, the church filled up again for the funeral of Weise himself. 185 Weise was given a church funeral which was well attended. This is extremely unusual for a rampager. Weise's family asked news media to leave the church during the service. The service for Weise drew a somber and large crowd of several hundred people. 186
One person who attended Weise's funeral said she was ready to forgive Weise. Her comments are illuminating: "He was also a member of Red Lake and he was also somebody's son, brother, uncle,
"said Kim Baker. "And the way I look at it, he still deserves some recognition from the community so he can't be forgotten." 187
Red Lake Tribe Awards Weise's Family Compensation
In the days following the Red lake tragedy a memorial fund of more than $200,000 was raised. 188
The Red Lake Tribe did something unusual in mass killings: they voted to award the family of the perpetrator $5,000 in victim's aid. 189 Red Lake Tribal Secretary Judy Roy said that the Tribal Council decided unanimously that Weise should be considered a victim, and that his family should get help
185 Tom Scheck, Red Lake Buries Four On Monday, Minnesota Public Radio (March 28, 2005), http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/28_scheckt _threefunerals/ (last visited December 7, 2013). 186 Id. 181 Id. 188 Red Lake Tribal Council Defends Aid To Shooter's Family, ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR (April 15, 2005). 189 Tribe Gives Victims Aid to Shooter's Family, Citing a "Double Burden, " L.A. TIMES (April 15, 2005), http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/15/nation/na-redlakel5 (last visited July 22, 2013). 55 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings paying for his funeral and burial. 190 Roy said of the $5,000, "It's not for him, it's for the family ... they have a double burden," she said.
Jodi May, the mother of Jeffrey May, wounded by Weise, was sympathetic to Weise. "The way I think of it, you know, he was a victim before this happened. Nobody reached out to help him." 191
Family members of other victims were not unanimous in their support of the Tribal Council's action. Donna Lewis, the mother of Dewayne Lewis was outraged. Her son, 15, was a student killed by
Weise at the High School. As the Council debated the award for Weise she stormed out of the meeting. 192
"He ain't no victim in this ... He was a murderer," she said. 193 She also was quoted as attributing some blame to Weise's family: The family "knew he was having problems," and should have helped him, she said. 194
The family member of a second murdered victim was also critical of the Tribal award. Victoria
Brun, the sister of murdered security guard Derrick Brun asked, "Why are they considering him to be a victim when he killed everybody," she asked. "The people who donated the money have a right to know and question how the money is divided." 195
Weise's family received a second award from a small private fund managed by a Red Lake
Tribal member and distant relative of Weise, Wanda Parkhurst. Parkhurst included Weise's family in the nearly $1,500 she raised and distributed.
190 Id 191 Id. 192 Id 193 Id Note: The Los Angeles Times reports that this quote was first reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 194 Id 195 Id Note: The Los Angeles Times reports that this quote was first reported by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. 56 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Los Angeles Times said Parkhurst considered Weise a victim who hurt people because he was under the influence of the neo-Nazi websites he visited and because he was picked on. 196Referring to the families of Weise's' victims, she said, "Those families have a right to hate, but they also have to look at what caused it." 197
Red Lake and Tragedy in Indian Country: Some Inherent Differences
There are numerous distinctions that contribute to an aftermath at Red Lake that sets it apart from rampage killings among non-indigenous peoples. Kim Baker's remarks, quoted above, reflect the close family ties that Indian people, today, still possess. She saw him as belonging to the Red Lake community. It was significant to her that he was tied to the community through his relatives. Like others at Red Lake she refused to tum her back on Weise or his family.
Family relationships are still of utmost importance to traditional American Indians. The Navajo, for example, a large American Indian tribe in the Southwest United States, 198 have values that are reinforced through a sophisticated clan system. 199 Navajo traditions reflect that family relationships are indispensable. At Red Lake, families, too, are tied together in clans, seven of them: bear, turtle, bullhead, eagle, kingfisher, pine marten and mink.200
Red Lake is unusual in that the Reservation is considered "closed" and ninety-five percent of its residents are tribal members. This unusual aspect, no doubt, also contributed to the community response to the tragedy.
196 Id. 191 Id. 198 The Navajo Nation is referred to in Chapter 1. Its pioneering use of peacemaking is described in great detail in Chapter 8. 199 AUSTIN, supra note 47 at 87. 200 Red Lake Nation, Frequently Asked Questions, http://www.redlakenation.org/index.asp?SEC=BOAF61D3-9004-46BC- 891D-EC895B6BFFD6&Type=B_ LIST (last visited November 20, 2014 ). 57 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Tragedy Strikes Several Native American Communities in 2014
Until Red Lake there had not been a widely reported rampage shooting involving American
Indian people. As this dissertation was being researched and written it became apparent that Jeffrey
Weise was not the lone aberrational Native American rampage offender. Within a span of eight months
three mass shootings occurred involving Indians.
Marysville Pilchuck High School, Marysville, Washington
Complete details have not yet been made clear after a 2014 tragedy that occurred on October 24
in Marysville, Washington. Local police released preliminary reports which state that 15 year old
Marysville Pilchuck High School student Jaylen Fryberg shot and killed four fellow students in the high
school cafeteria before using the gun to commit suicide.201 Two others were injured.
Fryberg was a member of the Tulalip Indian Tribes of Washington State; he and many of his victims were associated with the Tribes and the Muckleshoot Reservation.202 The school was not located on the Reservation, but nearby.
Fryberg first sent text messages asking several of his friends and cousins to meet him in the
school cafeteria. Fryberg arrived in the cafeteria and shot five students with a .40 caliber Beretta handgun. 203 By the time of this writing four died as a result of Fryberg's rampage and at least two others were injured; Fryberg himself was the fifth. The victims were Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, Zoe
201 Richard Walker, Fryberg Arranged To Meet His Friends By Text; Investigation Continues, INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY MEDIA NETWORK (October 28, 2014), http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/10/28/fiyberg-arranged-meet his-friends-text-investigation-continues-157568 (last visited November 12, 2014). See also Kirk Johnson, Ian Lovett and Michael Paulson, 2 Die, Including Gunman, In Shooting at Washington State High School, THE NEW YORK TIMES (October 24, 2014 ), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/us/shooting-reported-at-high-school-north-of seattle.html?action=click&contentCollection=U. S.&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article (last visited October 31, 2014). 2021d 203 Id
58 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Raine Galasso, 14, Gia Soriano, 14 and Fryberg's 15 year-old cousin Andrew Fryberg.204 Fryberg's
other cousin, Nate Hatch, 14, was shot in the jaw and is recovering from his wounds.205
Police claim the handgun was registered and owned legally by a Fryberg family member.206
Michelle Galasso, the mother of shooting victim, Zoe Galasso, spoke of a visit she had with
Jaylen Fryberg's mother after the rampage. The two mothers embraced and Galasso said she told Mrs.
Fryberg, "I love you."207 Galasso did not blame the parents of Fryberg and treated them as fellow grieving parents. Of Jaylen's mother, Galasso said, "She's hurting. She's grieving. She lost her child as well."2os
Galasso said:
"In order for me to heal from this, I have to forgive because I cannot waste my life hating or being angry. !just can't ... I'll never know why he did it and he took away one ofthe best things that I ever brought into this world, but he's a child too. "209
Just as the Red Lake Chippewa Indian community supported the family of Jeffrey Weise, the
Tulalip Tribes of Washington supported the family of Jaylen Fryberg. While denouncing his murderous actions, the Tribes made it clear they stood side-by-side with Fryberg's family:
204 Associated Press, Fifth Teen Dies Following Washington School Shooting, THE WASHINGTON POST (November 8, 2014 ), http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/another-teen-wounded-in-wash-school-shooting-dies/2014/11/08/384 78baa- 670c-11 e4-ab86-46000el d0035 _story.html (last visited November 13, 2014). 205 Martha Bellisle, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, Marysville Shooting Victim, Dies, THE HUFFINGTON POST (Updated November 1, 2014), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/31/shaylee-chuckulnaskit-marysville-dies_ n_ 6085608.html (last visited November 12, 2014). 206 Walker, supra note 201. 207 Richard Walker, After Wash. State School Tragedy Northwest Communities Focus on Love, Healing And Forgiveness, INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY MEDIA NETWORK (November 12, 2014), http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/l l/12/after-wash-state-school-tragedy-northwest-communities-focus-love healing-and-forgiveness (last visited November 12, 2014). 208 Id. 209 Id.
59 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
It is our custom to come together in times ofgrief The tribe holds up our people who are struggling through times ofloss. We are supporting the family ofJay/en Fryberg in their time of loss, but that does not mean we condone his actions. 210
The aftermath of the Marysville Pilchuk rampage bears another striking similarity to Red Lake
which contrasts it from Sandy Hook, Columbine and other non-indigenous rampage killings: the manner
the Indian communities treated the deceased offender in death. Recalling that Peter Lanza had to deal
with any potential funeral, burial or cremation in complete secrecy,211 the Tulalip community treated
Jaylen Fryberg's death with dignity.
The Tulalip Tribes held funeral ritual for Jaylen Fryberg at the tribe's own community center.
Most significantly, more than 1,000 people attended the memorial.212 For days Fryberg's death was
privately marked with traditional drumming, singing, dancing and telling stories about his life. 213
In two distinct school rampage murder cases involving American Indian communities, (Red
Lake and Tulalip) the families of rampagers were not treated as pariahs or accomplices. The tribes did
not vilify the parents of the shooter for providing access to the fatal weapons. The two Indian
communities allowed the deceased rampage killers to be treated with dignity, even in the aftermath of
the bloodbaths they committed.
There are three additional and relatively recent rampage cases involving American Indian
offenders. Limited information about the incidents or the aftermath are in the public domain:
Alturas, California
210 Public Statement of the Tulalip Tribes, October 29, 2014, http://www.tulaliptribes-nsn.gov/Home.aspx (last visited November 3, 2014). 211 See Chapter 1, note 19. 212 Scott North, Tulalip Tribes Quietly Mark The Death of The Marysville Shooter, THE EVERETT HERALD (October 30, 2014) http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20141030/NEWS/3 l 030998 l/3rd-update-82 l 2-tulalip-tribes-quietly mark-the-death-of (last visited November 12, 2014). m Id.
60 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Police claim that on February 20, 2014 Cherie Lash Rhoades, a member of the Cedarville
Rancheria in Alturas, California killed four members of the tribe and injured two others during a meeting held at tribal headquarters.214 The victims include Rhoades' brother, Rurik Davis, her neice
Angel Penn, her nephew Glen Calonicco, and Tribal Administrator Sheila Russo.215 The prosecutor in the case, Moduc County District Attorney Jordan Funk, has indicated that he is pursuing the death penalty for Rhoades.216
As this case is still being prosecuted and accurate information about the incident and the community response is not yet available in the public domain, further discussion of this case is not included here.
Tulare County, California
According to the Tulare County Sheriffs Department (California), On December 10, 2012 31 year old Hector Celaya of the Tule River Indian Reservation shot and killed four family members: his 8 year old daughter, his mother and two of his uncles, wounding two his two other children. The killing spree started on the reservation and ended in his automobile about 20 miles from the reservation. Celaya was killed by Tulare County sheriffs deputies.217
Sisseton, South Dakota
214 California:4 Killed at Indian Tribal Meeting, N.Y. TIMES (February 21, 2014), http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/us/califomia-4-killed-at-indian-tribal-meeting.html?_r=O (last visited February 27, 2014). 215 Cherie Rhoades Pleads Not Guilty To Murder Charges, KOBI-TV November 10, 2014 http://kobi5.com/news/item/cherie-rhoades-pleads-not-quilty-to-murder-charges-court-date-set-dec lOth.html#.VGPHlE9ASic (last visited November 12, 2014). 216 Id 217 David Boroff, Gunman Kills Four Members of Own Family and Wounds Two Others on California Indian Reservation, N.Y. DAILY NEWS (December 10, 2012), http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gunman-kills-members-family indian-reservation-article-l.1216955 (last visited December 3, 2014). 61 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
According to the Roberts County Sheriffs Department (South Dakota), on November 22, 2014 at the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, 22-year old Colter Richard Arbach went to a private residence where he shot and killed three others before killing himself. The Reservation is home to the Sisseton
Wahpeton Oyate Tribe.218 The case is still under investigation.
Recent rampage murders occurring on American Indian reservations or affecting Indian people, the victim and community responses to the incidents set the stage for examination of the social and legal responses to rampage murders occurring in non-indigenous society. In Chapter 5 we examine the more common expressions of rage, sorrow and legal rights by victims and their families in and out of court.
Chapter 5
The Typical Aftermath of Rampage Murder: The Outpouring of Anger at the Parents and Other Family Members
The Impact of Advised Silence
In Chapter 1 I discussed the community and victim anger focused on Nancy Lanza and contrasted it with the apparent lack of anger focused on Daryl Lussier, the grandfather of Jeffrey Weise. In both cases the shooter killed a parent or grandparent before targeting the school, where they killed many more.
In both cases the victim parent or grandparent bore some responsibility for providing access to at least one of the weapons used to commit the mass shooting. I contrasted the community treatment and treatment of
218 Levi Rickert, Four Dead From Shooting On Lake Traverse Reservation, NATIVE NEWS ONLINE.NET http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/four-dead-shooting-lake-traverse-reservation/ 62 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings the family members of victims of Nancy Lanza with that of Lussier. In Chapter 4 the treatment of Jaylen
Fryberg and the treatment of his family is contrasted with the treatment of Nancy Lanza.
In this chapter, I look at the community response to the parents of other mass shooters who were not, themselves, victims. I then look at examples of community or victim-family forgiveness of parents of shooters.
Surviving parents and other immediate family members of those killed and injured by rampagers most typically focus intense anger upon their attackers. They look for answers. They want to know why their loved ones were attacked. They want to know the details of how their loved ones died. They look to make sense out of horrific incidents that make no sense.
It is also common for family members of victims to look to focus blame on the shooter, or anyone who contributed to the criminal conduct. Law enforcement officials and criminal prosecutors sometimes bring criminal charges against the mass shooter's accomplices. 219 Prosecutors have great discretion in whether to seek charges against accomplices and the procedures for deciding when charges are brought, in general, vary from state to state or from tribe to tribe.
Anger At and Blame of the Parents Is Common Following Mass Shootings
Columbine High School
219 For example, in connection with the Red Lake rampage, Louis Jourdain, 16, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with the crime of Conspiracy. The teenager is the son of Red Lake tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. See Monica Davey and Kirk Johnson, Tribe is Shaken by Arrest ofLeader's Son in Shootings, N. Y. TIMES (March 30, 2005), http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/national/30shootings.html?pagewanted=print&position= (last visited August 13, 2014).
63 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
About ten years after the tragedy at Columbine the mother of 17 year-old shooter Dylan Klebold,
Susan Klebold, ended her silence and wrote a moving article in 0, The Oprah Magazine, titled "I Will
Never Know Why." 220 In this article she explains her surprise and shock that her son was one of the
shooters in this mass killing that killed 13. "None ofus could accept that he was capable of doing what he
did," she wrote.221 Like many mass shootings, warning signs were missed. " ... [h]e'd written a school
paper about a man in a black trench coat who brutally murders nine students. But we'd never seen that
paper." 222
One author who has studied the Columbine High School murders believes that Harris and
Klebold's motives have been completely misunderstood.223Dave Cullen, author of Columbine believes
Harris, in particular, was obsessed with trying to kill more people and become a bigger story than
Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma man who killed 168 people while bombing the Oklahoma City Alfred
P. Murrah Federal Office building in Oklahoma City. He considers Harris a terrorist whose bombs mostly
failed to detonate.224 "The audience," writes Cullen, "for Timothy McVeigh, Eric Harris, or the
Palestinian Liberation Organization-was miles away, watching on TV ... ,ms Speaking about Harris'
objective of topping McVeigh he writes:
He didn't just fail to top Timothy Mc Veigh 's record-he wasn't even recognized for trying. He was never categorized with his peer group. We lumped him in with the pathetic loners who shot people. 226
220 Susan Klebold, I Will Never Know Why, 0, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE, (November 2009), http://www.oprah.com/world/Susan-Klebolds-O-Magazine-Essay-I-Will-Never-Know-Why (last visited October 23, 2013). 221 Id. 222 Id. 223 CULLEN, supra note 37 at 278-279. 224 Id. at 278. 22s Id. 226 Id. 64 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Susan Klebold reports being "nearly insane with sorrow for the suffering her son caused."227 At
the same time she was simultaneously suffering as a parent in mourning over the loss of her son. She then
reports the community response:
But while I perceived myselfto be a victim ofthe tragedy, I didn't have the comfort of being perceived that way by the community. I was widely viewed as a perpetrator or at least an accomplice since I was the person who raised a 'monster. 'In one newspaper survey, 83 percent of respondents said that the parents' failure to teach Dylan and Eric proper values played a major part in the Columbine killings. IfI turned on the radio, I heard angry voices condemning us for Dylan's actions. Our elected officials stated publicly that bad parenting was the cause ofthe massacre. 228
The anger at and blame of the parents of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris is common to other
rampage shootings. The 1997 school shootings at Heath High School in Kentucky are an excellent case
study.
Wayne Steger, the father of 15 year old Kayce Steger, murdered at Heath High School by Michael
Carneal in 1997 said:
We wanted ... someone to accept the blame, the guilt, for my daughter's murder, and even today I haven 't gotten that. Because (Michael) never accepted the guilt. The parents say it wasn't their fault, the shooter says, 'Well I'm not accepting fault, ' so my daughter just went to school one day, got a hole in her head, never came home, and that's nobody's fault? That's hard to live with. 229
Steger's comment above reflect the frustrations surviving victims, family members of victims and their broader communities experience following mass shootings. The Heath Kentucky case is an excellent
case study which magnifies why the vertical system of justice common to non-indigenous systems of justice is a caldron for boiling anger and resentment.
227 KLEBOLD, supra note 220. 22s Id. 229 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 179. 65 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Heath Kentucky: Criminal Court Proceedings Against Michael Carneal
Michael Carneal was 14 years old when he committed the shooting at Heath High School. 230 He
was originally charged as an adult with three counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and one
count ofburglary.231
In October of 1998, Carneal pleaded "Guilty But Mentally Ill," 232 under Kentucky law.233 The
sentencing hearing offered very little satisfaction to the survivors or their families. It was a brief hearing
presided over by Judge Jeffrey Hines. There was no trial. Carneal himself did not make any statement, whatsoever. He offered no apology, and did not ask for forgiveness. 234 He did not speak. Carneal's
attorney, Thomas Osborn, made a brief statement on Carneal's behalf where he claimed his client was remorseful. Carneal entered into a plea agreement with the State of Kentucky and was sentenced by Judge
Hines to the maximum allowed sentence: life in prison without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years. 235
Judge Hines allowed surviving victims or family members to speak. Sebrina Steger, mother of
Kayce Steger, spoke. And she directed her sad thoughts to Judge Hines:
Kayce 's murder ... has affected every aspect ofour lives, from our daily routines to our beliefsystem. Not only have we lost our daughter, but we have lost being a normal family. We
230 See James v. Wilson, 95 S.W.3d 875,882 (Ky. Ct. App. 2002) 231 "Kentucky school shooter 'guilty but mentally ill, '"CNN.com, (October 5, 1998), http://web.archive.org/web/200709131l5713/http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/05/paducah.shooting/ (last visited January 20, 2014). 232 Id. 233 KRS § 504.130. The statute provides: (1) The defendant may be found guilty but mentally ill if:(a) The prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty ofan offense; and(b) The defendant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he was mentally ill at the time of the offense. (2) If the defendant waives his right to trial, the court may accept a plea of guilty but mentally ill if it finds that the defendant was mentally ill at the time of the offense. 234 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 194. 235 CNN.com, supra note 231. 66 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
have lost the ability to be the parents we want to be to our surviving children ... We have a life sentence ofgrief We have no hope ofparole. 236
One victim, Missy Jenkins pushed her wheelchair past Carneal's parents and stared hard at
Carneal. She insisted he confront what his gunshots had done to her body:
I want Michael to look at me. I want to tell you that I'm paralyzed.from my chest down ... ! really feel helpless. I can't go to the bathroom like regular people. It is hard to get dressed ... ! have to live like this every day ... ! don't know why you did this to me and to everybody else, but I know I'm not going to forget it, because I see it every day in my mind.. .! don't have any hard feelings towards you ... I can live this way. It's going to be hard, but I can do it. 237
Stephen Keene, the older brother of Craig Keene, wounded by Carneal, punctuated his speech with a demand for accountability by Carneal:
Michael I watched you gun down three girls ... I watched you shoot my brother and try to kill him and four other people ... You look at me right now![Carneal looked up] Thank you ... ! don't know what was going on in your head What would drive somebody to do this? Respond!. . .! wish I could just hide [like you} ... Today you will get sentenced. Today you will spend the rest ofyour life in jail. 238
Advised Silence
Why did Carneal maintain silence? As a criminal defense attorney I would have advised a similarly situated criminal defendant client to be extremely cautious about making any statements. Those concerns would be that:
1. The statement might not come out as attorney and client plan and it could become a
reason for the judge not to accept the plea or it can become the basis for a more severe
sentence;
236 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 190-191. 237 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 192. 238 Id. at 192. 67 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
2. The statement might not come out as attorney and client plan and it is used against
the defendant in future parole hearings;
3. The statement could be used against the defendant in future appellate hearings;
4. In the event an appeal is successful and the case is remanded for a new trial the
statement could be used against the defendant in a subsequent trial;
5. The statement could be used against the defendant or his family in future civil
litigation for money damages.
Thus, a wall of silence is often constructed by attorneys seeking to protect clients. That is
exactly what happened in the Heath, Kentucky Case.
Civil Litigation Against Michael Carneal and His Parents
Indeed, a civil suit filed was filed in the Circuit Court, McCracken County, Kentucky one year
after the shooting, by the families of several of the victim's families. 239 The plaintiffs alleged that
Michael's parents "knew or should have known that Michael was a troubled child with violent
tendencies,"240 and that they nevertheless "kept several weapons in their home, including pistols and
rifles .... [and] failed to properly secure the weapons in the house ...." 241 The complaint further alleged
that the parents "negligently and recklessly failed to prevent the shootings."242 In an amendment to the
original complaint, plaintiffs added that the parents "owed a duty to exercise ordinary care to prevent
their son [Michael] from harming others ... [and the parents] breached this duty of ordinary care. "243
239 James v. Carneal, Civ. A. No. 98-CI-01154, Compl., McCracken Cir. Ct., Paducah, Ky. (filed Dec. 2, 1998). Appealed, James v. Wilson, 95 S.W.3d 875( Ky. Ct. App. 2002). 240 Rhonda V. Magee Andrews, The Justice ofParental Accountability: Hypothetical Disinterested Citizens and Real Victims' Voices in the Debate over Expanded Parental Liability, 75 TEMP. L. REV. 375 (2002). 241 Id. at 384. 242 Id. at 385. 243 Id.
68 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
In the complaint the plaintiffs further alleged that "as the natural parents of Michael Carneal, [the parents] had a special power of control over his conduct," giving rise to the duty to "prevent their son from intentionally injuring [others] or to prevent [their son] from creating an unreasonable risk of harm to [others]."244 The parents, according to the complaint "permitted their irresponsible son to run at large."245 Finally, because the parents "believe their son to be mentally ill, and thus not responsible for his actions," the plaintiffs alleged that the child became "the conduit" of the parents under the law, and thus that the parents should have been held vicariously liable for their son's actions. 246 The plaintiffs sought not only compensatory but also sought punitive damages against both parents of the shooter.247
Michael Carneal and his parents had every incentive to say as little as possible. Their out-of court silence, and their refusal to offer explanations or apologies, had an impact on the civil suit.248 The trial court Special Judge William L. Shadoan granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment, finding no breach of duty on the part of the parents. In April, 2002, the Kentucky Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the summary judgment ruling in favor of the parents, disposing of the parental liability claim. 249
The Court said, "Appellants have failed to present any evidence which shows that The Carneals knew or should have known that they needed to exercise the control over their son necessary to prevent him from shooting his classmates."250
244 Id. 245 Id. 246 Id. 241 Id. 248 NEWMAN, supra note 31 at 186. 249James v. Wilson, supra note 230. 250 Id. at 887. 69 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Civil suits like the negligence suit filed against Michael Carneal's parents after the Heath High
School shooting are not uncommon. 251 Victims have also filed suits seeking damages from a wide variety of other potential tortfeasors. 252
Thus, victims look for accountability and seek answers. They try to make sense out of something which cannot be made sensible. As a result they take actions into their own hands. Ironically in doing so they actually contribute to the conditions that block their access to people they desperately seek answers, explanations and justice from.
Thus the walls of silence that are built by the western system of "vertical" criminal and civil justice leaves mass shooting victims demanding accountability with no ability to get it. It leaves the shooters and their surviving parents of the shooters in a horrible morass of guilt and shame. It provides for no meaningful dialogue between culpable parties and those mourning horrible grief.
Victims Cry Out For Closure: A Case Study
The frustrations of criminal case participants in Anglo-European courts are not limited to mass murder cases. I have focused on those cases because they present broader community and societal
251 See e.g. the suit filed after the Columbine shooting: Shoels v. Harris, Case No. 99CV 3518, Compl., Dist. Ct., 2d Jud. Dist., City & County of Denver, Colo. (filed May 27, 1999); and the suit filed after the Jonesboro Arkansas shooting: Wright v. Golden, CIV 98-394(B), Compl., Cir. Ct., Craighead County, Ark. (filed Aug. 10, 1998).
252 See Jonesboro Comp I., supra fn 22, PP 14-17 ( charging gun manufacturer); see also Columbine Victims' Families Sue Maker of Anti-Depressant, Associated Press, Oct. 21, 2001 (reporting that plaintiffs had also filed suit against "three men who worked at a gun show where the gunmen got some of their weapons"). See Paducah Compl., supra note 82, PP 83-84 (charging school system, board, administrators, teachers, and employees). See Shoels v. Stone, No. OOCV903, Am. Compl. For Damages in Tort, U.S. Dist. Ct., Dist. of Colo. P 20 (filed May 9, 2000) (bringing action against juvenile agencies and officials). See Columbine CompI., supra note 82, PP 7-19 ( charging parents); Paducah Comp I., supra fn 82, PP 77-81 (same). Parents of the victims in Columbine also filed actions against the makers ofLuvox, an antidepressant found in therapeutic amounts in Eric Harris' system. Columbine Victims' Families Sue Maker of Anti-Depressant, supra.
70 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
impact. The same frustrations are played out in courtrooms every day wherever silence of participants is
advisable and protected.
I was hired as an expert witness to review a criminal trial253 and to testify in a 2014 habeas
corpus trial in Connecticut. The case is State ofConnecticut vs. Chadwick St. Louis.254 It provides one
glimpse into the frustrations present in the Anglo system of criminal justice.
In May of 2009 in Hartford, Connecticut, St. Louis was tried and convicted of the 2006 murder
of 24 year-old Christopher Petrozza. The Petrozza's family considered St. Louis a family friend and a very close friend of Petrozza.
A three judge panel concluded that St. Louis murdered Petrozza and then buried his body in St.
Louis' backyard. The panel also concluded that St. Louis engaged in a lengthy pattern of deception to hide Petrozza's disappearance and St. Louis' role in the crime.
Typically in Connecticut witnesses are not allowed to attend a trial if they are scheduled to testify, they are sequestered.255 The intention of an order to sequester witnesses is to prevent witnesses from shaping their testimony to corroborate falsely the testimony of others.256 An exception is often made for members of the family of the defendant or the victim's immediate family and it was done in this case. Without this exception, the families of the participants become even more alienated from the proceedings.
St. Louis did not testify during any portion of his original trial or the sentencing hearing. This was a conscious decision of the defendant after consultation with his attorney. His attorney, Dennis
253 State ofConnecticut vs. Chadwick St. Louis, Docket No. CR0?-0212876-T 254 The author testified on behalf of the defense in the habeas corpus case on July 7, 2014 in the Rockville, Connecticut Superior Court. See State of Connecticut vs. Chadwick St. Louis, Docket No. CVl0-4003535-S 255 C.G.S. § 54-85a. 256 State v. Nguyen (1999), 52 Conn.App. 85, (Conn App 1999), certification granted in part 248 Conn. 913, affirmed, 253 Conn. 639. 71 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
McMahon, took the position at trial that Petrozza's death was the result of an accident. If St. Louis
testified at trial or spoke at his sentencing hearing his words could have been used by the State in any of
several post-conviction proceedings which took place or a re-trial had St. Louis prevailed in an appeal.
In fact, St. Louis' case had numerous post-conviction proceedings: two appeals,257 one petition for
sentence review258 and a petition for habeas corpus.259
Family members of Petrozza were understandably despondent by Petrozza's disappearance and
St. Louis' role in his death. Several of them spoke at the sentencing hearing. There they all sat, in one
room together, the families of the victim and murderer. One theme was repeated. They wanted to know
what exactly happened to their son and brother. They wanted to know what his last words were. They
never got to say goodbye.
There was no testimony at all as to exactly how Petrozza died. No eye witness testified. Even the
State Medical Examiner, Ira Kanfer, who testified, was vague about how Petrozza might have died.260
Petrozza's body lay in a hole for many months before it was ultimately discovered and examined. The
vertical system left a deep and emotional void.
Petrozza' s mother, Janet Allegra, said to the judges, " ... [C]had saw Christopher's body lying
dead. He knows what Christopher's last words were ... "261
Petrozza's sister, Heather Petrozza, begged for a face-to-face meeting with St. Louis. She begged
for answers:
257 State v. St. Louis, 128 Conn. App.703 (Conn App 2011) cert. denied, 302 Conn. 945, 30 A.3d 1 (2011) and State v. St. Louis, 146 Conn. App. 461 (Conn App 2013). 258 See Connecticut Sentence Review Division, http://jud.ct.gov/SRD _ 0314.pdf. (last visited March 31, 2014). 259 State v. St. Louis, supra note 254. 260 State v. St. Louis, supra note 253 Trial Transcript, March 13, 2009, 8-22. 261 Id, 21.
72 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
And once this is all over and Chad is sentence(d) I would pray to god that even if it takes 20 years that he will sit down and look me in the face and tell me what happened. Just me and him. Once it's all over, no judges, nothing. I need to know. I don 't care how awful it is; I need to know. I need to know if my brother laid there crying, looking up at Chad asking why, what the look on his face; 'why would you do this to me, I loved you. 'I need to know if he wanted to say goodbye to us. Did my brother look at Chad and say 'please say goodbye to my family '?262
Heather Petrozza next addressed St. Louis. She begged:
I need to know what happened, Chad. I need to sit down and talk and I know that I'm the one person that you will talk to. Please, when this is all over, no more lies.263
Petrozza's step-father, Arthur Allegra also spoke to St. Louis, echoing Heather's beg for a
meeting and for answers:
[W]e trusted you, and like Heather said, you need to come and fess up. You need to tell
somebody. 264
Before he sentenced St. Louis to 50 years, Judge Thomas P. Miano addressed Petozza's family, their demand for answers, and their plea for an explanation from St. Louis. Miano confessed his lack of
background in psychology.265 Miano:
[I]n my opinion and I'm not one that's sophisticated in things ofthe mind or sociology or psychology or psychiatry, but in my opinion, ifyou truly love someone really truly there will never be closure and it troubles me as a lay person, not being sophisticated in this area, when I hear the family saying we want to hear how it ended, how it happened. Well, I can't fully appreciate your situation. Certainly my heart goes out to the family for their loss but I can't fully appreciate it, because you may never know, and I think you've got to find other ways to heal, as the Judge has indicated, and I'm certain that's what Christopher would have wanted. But to hinge your hopes on what the Defendant may say I think is a false sense ofhope, in my lay opinion, as a lay person not sophisticated in this area. 266
262 Id, 24. 263 Id, 26. 264 Id, 29. 265 See Forward, page 8. 266 State v. St. Louis, supra note 253, Trial Transcript at 41. 73 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
On July 7, 2014 St. Louis finally spoke. He testified at the habeas corpus hearing where his
primary claim was the ineffectiveness of McMahon, his trial counsel. He claimed Petrozza died in a
construction accident involving excavating equipment. The habeas trial court did not find his testimony
credible. 8 years after the murder and 5 years after the first trial the Petrozza family at least got to hear St.
Louis' version of how their son and brother died. They were present in the courtroom. They never got the
face-to-face dialogue they craved.
The failure of the Anglo criminal justice model to provide face-to-face interaction in murder cases
has been exposed in this chapter, detailing cases where victims or their families have expressed a desire
for interaction. The walls of separation erected between offenders and victims, along with the impact of
what I call "advised silence" leaves a trail of profound individual and collective dissatisfaction. In the
next chapter we examine the history of restorative justice in certain indigenous cultures, which includes
examples of families of offenders and their victims "talking things out."
Chapter 6
Restorative Justice In Indigenous Cultures
Where there is community dissatisfaction with the handling of criminal justice there is
often a parallel lack of community involvement. Restorative justice differs from traditional concepts of
criminal justice in that the conflict is between an individual and either another individual, a group of individuals, or the community as a whole, rather than the state. 267
267 See HUDSON AND GALOWA Y, supra note 67 at 1. 74 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The "talking things out" after an offense among the extended families of both the offender and
the victim which existed in many indigenous cultures provides that escape valve for serious emotional
outpouring of emotion. It allows victims to demand answers, to sit face to face with offenders and ask
the "why." The emotional escape valve is severely lacking in Anglo-European adversarial systems of justice. In the mass murders and rampage killings discussed in this study, "talking things out" would
accomplish an important social function.
Herein lies the juxtaposition between Anglo-European vertical systems, and indigenous
horizontal systems.268 The history of indigenous justice systems goes back many centuries and there are
many examples throughout the world.
The transition from a system of kin-based dispute resolution gave way to the litigation and a
court system in which feudal lords retained part of property forfeited by the offender.269 In The United
Kingdom a loose system of feudal lords and property forfeiture was centralized and then consolidated
during the century following the Norman Invasion of 1066, as the development of state/crown law which depended on the collection of revenue by the judge specifically for the king. This transformation
completed the transference of focus from the victim to the state. The decline of compensation to the victim was the second change. 270
The modem system of justice is also sometimes referred to as the "retributive model" of justice.271 Our English language criminal justice vocabulary has many origins in restorative justice
268 See MICHAEL BARK.UN, LAW WITHOUT SANCTIONS:ORDER IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES AND THE WORLD COMMUNITY, 1968, Richard Falk, International Jurisdiction: Horizontal And Vertical Conceptions of The Legal Order, TEMPLE L.Q., 32, 295-320 1959. 269 Daly, supra note 63 at 12. 270 ELMAR WEITKAMP, THE HISTORY OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, in RESTORATIVE JUVENILE JSUTICE:REPAIRING THE HARM OF YOUTH CRIME, (Bazemore and Walgrave 1999). 271 See HOWARD ZEHR, supra note 58 at 63. 75 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
concepts. The Greek word pune referred to an exchange of money for a harm caused. 272 The word
"guilt" likely derives from the Anglo-Saxon geldan, which like the German word Geld refers to a
payment. 273
There is debate in the academic community whether the efforts by criminologists and criminal justice practitioners to document international traditions of restorative justice is entirely accurate. 274
This debate is explained in Chapter 8.
The academic debate existing surrounding the roots of restorative justice notwithstanding, here are six examples of indigenous peoples throughout the world with rich histories of individualized systems of traditional justice. The examples set out here are systems incorporating healing and restorative practices. Whereas restorative practices were the predominant characteristic of the traditional dispute resolution methodologies set out here, punitive practices also existed. Outlined here, in detail, are two examples in Asia (the Mauri of New Zealand and the Vanimo of Papua New Guinea) two in
Africa (the Baswara of Botswana and the Kamba of Kenya) and two in North America (the Navajo and
Cheyenne of the United States).
I. Asia:
A. New Zealand (Mauri)
Justice for pre-Colonial Maori was governed by a set of rules. The law of wrongdoing existed, translated as tikanga o nga hara, and the subtribes or collections of families (hapu) and the tribes (iwi) had a council or law court (runanga o nga tura.)275
272 BRAITHWAITE, supra note 61 at 5. 273 Id. 5. See also J.W. Mohr, Criminal Justice and Christian Responsibility; The Secularization ofCriminal Law (paper presented to the Mennonite Central Committee Canada Annual Meeting, Abbotsford, British Colombia, January 22, 1981. 274 See e.g., Daly, supra note 63 fu 102. 275 Tauri and Morris, supra note 24 at 149. 76 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
In Maori society justice was not isolated from the community, but was very much a part of it and
a part of the everyday experience of the Mauri people. 276 Mauri justice belonged to the victim and could
be handed down from one generation to the next, could be pursued against the offender or their next of
kin, or the tribe. 277 Mauri justice was based on a fundamental belief that the harmful behavior (hara)
was caused by an imbalance of the social equilibrium.278
The Maori process consisted of a meeting, or hearing conducted in an area (the marae) in front
of the community meeting house (wharaenui). 279 Sometimes the process took place inside in a special
building or meeting house (wharerunanga), but it was a very public process.
The council or law court was headed by experts in Maori law (tohunga o nga ture) 280 and male
and female elders participated. 281 Representatives of the offender's family and the family of the victim participated in the meeting. The meeting might have had an investigative purpose, or a negotiation, with the purpose being to restore the balance that was disturbed and address the harm done to the victim.282
The process could indeed be a very lengthy one, depending on the seriousness or complexity of the offense. The interests of the victim, his family or tribe were central to the outcome, and there were numerous possible outcomes. The chief had much discretion in fashioning a sanction.283
Mauri justice was based on the understanding that responsibility was collective and not individual. Redress also was owed not only to the victim but their family. 284 Compensation (utu) to the
276 Pratt, supra note 68 at 183. 277 Id. at 138. 218 Id. 219 Id. 280 Tauri and Morris, supra note 24 at 149. 281 Id. 282 Id. at 138. 283 Id. at143. 284 Tauri and Morris, supra note 24 at 150. 77 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
victim was one outcome.285 Wrongdoing demanded compensation commensurate to the harm done. In a
serious offense destruction of the entire village was possible. 286In the most serious offenses a death
sentence was imposed.287 The same process was utilized for all offenses from the least to most serious,
thus it would have also applied to a mass killing.
Colonialism destroyed much of indigenous systems of justice throughout the British Empire,
including New Zealand.288 19th century British colonizers moved quickly to silence Maori justice system
and replace it with their own. They replaced Maori punishments with imprisonment.289 British
colonizers viewed Maori justice as uncertain and not uniform, preferring exactitude.290 The process of
silencing Maori justice took place over a long period of time, 60 years. By the end of the 19th century
Maori justice existed only in the outlying areas.291
New Guinea (Vanimo)
Papua New Guinea is essentially divided into four regions. The Vanimo West Coast people have inhabited five villages along a coastal stretch on the New Guinea Mainland in the Momase Region.
Disputes were traditionally resolved by the Vanimo with a system of compensation and mediation.292
Before money was used, compensation to victims of crime included payment of beads or rings. 293
The disputes were mediated by the chief. The V animo West Coast people believed that men who failed to follow the chiefs instructions to pay the ordered compensation would end up suffering from
285 Pratt, supra note 68 at 139. 286 Id. 139. 287 Id. 139. 288 Tauri and Morris, supra note 24 at 150. 289 Pratt, supra note 68 at 142. 290 Id. at 142. 291 Id. at 146. 292 Cyndi Banks, Victims In The Village: Aspects ofRestorative Justice in Papua New Guinea, 6 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF VICTIMOLOGY 999, 389. 293 Id at 390. 78 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
illness, or their children would suffer illness.294 Failure to pay compensation resulted in the offender
having to give a pig to the community for a feast. 295 Ritual cleansing was also utilized in resolving some
disputes. 296
One traditional remedy was a form of exile. The offender might be forbidden from entry into a
particular house (tambuim haus) or even a community (tambuim komuniti). 297 When the victim was ready to repair the relationship word was sent, beads collected from supporters and turned over to the victim. The process would end with the two sides meeting over a meal and shaking hands. 298
Disputes that were not settled sometimes resulted in the offended party seeking aid from a sorcerer or a witch. Still not satisfied, the offended party might resort to poison or "sanguma" to kill his enemy. 299 Sanguma was a secret murder committed by orders from sorcerers where poisoned thorns were inserted into the base of the tongue or into vital organs. 300
II. Africa
It is difficult to generalize about traditions that span an entire continent. Nonetheless, it is said that the main purpose of traditional dispute resolution in pre-colonial Africa was to restore social harmony and reconcile the parties.301
294 Id. 295 Id. at 394. 296 Id. at 391. 297 Id. 29s Id 299 Id at 390. 30°Karl J. Franklin, Comments on Sorcery in Papua New Guinea See, 3 GIALENS (2010) http://www.gial.edu/GIALens/issues.htm, http://www.gial.edu/images/gialens/vol4-3/Franklin Comments%20on%20Sorcery%20in%20PNG.pdf (last viewed March 10, 2014). See also FRANK MIHALIC, THE JACARANDA DICTIONARY AND GRAMMAR OF MELANESIAN, 1971. 301 John 0. Omale, Justice In History: An Examination of "African Restorative Traditions And The Emerging "Restorative Justice: Paradigm, Volume 2, No. 2, AFR. J. OF CRIMNOLOGY & ruST. STUD., (November 2006) 45, citing S. Merry, 1982. 79 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
African justice is sometimes summed up in the term "ubuntu, "which is loosely translated as the
natural connectedness of the humanity of persons. 302 A Xhosa proverb summed it up as "umuntu
ngumuntu ngabantu," or "a person is a person through persons." Thus, African justice recognized that
bringing harm to another person is therefore bringing harm to one's self.
The resolution of pre-colonial criminal disputes among indigenous African peoples usually focused
on restitution rather than punishment. A high degree of public participation existed, so that disobeying the final resolution meant disobeying the entire community. Disobeying a final resolution resulted in ostracism.303In pre-colonial African societies, ostracism was "social death," and much more. Food and
safety were collaborative community efforts.304 Separation from an individual's group has been referred to by C.A. Oputa as a "living death."305
As with the Vanimo of New Guinea, many indigenous peoples of Africa also believed that illness or other negative consequences caused by supernatural ancestral spirits would be the result of social unrest. 306 Like the Vanimo, reconciliation was typically ended with a joint meal. In Nigeria, for example, following dispute mediation, parties were expected to eat from the same bowl and drink from the same cup. 307
In pre-colonial south-east Nigeria the Igbo tribe employed the sanctions of replacement (nkuchi) and shaming (ikwala). 308For example, if a man stole from another man's farm he might be ordered to do
302 Id. at 55. 303 Id. at 46, citing V.C. lgbokwe, 1998. 304 Id. at 46, citing S.Roberts, 1979. 305 Id. at 46, citing C.A. Oputa (1975). 306 Id. citing S.Roberts,(1979). 307 Id. at 48. 308 Id. at 52. 80 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
work on the farm to restore the relationship, or might be ordered to dance around the farm several times
singing, "I am a thief, please forgive me."309
Botswana
The Basarwa are generally believed to be the first inhabitants of the territory in southern Africa that is now Botswana. They are also known internationally as the Khoisan or Bushman.310 There were many others, including the Ngwato which grew to become the largest tribe in current Botswana. It was composed of the original Tswana group (principal tribe) that broke away from the Barolong splinter groups and other groups, like the Kalanga, Kaa, and the Tswapong.311
The indigenous system of criminal justice in this region focused on "reclaiming" the offender from the crime.312 The essence of the system was an obligation to restore the victim and undue the harm done without condemning the offender to permanent criminal status. 313 In contrast to the Anglo-European model, African indigenous punishment was aimed at "taking the offense out of the offender and not the offender out of society."314
Offenders were tried before the community, or Kgotla. 315 Among indigenous peoples of this region of Africa, the family, the clan and the greater community all played a role in dealing with criminal behavior.316 The offender was given the opportunity to make restitution and the victim could request the
309 Id. 310 K Bojosi, Botswana: Constitutional, Legislative and Administrative Provisions Concerning Indigenous Peoples, International Labour Organization and African Commission on Human & Peoples' Rights, 2009, 235, http://www 1. chr. up. ac.za/chr_ old/indigenous/country_reports/Country _reports_ Botswana.pd/ (last visited March 17, 2014 ). 311 Id. at 7. 312 Boitumelo Makunga, The Improvement Of The Treatment of Offenders Through The Enhancement ofCommunity-Based Alternatives To Incarceration, The United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdfi'RS_No79/No79_29PA_Makunga.pdf(last visited March 17, 2014). 313 Id. at 235. 314 Id. at 235. 315 Id. at 235. 316 Id.
81 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
type of restorative punishment they believed just. After several unsuccessful attempts by the community to employ corrective measures, if the offender would not agree to a resolution or attempt to mend their
ways, banishment would be considered. This was a last resort. There was no institutionalized form of punishment, whatsoever, in pre-colonial Botswana. 317
Kenya
The Kamba people of Kenya utilized a court of elders to resolve disputes.318 The elders listened to the dispute, determined the facts and announced a resolution. The concept of "guilt" was not relevant, nor were the intentions of the offender. The Kamba had standard scale of compensation for each offense.
319 So, for example in the Kamba community living in Kitui, for maiming an eye an offender had to pay one cow and one bull.320 This system of compensation was used to resolve all cases in the Kamba community, even murder cases.
The offense of an individual had a ripple effect on the clan, and thus clan members assisted the offender in paying compensation.321
Traditional practices among the indigenous Kikuyu and Meru of Kenya were similar to those of the
Kamba.322
Like the Vanimo of New Guinea, there are instances of indigenous African justice where punishments were meted out, especially in murder cases. Examples of this exist among the Kikuyo of
Kenya. After a murder, the victim's family invaded the lands of the murderer. They would call out the
311 Id. 318 Sarah Kinyanjui, Restorative Justice In Traditional Pre-Colonial Criminal Justice Systems In Kenya, 10 TRIBAL LAW J. 1, 5, http://tlj.unm.edu/volumes/vol10/Kinyanjui.pdf(1ast visited March 17, 2014). 319 Id at 5. 320 Id 321 Id 322 /d. at 6-15. 82 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings family of the murderer by cutting down plants. This invasion was called king'ore kia muhiriga. They would kill the murderer or someone from his family to settle the matter. 323
The revenge murder was eliminated in later years by the Kikuyo, and the king 'ore kia muhiriga became symbolic.
III. North America
United States
There are great differences in historical approaches to justice among indigenous peoples in the
United States. The one concept consistent among indigenous peoples in this period and place is the
focus on reparations and making the parties "whole" after some injury.324 In this period, it appears
that even killings were considered repairable wrongs. 325
A second fundamental principle common to many American Indian people is the spiritual basis
of much traditional indigenous law.326 A distinctive world view influences many tribal practices,
ideals and law.327
One comprehensive explanation of North American sacred ways explains a world view shared
by many:
One ofthe important concepts Native American tribal people share with respect to the sacred is that all things in the universe are dependent on each other. This concept is first introduced to a child through the stories and songs ofthe origin histories. Behind the ceremonials and rituals each tribe carries out throughout the year is the notion ofbalance and imbalance. Disease is
323 Id. at 11, citing Kenyatta.(1979). 324 Jon' AF. Meyer, History Repeats Itself Restorative Justice In Native American Communities, 14(1) J. OF CONTEMP. JUSTICE, February, 1998, 42, 44. 325 Id. at 44. 326 GARROW AND DEER, supra note 46 at 10. 327 Carole E. Goldberg, Overextended Borrowing: Tribal Peacemaking Applied in Non-Indian Disputes, 72 WASH. L. REV. 1003, 1011 (1997). 83 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
seen as part ofthe total environment which would include the individual, the community, the natural world ofancestors and spirits. 328
In this explanation, the word "balance" has two important elements. First, it's a sacred order that
is connected to a Great Spirit or some other supernatural force, which is associated with sacred
ritual. Second, it is expansive, with distinct social dimensions and includes proper familial
relationships within clans, other familial relationships, the natural world and spirits.329
The methods of making people whole among American Indian cultures has varied. For example,
the Ojibwe, a major component group of the Anishinaabe-speaking peoples in North America,
focused on cleansing spirits of both the victim and offender as a method of repairing injuries done to
both and aiding their futures as community members.330 This contrasts a focus on blame and
punishment.
The Inuit, a North American indigenous peoples occupying what are now the Arctic regions of
Alaska, Canada and Greenland went to great length to avoid even the perception of offender
punishment. They held community meetings which focused on the event and possible solutions as
possible and hypothetical future events. 331
The Iroquois were a confederation of several tribes of indigenous people, inhabiting what is now
the Northeast United States and parts of Canada. Among the Iroquois a killer's family would meet
with the killer to attempt to persuade him to confess guilt. If they did, the family of the killer sent a
strip of white wampum to the victim's family or clan to signal their desire to make reparations.332
328 PEGGY V. BECK ET AL, THE SACRED WAYS OF KNOWLEDGE, SOURCES OF LIFE, 102 (1990). 329 Goldberg, supra note 327 at 1011. Clan relationships are cited in Chapter 4, supra, as a distinguishing attribute of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. 330 Id. at 45. 331 Jd 332 Id at 44. 84 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The wampum might be accepted and the death pardoned. If the wampum was refused it meant that
the victim's family would retaliate and claim a killing within the killer's family or clan.333
Sometimes the killer's family reacted with a decision to kill the offender themselves, which would
protect the clan from revenge. 334
The Iroquois employed mourning rituals after a crisis. These mourning rituals were common
among American Indian Woodlands tribes. 335 The Iroquois ceremony was called the Condolence
Council and it was wholly consistent with the Indian belief that relationships of close connection
were sustained by shared suffering and solidarity in times of crisis.336
Aspects of the Iroquois mourning ritual included the smoking of a sacred pipe and of sharing a
same bowl to eat together. The ritual included telling stories spoken by the wampum that rekindled
the fire to bind the mourners close and, significantly, of wiping away any bad blood between two
sides. 337
The Karok, an indigenous people inhabiting what is now California in the United States, utilized
a system of compensation for all crimes, including death. 338 In this system crimes could be forgiven
as long as there was sufficient compensation. Compensation was not always in the form of
remuneration. Sometimes it involved caring for the victims' family, or "waiting on" an injured
victim.339
Compensation and The Crow Dog Case
333 Id 334 Id 335 Williams, supra note 48 at 54. 336 Id 337 Id. at 56. 338GARROW AND DEER, supra note 46 at 44. 339 Id
85 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Crow Dog murder case of 1881 is illustrative of how some American Indian tribes resolved
murder cases with compensation from the offender to the family of the victim.340 Both Crow Dog
(actually named Kan-gi-shun-ca) and Spotted Tail (actually named Kan-gi-shun-ca) were members
of the Brule Sioux band of the Sioux Nation oflndians, and Spotted Tail was recognized by the
Sioux as a great chief.341
Crow Dog, a warrior, killed Spotted Tail in what appears to have been motivated by an interest
in controlling the chiefs power. 342 The Sioux Nation dealt with the murder in the traditional Sioux
method of dispute resolution. Peacemakers were sent to meet with both families. The matter was
settled tribally with $600 cash, eight horses and one blanket given to Spotted Tail's family by Crow
Dog.343
What made the case famous was that Chief Spotted Tail was well known in Washington, D.C. as
an Indian leader. His reputation led to an uproar outside of Indian Country that there had been no
Anglo-style prosecution or penalty. A federal prosecution of Crow Dog resulted, but was
unsuccessful.344 Crow Dog's conviction was overturned by the United States Supreme Court on
jurisdictional grounds. 345
In addition to compensation, another fairly common condition imposed by American Indian
tribes in murder and other serious cases was banishment. 346 As with the African "social death"
340 Ex parte Kan-gi-shun-ca (otherwise known as "Crow Dog"), 3 S. Ct. 396 (1883). 341 Hon. Gaylen L. Box, Crow Dog: Tribal Sovereignty and Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Countly, 50 ADVOC. 13, 15 (2007). 342 Id. 343 Id. See also SIDNEY L. HARRING, CROW DOG'S CASE; AMERICAN INDIAN SOVEREIGNTY, TRIBAL LAW AND UNITED STATES LAW IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY I (1994).
344 Id. supra note 342. United States v. Crow Dog, 3 Dak:. 196, 14 NW 437 (1882). 345 Ex parte Kan-gi-shun-ca, supra note 340. 346 Patrice H. Kunesh, Banishment as Cultural Justice in Contemporary Tribal Legal Systems, 37 N.M. L. REv. 85, 110 (2007). 86 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
discussed earlier in this chapter, banishment removed and ostracized the offender from the
community. Where there was an unintentional killing, one tribe, the Cherokee, allowed the offender
to flee to a "sacred city ofrefuge" where they would be safe.347
Navajo
The Navajo people ( or Dine) are an indigenous people who live in what is now the southwest
United States.
Traditional Navajo concepts ofjustice are rooted with healing as the goal. Central to obtaining
healing is the Navajo concept of h6zh6. It is not easily translated, but is sometimes translated as
harmony and balance. 348
"Traditional Navajos understand Dine bi beenahaz'aanii as values, norms customs and traditions
that are transmitted orally across generations and which produce and maintain right relations, right
relationships, and desirable outcomes in Navajo society."349
Proper social relationships are critical to achieving h6zh6. The Navajo have a complex system of
kinship and clans, and requirements of kinship solidarity, or k'e. According to Navajo jurist and
scholar, Raymond Austin, kinship is of the utmost importance to the Navajo, as clan relatives
provide the essentials a Navajo needs for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.350
K'e includes taking personal responsibility for achieving harmony with equally valuable
members of one's family and clan, with whom each person is firmly linked.
347 GARROW AND DEER, supra note 46 at 26. 348 AUSTIN, supra note 47at 53. 349 AUSTIN, supra note 47at 40. 350 AUSTIN, supra note 47 at 88. 87 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The purpose of Navajo justice is to bring finality to the issues before them, correct the
imbalances, and bring all parties back to h ozho. 351 Through "talking things out" with respect under
the principles of k 'e, the Navajo bring those in conflict into h6zh6. 352
Modem Navajo "peacemaking" derives from traditional Navajo principles of Navajo justice and
is premised upon participation by all those affected, including victims. According to Philmer
Bluehouse and James W. Zion, "the Navajo horizontal (peace planning) system of justice uses
Navajo norms, values, moral principles, and emotions as law. K'e and k'ei are only two of these
precepts. There are many others, which are expressed in Navajo creation and journey scripture,
songs, ceremonies, and prayers. "353
One ceremony or ritual, in particular, is important to peacemaking, the Blessingway Ceremony.
Navajos regard the Blessingway Ceremony as an important backbone of their belief.354 Among
other uses, Navajo imploy the Blessingway Ceremony to "avert misfortune, to invoke positive
blessings that man needs for a long and happy life ... "355 It is a ritual that can last two days.
The comprehensive peacemaking process is used to reach a consensus. Consensus of all of the
participants is critical to resolution of the dispute, concern or issue. With full voluntary participation
(t'aa altso alhil ka'iijee'go) and consensus, a resolution is reached with all participants giving their
sacred word (hazaad jidisingo ) that they will abide by the decision. The resolution (guided by Dine
be beenahaz'aanii), in tum, is the basis for restoring harmony (bee h6zh9nahodoodleel ). H6zh6 is
351 Office ofNavajo Nation President and Vice-President v. Navajo Nation Council, 9 AM. TRIBAL LAW 46 No. SC-CV- 02-10. (Nav.Sup.Ct. May 28, 2010). 352 In re Mental Health Services for Bizardi, 5 Am. Tribal Law 467,469 (Nav.Sup.Ct 2004). See also Atcitty v. Window Rock District Court, 7 Nav. R. 227,230 (Nav.Sup.Ct.1996). 353 Philmer Bluehouse & James Zion, Hozhooji Naat'aanii: The Navajo Justice and Harmony Ceremony, 10.4 MEDIATION Q. 337 (1993) 321. 354 CLIFTON LELAND WYMAN , NAVAJO CEREMONIAL SYSTEM, 536 (1983). 355 Id
88 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
established if all who participated are committed to the agreement and consider it as the final
agreement from which the parties can proceed to live in harmony again. Finality is established when
all participants agree that all of the concerns or issues have been comprehensively resolved in the
agreement (na binaheezlaago bee t'aa lahjj algha' deet'q). 356
The participation of the community in resolving disputes between parties is a deeply-seeded part
of Navajo collective identity and is central to the Navajo way of government.357
Traditional Navajo Method of Resolving Homicides and Other Violent Offenses
As an offense, homicide, though, was uncommon among Navajo in the nineteenth and early
twentieth century.358 Before 1810 the predominant cause of homicide was inter clan or family feuds,
domestic matters or personal insult. Following the introduction of intoxicating liquor in 1810,
intoxication became the predominant cause ofhomicide.359
Traditionally, murders were resolved among Navajos where the family of the victim made a
demand of retribution, first in the form of payment of goods, which at first included shells, gems or
hides, and later came to involve animals, or "live stock."360
Four horses were the price for the murder of a man, for example. If the demanded payment was
not made the immediate family of the offender was held responsible. If payment was still withheld
the death penalty was applied.361
356 Navajo Nation v. Kelly, 6 AM. TRIBAL LAW 772, 777 (Nav.Sup.Ct.2006). 357 Duncan v. Shiprock District Court, 5 AM. TRIBAL LAW 458, 466 (Nav.Sup.Ct.2004). 358 Navajo Common Law II, Navajo Law and Justice, Vol 9. No 10 MUSEUM NOTES, Museum of Northern Arizona, (April 1937). 359 Id. 360 Id. 361 Id. 89 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
An "accidental" death was still considered a homicide to the Navajo and relatives of the
deceased sought payment. If payment was refused "blood revenge" was sought. 362 For lesser
injuries the traditional custom of "A Clothes," was employed, where the family of an injured Navajo
person would forfeit clothing and the amount of clothing corresponded to the depth of the wound. 363
Retribution in the form of compensation was significant to the Navajo as wealth was an
important aspect throughout primitive Navajo culture.364
A more detailed description of the modem Navajo Nation Peacemaking program is included in
Chapter 8.
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne were an indigenous people living in the Midwestern American Plains, and
part of the Algonquin group of tribes. After 1833 they were divided into a northern division in
southeastern Montana and eastern Wyoming, and a southern division in western Oklahoma and
eastern Colorado. Cheyenne existence was nomadic, semi-pastoral and hunting existence. 365
The Cheyenne were governed by an organization that consisted of two orders: the tribal chiefs
comprising of a Council of Forty-four, and military (soldier) societies.366 Both groups participated in
the process of deciding how cases were resolved. 367
Homicide cases occurring where the offender was from an enemy tribe were handled differently
by the Cheyenne than when the offenders were also Cheyenne. Regarded as an unusual occurrence,
362 Id 363 Id. 364 Id. 365 LLEWELLYN AND HOEBEL, supra note 40 at vii. 366 Id at 67. 367 Id at 12. 90 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
there is a reported case in the 19th century where the Cheyennes as a community sought revenge for
the murder of two Cheyenne brothers by members of the enemy Crow tribe. In this case, the case of
the murder of the sons of Red Robe, many Cheyennes charged into the Crow camp, killing many
Crows.368 In some ways the Red Robe case more resembles inter-tribal warfare than it does
individual criminal dispute resolution.
Llewellyn and Hoebel report that there were 16 homicides from 1835-1879.369 When one
Cheyenne murdered another it was viewed as a sin that "bloodied the Sacred Arrows," and
endangered the entire tribe. After committing a murder the Cheyenne believed an offender began an
internal disintegration which had a corresponding odor. The tribe could purify itself by eliminating
the taint through banishment of the murderer.370 Thus, while banishment had a punitive affect, the
purpose for the Cheyenne was not to punish but to cure a wound suffered by the community.
After a murder the tribal chiefs would convene a conference. The military society performed an
investigative function. A decree of banishment followed. Banishment of a Cheyenne murderer was
not permanent. It was an indeterminate sentence where commutation of the sentence would occur on
several alternative grounds.
Commutation of a murder sentence required consent by the Council, the military agency and the
father of the victim. An offering of tobacco as an expression of contrition was also common among
the Cheyenne. 371
The case of the murder of Cheyenne Chief Eagle by Cries Yia Eya is a good example of how an
indeterminate murder sentence was eventually commuted by the Cheyenne. Sometime between 1860
368 Id at 3-6. 369 Id. at 133. 310 Id 371 Id. at 139.
91 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
and 1890 Cries Yia Eya killed Chief Eagle in what is referred to as a "whiskey brawl."372 The chiefs
banished Cries Yia Eya. One day Cries Yia Eya returned to the exterior of the Cheyenne camp with
bundles of tobacco, sending in word that he was "begging to come home." 373 The tobacco was
intended for distribution among the tribe.
After a debate among the various soldier societies one soldier announced that he believed the
"stink" associated with a murderer had "blown from him."374 The soldiers were sent to attempt to
persuade the father of Chief Eagle to allow Cries Yia Eya to return and to accept the tobacco. Chief
Eagle's father agreed, so long as Cries Yia Eya vowed to conduct himself appropriately in the future.
Cries Yia Eya was allowed to return.
Even after being allowed to return to the community, though, murderers still suffered a level of
ostracism. It is reported that they could never again touch their lips to the tobacco pipe of another
man nor eat from their bowls. 375
About banishment, Pawnee, a Southern Cheyenne chief who had behaved badly as a young man
said: "you may run away, but your people will always remember."376
The history of the resolution of murders among indigenous peoples reveals many common
themes. Community participation by elders or community leaders was one commonality, and a
dialogue between the families of offenders and the families of victims another. Overall, the
restoration of social harmony was a common goal; taking the offense out of the offender also a
repeated commonality.
372 Id at 12. 373 Id. 374 Id. at 13. 375 Id. at 85. Referring to the case of Little Wolf who killed Starving Elk, 1879-1880. 376 Id. at 9. 92 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Dispute resolution in murders had a spiritual component to it. Although there are examples
among indigenous peoples who punished murderers, even by death, compensation for the death was
common. Many communities demonstrated peace among combatants with the sharing of a meal, or
actually eating together from the same bowl of food. Some level of community ostracism of the
offender was another commonality.
The history of serious criminal case dispute resolution among six indigenous cultures around the
world are chronicled here and a wide range of restorative practices confirmed. An important cross
cultural component was the requirement of forgiveness, which, to cite one example, was the pre
requisite for allowing a banished murderer to return to the community. A deep understanding of
forgiveness and its place in the discourse of the aftermath of murder is the subject of Chapter 7.
Chapter 7
Forgiveness
The importance of forgiveness to healing and reconciliation cannot be overstated. In fact, The
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been quoted as saying that "without forgiveness there is no future."377
Forgiveness is complex, and is a result of a number of contributors, depression and commitment to apology and empathy.378 It is so complex and weighty that the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
377 DESMOND TUTU, WITHOUT FORGIVENESS THERE IS NO FUTURE, in EXPLORING FORGIVENESS, xiii-xiv (R. D. Enright & J. North, eds., 1998). See also DESMOND TUTU, NO FUTURE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS, (2000). 378 R. Fehr et al, supra note 49 at 909.
93 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
viewed it with a healthy measure of skepticism. He viewed forgiveness as offered reluctantly as a result
of an unequal power dynamic with typically limited choice as to whether to offer one. 379
Forgiveness is effective, though. It heals. There is evidence that forgiveness interventions
increase the level of potential forgiveness following an offense, and that those interventions "increase
hope and psychological well-being, and decrease depression, anxiety, and anger."380
Forgiveness: What exactly is it?
Researchers have come to a consensus that forgiveness can include: (1) a reduction in "vengeful
and angry thoughts, feelings, and motives" that may coincide with (2) an increase in "positive thoughts,
feelings, and motives toward the offending person."381 In other words, forgiveness refers to a voluntary
behavioral change toward a perceived transgressor, and includes the reduction of negative thoughts, emotions, and motivations toward the transgressor that might cause eventual changed behaviors. 382
Forgiveness is therefore understood largely as an intrapersonal experience that does not necessarily include reconciliation with the offending person even though reconciliation might accompany it. There is further consensus among researchers that forgiveness does not mean condoning,
379 FRIEDRICH NIETZCHE, THE GENEOLOGY OF MORALS, A POLEMIC, (1887). 380 Wade, et al supra note 54. See also T. W. Baskin & R. D. Enright, Intervention studies on forgiveness: A meta-analysis 82 J. OF COUNSELING & DEVELOPMENT, 79 (2004) and N. G. WADE, E. L. WORTHINGTON, Jr., Jr., & J.E. MEYER, BUT DO THEY WORK? A META-ANALYSIS OF GROUP INTERVENTIONS TO PROMOTE FORGIVENESS, in HANDBOOK OF FORGIVENESS, 423-440, (E. L. Worthington, Jr. ed, 2005) 381 N. G. Wade, et al supra note 54. See also N. G. Wade & E. L. Worthington Jr., Overcoming unforgiveness: Is Forgiveness The Only Way to Deal With Unforgiveness?, 81 J. OF COUNSELING & DEVELOPMENT, 343-353 (2003). 382 D. E. Davis, E. L, Worthington., Jr., J. N. Hook & P. C. Hill, Research on Religion/Spirituality and Forgiveness: A Meta Analytic Review, PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY (2013). 94 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings forgetting or excusing the wrongdoing and that it is not just the opposite or absence of vengefulness and bitterness. 383
Are horrific rampages such as the school shootings at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech,
Sandy Hook Elementary School, or Red Lake High School too serious to introduce restorative justice themes? Two contemporary Buddhists, Aug San Suu Kyi of Burma and the Dalai Lama "teach the west that the more evil the crime, the greater the opportunity for grace to inspire a transformative will to resist tyranny with compassion."384
The Dalai Lamai said:
Learning to forgive is much more useful than picking up a stone and throwing it at the object ofone's anger, the more so when the provocation is extreme. For it is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneselfand for others. 385
Severity of Harm As An Influence On Likelihood of Forgiveness
It is logical that the more serious the event the more negative will be the overall impression of the offender, rampage murders included. 386 As a result there has not been much academic attention given to this negative correlation. The negative view of the offender becomes associated with the negative event and, therefore may produce a conclusion that the offender is undeserving of
383 Wade & Worthington, supra 381, 343-353. 384 BRAITHWAITE, supra note 61 at 3. 385 MALCOLM DAVID ECKEL, A BUDDHIST APPROACH TO REPENTENCE, In REPENTENCE: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE (Etzioni and Carney eds.) (Rowman and Littlefield 1997) 135. 386 S. D. Boon & L. M Sulsky, Attributions ofBlame and Forgiveness in Romantic Relationships: A Policy-Capturing Study, 12 J. OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOL.19-44 (1997). See also B. W. Darby & B. R. Schlenker, Children's Reactions to Apologies, 43 J. OF PERSONALITY & SOCIAL PSYCHOL., 742-753 (1982). 95 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
forgiveness. 387 Victims, then, might avoid interaction with or even contemplate revenge against the
offender who commits a serious offense, the victim desiring not to be victimized again in the future. 388
Religion and Forgiveness Where Does Our Understanding of Forgiveness Come From?
The concept of forgiveness has roots in the history of religious belief. Forgiveness and justice are central tenets of many of the world's religions. 389 In fact, the three major monotheistic religions,
Judaism, and Islam and Christianity promote forgiveness and justice not only as aspirations of religious adherents, but also as qualities of God. 390
Jewish religious belief was the basis for Jewish law. Jewish belief and Jewish law influenced
Christian philosophy. Christianity inherited from Judaism the belief in a God who is thought of as a loving father and a righteous judge, a paradoxical God, combining both mercy and justice. 391
Hebrew, Christian, and Islamic texts often implore adherents to practice forgiveness. 392
In his legal treatise, Mishneh Torah, Jewish scholar and Talmudist Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman
(1194-1270), also referred to as Nachmanides, wrote that where there are sins between man and man those sins will never be forgiven until the offending person "gives his colleague what he owes him and appeases him."393 Apology, restitution and forgiveness are essential tenets of the Jewish faith. The holiest day of the year for Jews is Yorn Kippur, which translates as "The Day of Atonement."
387 R. Fehr et al, supra note 49. 388 Id 389 D. R. VAN TONGEREN ET AL, FORGIVENESS AND RELIGION: UPDATE ABND CURRENT STATUS, in MAPPING FORGIVENESS, 53-70, (M. R. Maanni, ed, 2012). 390 M. S. RYE ET AL, RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON FORGIVENESS,in FORGIVENESS: THEORY, RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, 17-40 (M. E. McCullough, K. I. Pargament, & C. E. Thoresen, eds., 2000). 391 Berman, supra note 20, 166. 392 M. E. McCullough & E. L Worthington, Jr., Religion and the Forgiving Personality, 67 J. OF PERSONALITY 1141- 1164 (1999). 393 ELIYAHU TOUGER, MISHNEH TORAH, Chapter 1 (1990). 96 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The threat of eternal punishment and the corresponding emphasis on repentance and forgiveness
is more pronounced in the Christian New Testament than it is in the Jewish bible.394 Christian
philosophy and belief was a pronounced influence over the common law. 395
Christian philosopher Saint Anselm (1033-1109) developed a tenet called the Doctrine of
Atonement.396 Anselm's theory emphasized the humanity of the Son of God, who suffered death as an
appeasement of sin. This allowed God to forgive, and at the same time gave man the ability to accept
forgiveness and then be redeemed. 397
In Christian belief, forgiveness is an important element ofjustice, as is punishment. Both are
required, neither one alone suffices. God alone cannot forgive man's sins." ... [T]his would leave the
disturbance of the order of the universe, caused by sin, uncorrected, and that an uncorrected disorder would constitute a deficiency injustice." "Mercy," said Anselm," is the daughter of justice; it is derived
from justice and cannot work against justice." 398
For many people the term "spiritual" more closely defines their belief system than "religious."
"Spirituality" is defined as a person's search for a sense of closeness or connection with the sacred. 399
Sacred is what a person believes to be set apart from the ordinary, and therefore deserving of veneration.400 Most people in the United States experience the sacred as God or some divine being
394 Berman, supra note 20, 166. 395 For an overview of the influences of Christian philosophy on Western law, see Berman, supra note 17, Chapter 4: Theological Sources ofthe Western Legal Tradition. 396 Berman, supra note 20, 179. 397 Berman, supra note 20, 179. 398 Berman, supra note 20, 179, quoting Anselm's PROLOGION, chaps 9-11. 399 D. E. Davis, J. N. Hook & E. L. Worthington, Jr. Relational Spirituality and Forgiveness: The roles ofAttachment to God, Religious Coping, and Viewing the Transgression as a Desecration, 27 J. OF PSYCHOL. & CHRISTIANITY, 293-301 (2008). See also D. E. Davis, J. N. Hook & E. L. Worthington, Jr. Relational Spirituality and Forgiveness: The roles of Attachment to God, Religious Coping, and Viewing the Transgression as a Desecration, 27 JOURNAL OF PSYCHOL. & CHRISTIANITY, 293-301 (2008); P. C Hill, et al, Conceptualizing Religion and Spirituality: Points of Commonality, Points ofDeparture, 30 J. FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAV., 51-77. (2000). 400 D. E. Davis et al, Id. 97 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings within the context of a specific religious tradition.401 Others, like many indigenous peoples, experience a connection or closeness to nature, humanity, or the universe.
When Religious People Are Victims of Rampage Murder
As stated later in this chapter, Alyssa and Robbie Parker's willingness to meet with the father of the young man who committed the horrific murder of their 6 year old daughter, Emilie, and their willingness to forgive were, no doubt, influenced by their backgrounds as active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 402 It was the aftermath of a rampage affecting a highly religious
Amish community in Pennsylvania, however, that closely resembled the community responses exhibited in the two American Indian cultures studied in Chapter 4.
The Amish School Shooting
On October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts barricaded himself in a one-room Amish school house in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Roberts killed 6 school girls ages 7-13 before killing himself. 403
Viewing Roberts' family as victims, too, Amish parents immediately sent messages of forgiveness to
Roberts' family. 404 The Amish are deeply religious people. Their roots date back to the Anabaptist movement of the Protestant Reformation of 16th Century Europe.
401 D. E. Davis et al, Id 402 Jeff Benedict, Witnessing Grief and Compassion in Newtown, DESERET NEWS, December 18, 2012 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/7 65618130/Witnessing-grief-and-compassion-in-Newtown.html (last visited March 18, 2015). According to THE DAILY NEWS, the funeral of Emilie parker was held at The Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter day Saints in Ogden, Utah. See, Chelsea Rose Marcius and Bill Hutchinson, Tragic Finale: Tears Fall As Last ofNewtown 's Little Victims Are Laid To Rest, THE DAILY NEWS, December 22, 2012, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tears fall-newtown-victims-laid-rest-article-1.1226040 (last visited March 18, 2015). 403 DONALD KRA YBILL, STEVEN NOLT & DAVID L. WEA VER-ZERCHER, AMISH GRACE: HOW FORGIVENESS TRANSCENDED TRAGEDY, (2010). 404 Donald B. Kraybill, Forgiving Is Woven Into Life ofAmish, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, (October 8, 2006). 98 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Anabaptist martyrs emphasized completely turning over one's life to God. The Amish say the
martyr testimony evolves from the example of Jesus, the foundation of their faith. They do not ponder if
forgiveness is effective, they conduct it as the way they view Jesus would have responded to his
adversaries, or enemies. 405
Although Roberts had just committed an unspeakable atrocity-the murder of 6 innocent school
girls-Roberts' family and friends had no trouble arranging a funeral service at a local funeral home.
They also had no trouble arranging a burial for him, not in secrecy or the darkness of night, but in the
Georgetown Pennsylvania United Methodist Church cemetery a few hundred yards from his home.406
While Roberts' crime bears a resemblance to Adam Lanza's in Newtown, the aftermath is analogous to those in the two American Indian communities studied here, The Red Lake Chippewa and the Tulalip
Indian tribes.
Theoretical Models of Forgiveness
Is there a theoretical framework for forgiveness to occur? Direct communication allows for a dialogue, for negotiation. It allows for community involvement in the disposition of a case. It makes possible understanding, confession, reconciliation and forgiveness.407 Sociologist Thomas J. Scheff calls this process "symbolic reparation."408 Symbolic reparation accompanies "material reparation"; the restitution, compensation, community service to the victim, their family or even the greater community.409
40s Id 406 K.raybill, supra note 403 at 38. 407 Scheff, supra note 66 at 231. 408 University of California at Santa Barbara. 409 Scheff, supra note 66 at 235. 99 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Scheff has a formula for symbolic reparation to occur. According to Scheff, an offender must
clearly express genuine shame and remorse about their actions. The expression may take the form of an
apology, and research supports the close connection between forgiveness and apology.410
The expression of shame and remorse may be followed by the victim or their family beginning
the first steps to forgive the offender. Scheff calls this process the core sequence. The crime, according
to Scheff, severed a social bond between the offender and both the victim and the community.411 The
core sequence restores the bond. The offender's acceptance ofresponsibility paves the way for their
reacceptance into the community. It makes less likely recidivism, according to Scheff.
The requirement that shame and remorse be genuine is an important one. Determining when it is
genuine requires skill and training. It might require observation over a period oftime.
The Importance of Apology
As stated above, the outward expression of remorse and shame are important components to obtaining forgiveness. The apology is also an important component of this process. An apology is a validation of another person's feelings, intuition, and perception.412 It is one of the most effective methods for healing humiliation and generating forgiveness. 413
As one law professor says, we live in the "Age of Apology,"414 and another offers that "apology fever is everywhere."415 Yet, apology has often been empirically associated with forgiveness.416
410 Robert D. Carlisle et al, Do actions speak louder than words? Differential effects of apology and restitution on behavioral and self-report measures offorgiveness, 7:4 THE J. OF POSITIVE PSYCHOL. 294-305 (2012). 411 Id. 412 A. Lazare, The healing power ofapology, FAMILY CIRCLE, 12 (September 16, 1997). m Id. 414 Roy Lavon Brooks, Professor of Law at The University of San Diego School of Law. 415 Brent T. White, Saving Face: The Benefits ofNot Saying I'm Sorry, 72 LAW & CONTEMP. PROBS. 261 (2009). 416 Robert D. Carlisle et al, supra note 407.
100 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Apology, when experienced together with restitution have been found to be related to increased forgiveness. 417
Obtaining "closure" for victims of violence and their families is a popular modem subject.418 The subject is frequently cited in the United States as an objective in death penalty cases. 419 There is support in research that giving crime victims input in criminal sentencing yields satisfaction. 420 Whether victim input helps reduce long term trauma, however, remains to be determined.421
A number of theoretical models for forgiveness treatment have been developed. 422 Research groups headed by R.D. Enright (Forgiveness Is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope 423 and E.L. Worthington (Five Steps To Forgiveness; The Art and Science of
Forgiving) have set forth a framework for accomplishing forgiveness treatment.424 Unlike the work of
Thomas J. Scheff, discussed above, intrapersonal versus interpersonal models are the focus of their research.
The Importance of Face-to Face Inter-Personal Reconciliation: A Change of Heart
417 R. Fehr & M.J. Gelfand, When apologies work: How matching apology components to victims' self construals facilitates forgiveness, 113 ORG. BERAV. AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES 37-50 (2010).Fehr, R., & Gelfand, M.J. (2010). 418 For more of a discussion about victims and closure see, S. Bandes, When victims seek closure: Forgiveness, Vengeance and the Role ofGovernment. FORDHAM URB. L. J. 27, 1599-1606. (2000) 419 Antony Pemberton and Sandra Reynaers, The Controversial Nature of Victim Participation: Therapeutic Benefits in Victim Impact Statements, (January 23, 2011), http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssm.1745923 (last visited August 19, 2014. See also, J.A. WEMMERS AND E. EREZ, THERATPEUTIC JURISPRUDENCE AND THE POSITION OF VICTIMS, (2010). 420 J.A. Wemmers, Restorative justice for victims ofcrime: A Victim-oriented Approach to Restorative Justice, 9 INT'L REV. OF VICTIMOLOGY,43-59. (2002). 421 Ulrich Orth and Andreas Maercker, Do Trials ofPerpetrators Retraumatize Crime Victims? 19 J. OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, 2,212 - 227(2004). 422 Wade, et al, supra note 54. See also Freedman, supra note 54. 423 R. D. Enright, Forgiveness Is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope: American Psychological Association, (2001 ). 424 E. L. WORTHINGTON JR, FIVE STEPS TO FORGIVENESS: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FORGIVING, (2001).
101 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Psychologists and academic scholars generally believe forgiveness to be an internal,
intrapersonal process that may or may not lead to reconciliation.425 Research reveals, though that when
surveyed, there is a variance in belief among individuals as to whether positive, inter-personal
interaction with the offender is also required for complete forgiveness. 426
As stated in Chapter 2, further research is needed to assess the benefits of interpersonal, face-to-
face interactions in reducing negative effects of heinous criminal victimization and simultaneously
producing positive consequences.
The case of Nancy Langert and her sister Jeanne Bishop, though, is another powerful (although
admittedly anecdotal) example of the importance of breaking down the wall of separation between
murderers and victims and their families, and the healing potential of face-to face meetings.427
Having broken into their home in suburban Winnetka, Illinois in 1990 David Biro sat and waited
for a young married couple to return home from a family dinner. With a stolen .357 Magnum Biro killed the young and athletic Richard Langert execution style. He then turned his gun on Langert's twenty-five year old wife Nancy, and her unborn fetus. Nancy's family took a hard line on the prosecution of Biro.
Nancy Langert's sister, Jeanne Bishop, lived with decades of pain, sorrow and hatred for Biro.
After twenty years Bishop, a religious Christian, decided to go to the Pontiac Prison to visit her sister's killer.428 Throughout his trial and for more than twenty years Biro had maintained his innocence, denying the family of his victims the ability to hear his words of apology. In 2013, in the visitor room of the prison, the two of them met. At the meeting Biro, for the first time, confessed his murder of Nancy
425 Joshua N. Hook, et al, Does forgiveness require interpersonal interactions? Individual differences in conceptualization of forgiveness, 53 PERSONALITY & INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, 687---692 (2012). 426 Id 427 JEANNE BISHOP, CHANGE OF HEART: JUSTICE, MERCY AND MAKING PEACE WITH MY SISTER'S KILLER, (2015). 42s Id
102 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
and Richard Langert.429 He told Bishop the details of her sister's violent death. Before the meeting the
details of Nancy's death was a matter of mere speculation. Biro filled in the blanks. He explained
himself, not making excuses, but offering the explanation of what motivated an adolescent to kill.
Was Biro motivated by a desire to someday obtain release on parole? Perhaps. Bishop
experienced a sense of closure and satisfaction that only that face-to-face interpersonal connection could
produce.
Face-to-Face Healing Takes Place In Rampage Murder Cases Peter Lanza's Meetings With Newtown Victims
The Newtown Lanza case further highlights the importance for there to be an opportunity for victims to have a discourse with offenders or their families.
In rampage killings where the rampager dies in the incident, gaining an understanding of the killer's motives is not very important to prosecuting attorneys. With no murder case to prosecute, motive is not the prosecutor's objective and therefore not a priority for the homicide detectives who investigate cases for prosecutors.
Determining motive in rampage murders is, however, of great interest to law enforcement, criminologists and sociologists whose objective is to prevent future mass shootings. More important as it relates to the subject of this study, understanding motive is of great importance to victims, surviving family members and the communities where mass shootings occur. People struggle to understand why innocent victims are killed or wounded. They want answers about how the crimes were committed. They also want to express their emotions to the killer or the killer's family.
429 Id. 111-125. 103 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Adam Lanza carefully planned his crimes. He left behind no evidence of his motive. Lanza
carefully studied the shootings at Columbine High School. 430 He would have been aware of the
extensive evidence of motive that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold left behind in diaries, on videos and on
websites. The lack of motive evidence left behind by Adam Lanza had to be intentional.
Stephen Sedensky, the Danbury, Connecticut prosecutor in charge of the Adam Lanza Newtown
investigation and prosecution431 summed up the lack of motive evidence:
The obvious question that remains is: "Why did the shooter murder twenty-seven people, including twenty children?" Unfortunately, that question may never be answered conclusively, despite the collection ofextensive background information on the shooter through a multitude of interviews and other sources. The evidence clearly shows that the shooter planned his actions, including the taking ofhis own life, but there is no clear indication why he did so, or why he targeted Sandy Hook Elementary School. 432
With Lanza dead, ( as is the case with many rampage mass shootings) his guardian dead and no motive evidence forthcoming, some of the families of the victims sought the next best thing, a meeting with Lanza's estranged father, Peter Lanza. 433 The meetings did occur and they served a number of very valuable purposes. 434
Lanza had a desire to help the families of his son's rampage, or to help prevent another similar horror. Lanza called the meetings "gut-wrenching."435 He said one family wanted to forgive Adam
430 Sedensky, supra note 12. 431 The author is a former Assistant State's Attorney with the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice (1988-1994) who was assigned to the Danbury State's Attorney's Office and later was a criminal defense attorney regularly handling cases in the Danbury Superior Court, and thus has a professional relationship with Sedensky. 432 Sedensky, supra note 12 at 3. 433 Solomon, supra note 16 at 14. 434 Id. at 15. 435 Id.
104 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Lanza: "A victim's family told me that they forgave Adam after we spent three hours talking," "reported
Lanza.436 "I didn't even know how to respond. A person that lost their son, their only son." 437
One private meeting between Peter Lanza and Alyssa and Robbie Parker, the parents of Emily
Parker received substantial media coverage, including interviews of the parents on CBS News. Emily
Parker, six years old, was one of Adam Lanza's victims. Robbie Parker said that he and his wife wanted to meet with Peter Lanza because he was the only person who could answer their questions.438
About the meeting, the Parkers said they shared condolences. In contrast to many of the non indigenous case studies reviewed in this dissertation, the Parkers told Peter Lanza that they did not hold him, as a parent, responsible for their daughter's death.
"I don't feel like he should be held responsible for what happened that day," said Alissa
Parker.439 "That was not ultimately his decision to do that, so how can I hold him responsible? Were there missteps in the raising of his son? Possibly." Alissa Parker did express that she held Nancy Lanza partially responsible for providing the gun used to kill her daughter, Emily.440
Alissa Parker held Adam Lanza responsible for her daughter's death, but she was mild in her criticism and took a religious approach to forgiveness, "I do hold him accountable, but I feel like God will determine that," she said. "And I feel like he's in a place where the judgment will happen, and I don't have to. I don't have to judge him, and I'm at peace with that."441
436 Id. at 14. 437 Id. 438 Girl's Parents Meet Father ofGunman In Massacre, N.Y.TIMES, A15 (March 22, 2013), http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/nyregion/parents-of-newtown-shooting-victim-meet-with-adam-lanzas father.html?_r=O (last visited March 22, 2014). 439 Id., citing CBS News. See http://www.cbsnews.com/news/newtown-victims-parents-do-they-blame-shooters-parents/. 440 Id. 441 Id.
105 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Alyssa and Robbie Parker's willingness to meet with the father of the young man who committed a horrific murder upon their 6 year old daughter, Emilie, and their willingness to forgive were, no doubt, influenced by their religious beliefs.442
With the statute of limitations443 still running on possible civil suits444 and the world watching closely, Peter Lanza deserves a great deal of credit for participating in victims meetings he attended.
Rampage shootings continue to occur with great frequency in the United States. In fact, in the two years I prepared this dissertation mass shootings continued to occur with startling frequency. One study counts seventy-four school shootings in the United States alone since the December, 2012 shootings in Sandy Hook, Connecticut detailed in Chapter 3. 445
Evidence of Need for Healing Following Mass Shootings
442 Jeff Benedict, Witnessing Grief and Compassion in Newtown, DESERET NEWS, December 18, 2012 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/7 65618130/Witnessing-grief-and-compassion-in-N ewtown.html (last visited March 18, 2015). According to THE DAILY NEWS, the funeral of Emilie parker was held at The Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter day Saints in Ogden, Utah. See, Chelsea Rose Marcius and Bill Hutchinson, Tragic Finale: Tears Fall As Last ofNewtown 's Little Victims Are Laid To Rest, THE DAILY NEWS, December 22, 2012, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationaVtears fall-newtown-victims-laid-rest-article-1.1226040 (last visited March 18, 2015). 443 The statute of limitations in the State of Connecticut for an action brought by an estate for a fatal injury for in Connecticut is two years (and thus possible): CGS § 52-55: In any action surviving to or brought by an executor or administrator for injuries resulting in death, whether instantaneous or otherwise, such executor or administrator may recover from the party legally at fault for such injuries just damages together with the cost ofreasonably necessary medical, hospital and nursing services, and including funeral expenses, provided no action shall be brought to recover such damages and disbursements but within two years from the date ofdeath, and except that no such action may be brought more than five years from the date ofthe act or omission complained of 444 Although a suit against Peter Lanza himself is unlikely (Adam Lanza was an adult who lived with his mother) a wrongful death tort suit against the estate of Nancy Lanza is possible. Media reports estimated Nancy Lanza's estate to be valued at $64,000. Ryan Lanza, Peter Lanza's son who was 24 at the time of the shootings, is the sole heir of the estate. See Dave Altimari, Hartford Courant, Nancy Lanza's Will, Which Dates To 1994, Left Estate To Her Sons, Adam And Ryan, HARTFORD COURANT (April 5, 2013), http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-nancy-lanza-will-0406- 20130405,0,1483109.story) (last visited March 22, 2014). See also Nina Golgowski, Estate Belonging to Mother OfSandy Hook Shooter, Nancy Lanza Estimated at 64k, N.Y. DAILY NEWS (February 20, 2014), http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationaVnancy-lanza-estate-estimated-64k-mortgage-article-l. l 621782 (last visited March 22, 2014).
445 Niraj Chokshi, "Map: There have been at least 74 shootings at schools since Newtown," WASH. POST (June 16, 2014), http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/06/10/map-at-least-7 4-school-shootings-since-newtown/ (last visited June 17,2014). 106 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
For family members who have had a child, a parent or a sibling die after a mass shooting, or any
murder for that matter, methods or the timing of healing are very personal. Dr. Carolyn L. Mears is the
parent of two children who survived the shootings at Columbine High School. She authored a book
Reclaiming School in The Aftermath of Trauma. She says that the repercussions from tragedies like the
shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School do not begin or end on any one day, but are part of an
ongoing process.446 "People want to know when they are going to heal, but there is no answer."447
Yet, as the shootings have continued unabated, the desire for healing following mass shootings
seems to be gaining momentum. Two developments evidence the desire for healing among the families
described in this dissertation: continued private meetings between the parents of the shooters and the
parent of victims, and an apologies from parents of shooters.
The 2013 meeting of Peter Lanza with the parents of Emily Parker was followed about a year
later in 2014 with another private and unofficial, historic meeting. On June 1, 2014 in advance of
Father's Day the father of Elliot Rodger met with the father of Christopher Martinez.448
Elliot Rodger is the 22 year-old man who went on a shooting rampage May 23, 2014 in Isla
Vista California, a suburb of Los Angeles. In a delicatessen, Rodger shot and killed Christopher
Martinez, a student at the University of California-Santa Barbara. He also killed three men in his
apartment and two women outside a college sorority house, according to police, then drove wildly in a
black BMW, shooting at and injuring pedestrians.449
446 LYSIAK, supra note 3 5 at 251. 447 Id. 448 Ashley Fantz, Photos Show Shooter's, Victim's Fathers Embracing, Cable News Network (June 17, 2014), http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/16/justice/califomia-shooting-fathers-meet-photos/ (last visited June 17, 2014). 449 Id.
107 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
About the meeting with Elliot Rodger's father Peter Rodger, Christopher Martinez's father
Richard Martinez said, "We plan to work together so other families such as ours will not suffer as ours
have. This was a private conversation between grieving fathers who've reached common ground. "450
A Second Trend: Family Members of Rampage Killers Offering Apologies
The second development is that of a parent of a mass shooter making an immediate public
statement expressing sadness and remorse for the atrocities committed by their children. On September
17, 2013 Aaron Alexis murdered twelve innocent people and wounded others at the Navy Yard in
Washington D.C. before he died in a shootout with police.451 The next day his m~ther, Cathleen Alexis held an impromptu press conference in her Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, N.Y. apartment.452 In her living room and with clergy standing beside her, Alexis read a brief six sentence statement and released an audio recording. She said:
Sept. 18, 2013. Our son, Aaron Alexis, has murdered twelve people and wounded several others. (pause) His actions have had a profound and everlasting effect on the families ofthe victims. I don't know why he did what he did, and I'll never be able to ask him why. Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone, and for that I am glad 453
This brief and powerful statement, at a minimum, was a testament that the mother, too, could not explain her son's horrible actions, that she identified with his victims and preferred he was no longer alive to do more harm. Whether she was advised by attorneys, the clergy that stood with her or only her
450 Id 451 Dan Friedman, Joseph Straw, Corky Siemaszko, Washington Navy Yard Shooting: Shooter Allowed to Buy Gun Despite Mental Issues, Navy Misconduct, N.Y. DAILY NEWS (September 17, 2013), http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/navy-yard-gunman-struggled-mental-issues-officials-article-1.1458281 (last visited June 17, 2014) 452Eric Badia, Joseph Straw and Corky Siemazko, Mom a/Washington Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Apologizes For Killer As Lawmakers Avoid Action Against NRA, N.Y. DAILY NEWS, (September 18, 2013), http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/navy-yard-shooter-mom-mourns-12-victims-article-1.1459585, (last visited June 17, 2014). 453 Id
108 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
own moral counsel, it is certain her voice was preferred to the silence that typically followed previous
mass shootings.
Public statements offered to participate in the healing process continue to be a very recent trend.
Five days after the 2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School shootings, Jaylen Fryberg's Indian Tribe, the
Tulalip Tribes, denounced Fryberg's actions:
Tulalip Tribes denounce the horrific actions ofJaylen Fryberg, who took the lives oftwo of his classmates and grievously injured three others .. .It is our custom to come together in times of grie/454
Notably, the Tribes made a point to say that they held compassion for the grieving family of
Fryberg:
The tribe holds up our people who are struggling through times ofloss. We are supporting the family ofJay/en Fryberg in their time ofloss, but that does not mean we condone his actions. 455
It is a natural development, as rampage murders continue to shock the country, if not the world, that the families of both rampagers and their victims seek each other out, as if some gravitational pull draws them together. Their coalescence emerges at a time where restorative justice practices have gained renewed attention. Having examined the historical roots of restorative practices in select
454 Public Statement of the Tulalip Tribes, October 29, 2014, http://www.tulaliptribes-nsn.gov/Home.aspx (last visited November 3, 2014). 455 Id.
109 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
indigenous cultures we now examine modem day restorative practices. This examination is conducted
with vigilance not to over-emphasize nor over-romanticize an inconsistent history.
Chapter 8
Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence Today How Much Can Be Borrowed?
The Indigenous dispute resolution practices discussed in the previous chapter are credited as an inspiration for a movement in Anglo-western courts toward two trends, the modem-day restorative justice practices and therapeutic jurisdiction. 456 Restorative justice has been discussed throughout this dissertation.
How much of an influence in the current restorative justice movement can actually be attributed to history? A number of scholars influential in the restorative justice field have tried to make the link.
For example, John Braithwaite, who is considered the world's foremost scholar on restorative justice457 stated: "[r ]restorative justice has been the dominant model of criminal justice throughout most of human history for all of the world's peoples."458
Other scholars have gone further, elevating restorative justice to superior status as it compares to the modem punitive approach. Elmar G.M. Weitekamp wrote "Forms ofrestorative justice, as we could
456 WINICK & WEXLER, supra note 65 at 3. 457 Sylvester, supra note 64, fn 61. 458 John Braithwaite, Restorative Justice: Assessing Optimistic and Pessimistic Accounts, 25 CRIME & JUST. 1, 2 (1999). 110 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
find them in acephalous societies and especially early state societies, seem to be the better answer to the
crime problem of today's societies."459
There is debate in the academic community whether the efforts by criminologists and criminal
justice practitioners to document international traditions of restorative justice is entirely accurate. 460
At least two scholars believe restorative justice scholars have wandered into a danger zone,
employing historical arguments to create an "origin myth."461 One of these scholars is Kathleen Daly, a
criminologist and restorative justice advocate. 462 Daly is critical of what she views as superficial and
selective historical accounts, claiming that they have given restorative justice history a "pre-modem past
[that] is romantically (and selectively) invoked to justify a current justice practice."463 Daly believes this
intellectual dishonesty is mistaken and may ultimately harm the ultimate acceptance of restorative justice, an outcome she views negatively.
Douglas Sylvester shares Daly's concems.464 He says restorative justice scholars are "intent on minimizing the role that punitive processes, such as the 'blood feud' played in ancient cultures."465
Indeed, Chapter 6 of this dissertation, too, reveals examples in the historical record of indigenous peoples throughout the world who resorted to the use of punitive measures, even death under certain circumstances.
Sylvester went back and unearthed the research of scholars such as Weitekamp and E. Adamson
Hoebel, and Hoebel' s study, The Law OfPrimitive Man. 466 Sylvester compared their research to their
459 Elmar G.M. Weitekamp, The History ofRestorative Justice, in RESTORATIVE JUVENILE JUSTICE: REPAIRING THE HARM OF YOUTH CRIME 75, 75 (Gordon Bazemore & Lode Walgrave eds. 1999). 460 See e.g., Daly, supra note 63 fu 102. 461 Id. 63. 462 Id 63. 463 Id 464Sylvester, supra note 64 at 501. 465 Id 501. 466E. Adamson Hoebel, THE LAW OF PRIMITIVE MAN (1961 ). 111 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
conclusions. "As it turns out," says Sylvester, "the restorative justice conclusion is either grossly
overstated or flatly contradicted," referring to Hoebel's conclusions.467
Sylvester says the research ofHoebel and, others such as Laura Nader & Elaine Combs
Schilling468 find a restorative, victim oriented and restitution based approach to be common historically,
but permitted violence and even death to an offender who failed to pay the determined restitution.469
Perhaps, then, the attempt to elevate restorative justice's historical link could well be fantasy.
The fantasy is especially pernicious in law, as law desires to promote history as precedent for modem
practice. "For lawyers," says Robert W. Gordon, "the past is primarily a source of authority-if we
interpret it correctly, it will tell us how to conduct ourselves now."470
Nonetheless, today's therapeutic jurisprudence recognizes that courts can play an important role
in solving the underlying problems common to offenders and their families. These courts are often
called "problem solving courts," and they focus on problems like family dysfunction, addiction,
delinquency, domestic violence and mental health.471 In problem solving courts it is no longer enough
for courts to adjudicate facts and legal issues, their objective is to change future behavior and ensure the health and wellbeing of the community. 472
Interest in restorative justice and therapeutic justice began to gain momentum in the 1970' s and
1980's. The Navajo Nation in the United States created the Peacemaker Court in 1982.473
467 Sylvester, supra note 64 at 501. 468 Laura Nader & Elaine Combs-Schilling, Restitution in Cross-cultural Perspective, in RESTITUTION IN CRIMINAL WSTICE (Joe Hudson & Burt Galoway ed., 1977) at 27. 469 Sylvester, supra note 64 at 501. 470 Robert W. Gordon, Forward: The Arrival ofCritical Historicism, 49 STAN.L.REV. 1023, 1023 (1997). 471 Greg Berman and John Feinblatt, Problem Solving Courts.A BriefPrimer, in JUDGING IN A THERAPEUTIC KEY, 73 (2003). 472 Id, 73. 473 Laurie A. Arsenault, The Great Excavation: "Discovering" Navajo Tribal Peacemaking Within The Anglo-American Family System," 15 OHIO St. J. ON DISPUTE RESO., 795, 800 (1999-2000).
112 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
By the 1990's restorative programs had spread to all Western countries with at least 700 in
Europe and 300 in the United States.474 Today there are three basic categories of restorative justice
programs, depending on who runs the programs. There are private community based programs,
church/religious institution programs and criminal justice system based programs.475
Modem cases end up in restorative justice programs in a variety of ways. They can be sent there
in lieu of or before an arrest is made, or following an arrest. They can be diverted to a program outside
of the court system. Courts themselves may administer a restorative program and cases may be sent to a
restorative program after a conviction but before sentencing. Restorative programs might be part of
sentencing procedures.
Today restorative justice programs throughout the world can be summarized in the following types:476
1. Victim-Offender Mediation
2. Community and Family Group Conferencing
3. Circle Sentencing
4. Victim Impact Panels and Surrogate Groups
In the 1970's to the 1980's restorative justice programs were more popular with juvenile cases and adult misdemeanor cases than serious felonies. As restorative justice is taking hold, though, it is beginning to be used in adult cases and occasionally in serious felony cases.
474 Leena Kurki, Incorporating Restorative and Community Justice into American Sentencing and Corrections 3 SENT'G CORRECTIONS: Issues for the 21 '1 Century (Sept. 1999). 475 Mary Ellen Reimund, Is Restorative Justice On A Collision Course With The Constitution? 3 APPALACHIAN J.L. (Spring 2004), 6. 476 Jd.
113 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
In 1991 in Des Moines Iowa (United States) the Polk County Attorney's Office, for example,
established a Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP).477 Since its inception the program
conducted more than 5,000 victim-offender mediations. This now includes as many felonies as non
felonies with many burglaries, robberies, thefts and forgeries included. Several murders, vehicular
homicides kidnaping and sexual assaults have been handled at the Polk County Iowa VORP. 478
Restorative Justice Today Among Indigenous Peoples
The Navajo Nation Peacemaking Program
In Chapter 5 we discussed traditional Navajo values, and the traditional Navajo belief system.
We set forth the basis of the Navajo common law and approaches to criminal dispute resolution. Navajo
peacemaking operates within the framework of that belief system and world view.
In 1982 the modem Navajo Nation Peacemaking program, which is based upon traditional
Navajo methods of dispute resolution, was created by the Navajo judges in judicial conference.479 Today there are several types of peacemaking services in existence available through the Navajo Nation Courts.
Traditional peacemaking, or h6zf;6ji naat'aah, is one such traditional service that may be obtained through the Peacemaking Program.
If a court order is sought for a dispute, peacemaking may not be initiated for such a dispute. Such matters need to be first filed in court, and then referred to peacemaking by the court for all or part of the dispute.
The Navajo Peacemaking Participants
477 Frederick W. Gay, Restorative Justice and The Prosecutor, 27 FORDHAM URB. L.J. 1651, (2000) 1652. 41s Id. 479 Navajo Nation Judicial Branch, Institutional History of HOZ!fOJI NAAT'AAH, http://www.navajocourts.org/indexpeaceplanops.htm., (last visited June 1, 2014). 114 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Navajo Judicial Branch describes 4 types of participants in Navajo peacemaking:
1. The Peacemaker is an essential participant, the h6z~96ji naat 'aanii. According to Robert
Yazzie the Peacemaker is "a traditional Navajo civil leader whose authority comes from his or
her selection by the community. The naat'aanii is chosen based on demonstrated abilities,
wisdom, integrity, good character, and respect of the community."480 The Peacemaker acts as a
guide, and everyone participating is treated as an equal.
2. The second category of participants are the troubled individuals themselves. "Children may be
troubled together with family members when the family's combined decision is needed to
change behaviors.481
3. The third category are the family members, workmates, friends or others affected by the
behavior of the troubled individual or knowledgeable about the chaos, or h66cfv;o '/anah66t 'i'
who may contribute to the talking things out, but do not make the ultimate decision. They
attend with the permission of the group. Because of their presence and desire to contribute,
they are called "atah naaldeehi" or neutral intermediaries who help resolve the problem.482
4. The fourth category are the observers, "ha'a sf di." They attend with the permission of the
group, but do not speak. 483
Traditional Navajo Peacemaking begins in a place of chaos, "h66cfv;o '/ anah66t 'i ', "whether existing within one person or many. Navajos typically avoid individual face-to-face confrontations.
However, communal peacemaking seeks to find a way for people to air their grievances, as difficult as it
480 YAZZIE, supra note 21 at 51. 481 Navajo Nation Judicial Branch. 482 Jd. 483 Id
115 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
may be. 484The Peacemaker has the skills and fortitude to provide the groundwork for the person or
group to confront the chaos and move toward restoring relationships among those in conflict,
relationships among families or within the clan. Engagement with the Peacemaker provides the sense
of identity and pride reaped from Navajo historical and cultural foundations.
Through engagement, the Peacemaker, scolds, educates, persuades, implores, pleads and cajoles the individual or group toward an openness to listen, share, and together make decisions. Through
stories and teachings, with the help of elders, the Peacemaker dispenses wisdom, in order to guide the
person or group toward a restoration of relationships.
Apologies and the offering of forgiveness, elements of the paradigm suggested in the theoretical
framework outlined in this dissertation, are important elements of the peacemaking process. The resolution of damaged feelings is the core material of peacemaking sessions, h6zfJ6ji naat'aah. Depending on the skill of the Peacemaker, h6zfJ6 may be short or may take several
sessions.485
The Navajo Judicial Branch does not utilize formal peacemaking in murder cases, or subject them to the traditional restitution approach, in similar fashion to the Crow Dog case discussed in
Chapter 6.
The Navajo peacemaking model has spread to a vast array of indigenous peoples throughout the
United States. 486 (See Table 2).
484 Id 485 Navajo Nation Judicial Branch, "Dine Traditional Peacemaking," "http://www.navajocourts.org/indexpeaceplanops.htm (last visited June 1, 2014). 486 Id. fn 7. See also Robert Porter, Strengthening Tribal Sovereignty Through Peacemaking: How The Anglo-American Legal Tradition Destroys Indigenous Societies, 28 COLUM. HUM. RTS. L. REV. 235, 258-59 (1997).
116 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
In addition to peacemaking three other types of restorative programs are common today among
indigenous peoples in the United States: talking circles, sentencing circles and healing circles.
Talking Circles
A talking circle involves individuals sitting in a circle, taking turns to express thoughts on an
issue. In the circle, all participants have an equal place, just as in Navajo peacemaking. It is common for
there to be a physical item, a "talking piece" that is used and passed around the circle. The talking piece
can be a feather or another treasured object. Only the person holding the talking piece is allowed to
speak. This process requires active and deep concentration and listening.
Historically, native cultures used talking circles as a way of bringing people together for the
purposes of teaching, listening, and leaming.487 More recently, talking circles are being used to facilitate
healing processes in both tribal and non-tribal communities.488
Sentencing Circles
"A sentencing circle is a community-directed process, conducted in partnership with the criminal justice system, to develop consensus on an appropriate sentencing plan that addresses the concerns of all
interested parties. "489 A sentencing circle, which integrates tribal traditions and structure, occurs once
someone has entered a guilty plea in an external court system. The use of sentencing circles began in the
487 Paulette Running Wolf and Julie A. Rickard, Talking Circles: A N alive American Approach to Experiential Learning, 31 No. 1 J. OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT 39-43 (January 2003), (available athttp://anti oppressive-education.uregina.wikispaces.net/file/view/Talking+circles- +A+ Native+ American+approach+to+experiential+ leaming. pdf.).
488 Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Frequently Asked Questions About Peacemaking, (Accessed on June 1, 2014 at http://www.narf.org/peacemaking/leam_more/faq.html). See Hon. Janine P. Geske and India Mccanse, Neighborhoods Healed through Restorative Justice, 15 No. 1 DISP RESOL. MAG. 16-18 (Fall 2008). See also Paulette Running Wolf and Julie A. Rickard, fn 318.
489 National Institute of Justice, Sentencing Circles, http://nij.gov/topics/courts/restorative-justice/promising practices/Pages/sentencing-cricles.aspx (last visited August 19, 2014). 117 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Yukon in the early 1980's and is now being regularly used in Minnesota.490
Healing Circles
"One particular type of peacemaking circle is the healing circle. Separate healing circles may be
held for the victim and offender. The healing circle for the victim may be part of a larger circle process
where both the victim and the offender will meet face-to-face in the same circle at a later date. On the
other hand, the healing circle for the victim may be used entirely independent from the offender's circle.
Furthermore, the healing circle may be the only process used in situations where the offender has not
been identified or caught.
Here is a partial list of American Indian tribes utilizing some form of peacemaking:
Table 2
American Indian Tribes Utilizing Peacemaking491
Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, WyomingD
Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma
Chitimacha Tribe of LouisianaD
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, WashingtonD
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, OregonD
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, OregonD
Coquille Indian Tribe, Oregon
490 Janelle Smith, Peacemaking Circles: The "Original" Dispute Resolution ofAboriginal People Emerges as the "New" Alternative Dispute Resolution Process, 24 HAMLINE J. PUB. L. & POL'Y 329,346,323 (2003). 491 Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Peacemaking Tribal Codes and Models, http://www.narf.org/peacemaking/codes/index.html, (last visited June 1, 2014).
118 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, MichiganD
Ho-Chunk Nation, Wisconsin D
Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, California
Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation, Montana
Karuk Tribe, CaliforniaD
Klamath Tribes, OregonD
Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, MichiganD
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, MichiganD
Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe, Connecticut
Mashpee W ampanoag, Massachusetts D
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi D
Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & UtahD
Northern Arapaho Nation, Wyoming
Oneida Nation, New YorkD
Oneida Tribe of Indians, WisconsinD
Organized Village of Kake, Kansas, Kansas
Pit River Tribe, CaliforniaD
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, KansasD
Skokomish Indian Tribe, Washington
Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, WashingtonD
Spirit Lake Tribe, North DakotaD
Stockbridge Munsee Community, WisconsinD
White Earth Band of Chippewa, MinnesotaD
Other Examples of Healing Within Existing Criminal Justice Systems
119 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
The Connecticut State Superior Court sentencing hearing of Chadwick St. Louis discussed in
Chapter 4 can be contrasted with some examples of restorative justice occurring around the world. One
such example involving indigenous First Nation People of Canada is the case of a juvenile court hearing
in British Colombia. Obviously the trial of an adult for murder is a very different matter than a juvenile case of "harassment," and both differ in scope from a mass murder. The offenses are not comparable.
Still, an important lesson can be learned from the sentencing and how sentencing circles can work.
Dawn-Marie Wesley was a 14 year old who committed suicide in 2000. 492She hung herself in the basement of her Mission, British Colombia home with her dog's leash. Wesley wrote a suicide note where she said she could no longer take the bullying of three girls. One of the girls was convicted of criminally harassing Wesley.493
Dawn-Marie Wesley's father was an indigenous person. The offender was a member of the
Gitanmaax band of First Nation indigenous people of Northwestern British Colombia.494 Following a trial Wesley's mother, Cindy Wesley, requested a "sentencing circle." The participants in the sentencing circle were native elders, family members, court officials and school officials.495
The sentencing circle was not held in a court room, it was held in a conference center. Over three long hours 20 participants took turns speaking, each requesting to hold an eagle feather while speaking.
Bill Bertschy of the Sliammon First Nation was the moderator, or "keeper of the circle." 496He delivered the eagle feather to them. When it was the 17 year-old offender's tum to speak, twice she was unable to,
492 BC Girl Convicted in School Bullying Tragedy, CBC News, (March 26, 2002), http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/b-c-girl convicted-in-school-bullying-tragedy-l.308111 (1ast visited April 5, 2014.) 493 Daniel Girard, Teen Bully Finds Justice, Healing and The Courage to Apologize: Sentencing Circle Requested by Mother ofSuicide Victim, in JUDGING IN A THERAPEUTIC KEY, 46 (2003). 494 Ian Bailey, Dead Girl's Mother Hugs Bullying BC Teenager, NATIONAL POST, http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/native30/unit5/bullying.html (last visited April 5, 2005). 495 Girard, supra note 493 at 46. 496 Id.
120 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
crying too hard to speak. Finally she took the hand of her grandfather who was holding the feather and
walked across the room over to Cindy Wesley, and apologized to her: "I'm sorry for everything I have
done to Dawn-Marie and your family."497
The judge, Provincial Court Judge Jill Rounthwaite, said she wanted the case to be used to help
others and also as a community make sure the offender does not offend again in the future. "My hope is
that all of us can work within our own family and with those children within our reach to help them
understand that what they say off the cuff can be harmful and hateful," Rounthwaite said.498
The offender was sentenced to 18 months probation, ordered to speak to high school audiences
on the subject of bullying and to write a 750 word essay on bullying.
Cindy Wesley was pleased with the sentencing circle and the sentence. Most significantly, she
credited it with allowing her to speak to the offender. She said that she got the healing she wanted and "I
got the remorse I was looking for."499 She compared it to the typical Western style-Anglo sentencing
proceeding saying that in a typical court hearing, "her and I couldn't have talked."500
The desire to hear the expression of remorse, to speak to the offender or their family and to have
an interpersonal experience were common among the mass murder cases discussed in Chapter 2 and the
Chadwick St. Louis sentencing. The British Columbia Provincial sentencing circle achieved restorative and reconciliatory objectives. It also quite succinctly followed the theoretical forgiveness framework outlined in Chapter 7.
497 Id. at 45. 498 Id. at 46. 499 Id. soo Id.
121 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
New Zealand
Two things occurred in New Zealand by the 1980's. One was recognition of the over
representation of Maori in the New Zealand prison system. 501 The second was an enhanced international
recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples. Both of these contributed to a renewed interest in returning to Maori concepts of justice for the Maori people in New Zealand. Changes to the juvenile justice system in New Zealand incorporated many traditional Maori concepts for all offenders.502 There was more resistance to changes for Mauri adult offenders, which Pratt attributes to a resistance to recognition of Mauri sovereignty. 503
A law was enacted in New Zealand in 1989 utilizing victim-offender mediation in juvenile offenses called "community conferencing," sometimes called family group conferencing. 504The community conference is a diversion away from the courts to mediation. In Australia, community conferencing is now utilized in both juvenile and adult cases. It has been adopted in many other places around the world.
It is worth noting that outside of indigenous communities, the restorative practices detailed here with a few notable exceptions, have been limited largely to non-serious and misdemeanor offenses. 505
How Much oflndigenous Practices Can Be Borrowed?
In suggesting that there are lessons to be gleaned from approaches among indigenous peoples to rampage shootings, there no doubt are, but caution is advisable. This study has examined the community responses to two school shootings involving American Indian communities, the shootings by
501 According to Pratt, supra note 68 fn 99 at 148, in 1872 Mauri were 2.3% of all prisoners received, but by 1995 had surged to nearly 50%. 502 Jdat 151. 503 Id. 504 Scheff, supra note 66 at 232. 505 Gay, supra note 477. 122 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Jeffrey Weise of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians of Minnesota and the shootings of Jaylen
Fryberg of the Tulalip Indian Tribes of Washington.506 Comparisons were made and contrasts suggested to community responses to rampages in several non-indigenous communities.
A number of features of the Red Lake Tribe and it's "closed" reservation that distinguishing it have also been identified. Close knit family ties and the importance of clan systems of kinship in
certain American Indian tribes have also been detailed.507 The importance of Navajo values and their relationship to Navajo law has been outlined as well. 508 The importance of familial relationships, and how they impact the Indian community aftermath of mass shootings in some American Indian communities was summed up by the response of Kim Baker, a Red Lake Chippewa Indian woman who
said this, outside of Jeffrey Weise's funeral:
He was a member ofRed Lake and was somebody's son, brother, uncle. And the way I look at it he still deserves some recognition from the community so he can't be forgotten. 509
Deep rooted spiritual beliefs and how they impact certain Indian practices and Indian legal traditions have also been explained.
The Anglo conceptions of forgiveness have been established as having their roots and influences in traditional western religious beliefs such as Judaism and Christianity. 510 A number of examples of community responses outside of indigenous communities further suggest that religious and spiritual beliefs impact the willingness to forgive and heal in the wake of horrific criminal actions. The responses
506 See Chapter 4, supra. 501 Id 508 See Chapters 6 and 8, supra. 509 Scheck, supra note 185. 510 See Chapter 7, supra. 123 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
in 2006 of the Amish of Nickel, Mines Pennsylvania and the Parker family of Newtown, Connecticut in
2012 are two such examples. 511
Indeed a number of prominent scholars have urged proceeding with caution in adopting native
practices to non-native courts. Carole E. Goldberg is one of those scholars.512 Goldberg has taken note
of the urge to import a number of American Indian tribal dispute resolution practices (including the
invocation of tribal common law in court proceedings, referring disputes to elder panels and
peacemaking) as alternatives to the traditional Western style Anglo courts. 513 She referred to this urge
as the potential for "over-extended borrowing."514
Peacemaking, as discussed throughout this study, is the most common indigenous dispute resolution method cited as a candidate for borrowing or appropriation.515 There are, no doubt, many obstacles existing for any non-indigenous culture that tries to adopt peacemaking.516 As Angela Riley517 has pointed out, Navajo Nation peacemaking is "inherently 'religious' in that it "draws on ceremony, prayer, ritual and the supernatural to restore balance, harmony and peace to the world."518 The Navajo
Blessingway Ceremony cited in Chapter 4 is one such traditional ceremony, or ritual, used to restore harmony.
511 Benedict, supra note 442. 512 Carole E. Goldberg is the Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law at University of California Los Angeles. 513 Carole E. Goldberg, Overextended Borrowing: Tribal Peacemaking Applied in Non-Indian Disputes, 72 WASH. L. REV. 1003 (1997). 514 Id See also Robert V. Wolf, Widening The Circle, Can Peacemaking Work Outside of Tribal Communities? A Guide For Planning, Center For Court Innovation, http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/PeacemakingPlanning_2012.pdf (Last visited March 3, 2015). 515 See Chapters 6 and 8, supra. 516 Angela R. Riley, Good (Native) Governance, 107 COLUM. L. REV. 1049 (2007). 517 Professor of Law at University of California Los Angeles. 518 Id at 1097. See also Howard L. Brown, The Navajo Nation's Peacemaker Division: An Integrated, Community Based Dispute Forum, 24 AM. INDIAN L. REV. 297 (1999-2000). 124 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Adopting indigenous practices having a foundation in religious or spiritual beliefs to non
indigenous cultures may run afoul of what Joseph Kalt and Stephen Cornell call the "cultural match."519
Further, the Establishment clause of the First Amendment520 of the United States Constitution makes
appropriation or borrowing of a strict Navajo-style peacemaking somewhat problematic.
This study does not suggest, however, that a Navajo-style peacemaking, per se, is the solution to the treatment of rampagers, or their families. It does not hold out peacemaking or any other single
indigenous practice as a roadmap toward forgiveness, reconciliation and healing following heinous criminal offenses. Rather, it illuminates the dispute resolution practices that have existed among tribal people before adversarial Western Anglo vertical systems existed.
This study suggests a role for filling an identified need among some victims of rampage murders and other heinous crimes. That need is for face-to-face, interpersonal encounters between victim and their families and offenders and their families. It identifies practices of some indigenous cultures, historical and modem, along with modem select examples of non-indigenous peoples (such as the
Amish) which have been more amenable to reconciliation.
This study contrasts those examples to the examples of finger pointing, blame seeking and litigious conduct in non-indigenous cultures. It also highlights the practice among non-indigenous peoples of the treatment of family members of offenders as pseudo-accomplices, a practice not common to the aftermath of the two American Indian tragedies studied. One cogent example of the contrasting aftermath is the resistance of non-indigenous communities to allow burial of rampage murderers in the
519 Stephen Cornell & Joseph P. Kalt, Two Approaches to Economic Development on American Indian Reservations: One Works, The Other Doesn't 7, 12, 16 Joint Occasional Papers On Native Affairs, Paper No. 2005-02, 2006 http://www.nni.arizona.edu/resources/inpp/2005-02_jopna _Two_ Approaches.pdf (last visited March 19, 2015). 520 U.S. CONST. amend. I. The clause of the Amendment states, in relevant part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ... " 125 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings community. In the American Indian cultures studied (as well as that of the Amish of Nickel Mines,
Pennsylvania) the offenders were buried and memorialized with dignity.
Chapter 9
Conclusion: Some Final Thoughts
The research developed in this study leaves us with a number of important questions.
1. Can face-to-face, interpersonal interactions between rampage murderers or their families and victims or their families result in reconciliation and greater healing in the days following rampage murders? Is there a role for government--whether it be the judiciary, the police or other executive branch agencies--to play in facilitating or encouraging those interactions? Is there a role to play for non governmental institutions?
As a by-product of the adversarial system, particularly in the United States is the attribute of the wall of separation between offenders and their victims, who occasionally talk at each other in sentencing hearings in modem courtrooms, but hardly ever speak to one another. Another attribute we have detailed is that of "advised silence," where attorneys advise their clients not to utter a word, since, as the standard issue "Miranda" card says, what they say "can and will" be used against their interests.
A dialogue and an interaction make possible understanding, confession, apology, forgiveness and potentially reconciliation, and thus, in rampage murder cases, cracks in the wall of separation are appearing. The families of victims and offenders are seeking, on their own, interpersonal, face-to-face meetings-interactions-with one another. The meetings which are occurring are consistent with the
126 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
research outlined here that says that forgiveness heals. Reconciliative interactions can be encouraged
and facilitated by mental health providers and the psychiatric/psychological and counselling
professionals who treat people harmed by rampage murders.
We have reviewed the rich history of dispute resolution among a sampling of indigenous peoples
worldwide which provides a long tradition of "talking things out" and community involvement in a
dialogue between families of offenders and victims. We have experienced both restorative justice and the related therapeutic justice take root in court systems around the world. Thus, we have long passed the point where dispute resolution is the only legitimate function served by criminal courts.
There are several possibilities for how the healing process might be integrated into the modem
criminal court system, and still be consistent with American constitutional limitations. 521 A detailed examination of how such a system would operate is fodder for future legal scholarship.
2. Following a rampage murder, what can be done to reverse the practice of society demonizing the parents and family members of rampage killers, and treating them as outcasts, social pariahs and even pseudo-accomplices? Parents of rampage murderers often share in the suffering.
One of the lessons of the Red Lake and Tulalip tribes is that the treatment of parents and family members of mass murderers can be treated with respect and compassion. Parents of the mass murderer suffer the remainder of their own lives knowing the carnage their offspring rained upon a community.
521 There are clear Constitutional impediments to integrating a fully mandatory and binding restorative justice program in the United States, if participation is mandatory for the offender before adjudication of criminal charges or before the sentence is imposed. Mandatory offender participation at those stages is not permissible because it would violate the a criminal defendant's right not to be "compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself," protected by the Fifth Amendment and extended to the States in the Fourteenth Amendment. Kastigar v. United States, 408 U.S. 441,442, (1972).The constitutional privilege against self-incrimination, however, no longer exists once there is no longer a possibility of incrimination, thus opening up the possibility to offender participation once jeopardy no longer exists. Mitchell v. United States, 526 U.S. 314 (1999). 127 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Where the mass murderer dies, their parents, too, grieve. They, too have a child to bury or a body to dispose of. Should they have to escape the community to conduct secret funerals or burials in the cloak of darkness?
3. Can statutory definitions of "victims" be changed to encompass a broader range of those people profoundly affected by rampage murders? Should statutory or regulatory barriers to awarding governmental "victim" compensation for mental health treatment for family members of offenders, family members of victims, or of first responders should be reconsidered? The example of the response to the tragedy at Red Lake High School is the opening salvo for such an examination. Unless they themselves were killed or injured in the attack, family members of the rampage murderer do not meet traditional statutory definitions of a crime victim; they are excluded. When they are not direct victims but suffer, nonetheless, their compensation would require amending legal definitions of what constitutes a victim. 522
Merriam Webster defines "victim" as "one that is acted on and usually adversely affected by a force or agent."523 The family members of the rampage mass murderer, family members of those murdered, and the first responders are "sufferers," or "casualties," of the tragedy. First responders bare the wounds of the horrors they experience upon entering and processing a rampage murder scene. Try to imagine the trauma suffered by the police officers and emergency medical technicians responding to the war-like scenes at Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School.
522 Under most victim compensation statutes, a victim of violent crime may be compensated for pecuniary losses. See In re Application ofDrake, 47 Ill. Ct. CL 563 (Ill. Ct. CL 1993). Recovery under a state fund is limited to those crime victims who can prove that they have suffered actual out-of-pocket loss for which they will not be compensated from any other source. 523 MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victim, (Last viewed June 1, 2014). 128 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
If Peter Lanza, for example, could not have afforded mental health treatment to process the
implications of the pain and suffering his son caused, should society have refused to assist him? Peter
Lanza, too is a grieving father.
The monumental and enduring task of figuring out how to make workplaces and schools, in
particular, safe again, and ending the gruesome episodes of the shedding of innocent blood is left for
others and another day.
What is explored here, however, is something different. Jeremy Richman, the father of 6 year
old Avielle Richman, murdered by Adam Lanza at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, said this:
"[W}e would often hear people say, I can't imagine what you 're going through. I can't imagine how hard it must be. I can't imagine losing your child. And while we appreciated the sentiment, the fact was that they were imagining it. They were putting themselves into our shoes, for at least a second. And as hard and as horrible as it sounds, we need people to imagine what it is like. We need to empathize with each other, to walk a mile in each other's shoes. Without that imagination, we'll never change. "524
Richman is right. We can only imagine the excruciating pain when innocent children, parents, or
siblings are gunned down. Just as forgiveness is complex, so is any rational construction of the correct approach to the aftermath of the rampage murder. The empathy suggested by Avielle Richman's father is not exclusive to the parents of an innocent child murdered. It is all encompassing.
Human emotion was not invented this century, nor was it invented by any one culture. The range of emotions from the profound rage to the irreconcilable sadness must have existed throughout the human experience. Much has changed, though, in the United States and much of the world in social complexity and in dispute resolution. Some of those changes which are documented in this study
524 Final Report of The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, supra note 38. 129 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
include the development of the adversarial system of criminal justice, where the first the crown and then
the state took over prosecution of criminal offenses. The adversarial system replaced existing systems
throughout the world which were characterized by greater community participation and greater family
interaction leading toward the resolution of crimes.
While appreciating the rich cultural differences among indigenous and non-indigenous cultures,
along with the hazards of generalizing about either, it does not require much imagination to borrow from the history and traditions of native peoples.
Sadly, we know there will be another horrific, painful rampage shooting. When there is, rather than respond in haste and solely in hatred and anger, perhaps a page can be tom from history and given a fresh understanding.
130 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Appendix I
Mass Shootings in the United States
1982-2013525
525 Mark Follman, Gavin Aronsen, Deanna Pan, and Maggie Caldwell, US. Mass Shootings, 1982-2012, Data.from Mother Jones' Investigation, MOTHER JONES (December 28, 2012, updated September 13, 2013), http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data (last visited September 27, 2014). Note: (Updated to 2013).
131 CASE LOCATION DATE YEAR OFFENDER FATAL INJURED Washington Navy Yard shooting Washington, D.C. 9/16/2013 2013 Aaron Alexis 13 8 Hialeah apartment shooting Hialeah, Florida 7/26/2013, 2013 Pedro Vargas 7 0 Santa Monica rampage Santa Monica, California 6/7/2013 2013 John Zawahri 6 3 Pinewood Village Apartment shooting Federal Way, Washington 4/21/2013 2013 Dennis Clark III 5 0 Mohawk Valley shootings Herkimer County, New York 3/13/2013 2013 Kurt Myers 5 2 Newtown school shooting Newtown, Connecticut 12/14/2012 2012 Adam Lanza 28 2 Accent Signage Systems shooting Minneapolis, Minnesota 9/27/2012 20 I 2 Andrew Engeldinger 7 Sikh temple shooting Oak Creek, Wisconsin 8/5/2012 2012 Wade Michael Page 7 3 Aurora theater shooting Aurora, Colorado 7/20/2012 2012 James Holmes 12 58 Seattle cafe shooting Seattle, Washington 5/20/2012 2012 Ian Stawicki 6 Oikos University killings Oakland, California 4/2/2012 2012 One L. Goh 7 3 Su Jung Health Sauna shooting Norcross, Georgia 2/22/2012 2012 Jeong Soo Paek 5 0 Seal Beach shooting Seal Beach, California 10/14/201 I 2011 Scott Evans Dekraai 8 IHOP shooting Carson City, Nevada 9/6/2011 2011 Eduardo Sencion 5 7 Tucson shooting Tucson, Arizona 1/8/2011 2011 Jared Loughner 6 13 Hartford Beer Distributor shooting Manchester, Connecticut 8/3/2010 2010 Omar S. Thornton 9 2 Coffee shop police killings Parkland, Washington 11/29/2009 2009 Maurice Clemmons 4
Fort Hood massacre Fort Hood, Texas 11/5/2009 2009 Nidal Malik Hasan 13 30 Binghamton shootings Binghamton, New York 4/3/2009 2009 Jiverly Wong 14 4 Carthage nursing home shooting Carthage, North Carolina 3/29/2009 2009 Robert Stewart 8 3 Atlantis Plastics shooting Henderson, Kentucky 6/25/2008 2008 Wesley Neal Higdon 6 Northern Illinois University shooting DeKalb, Illinois 2/14/2008 2008 Steven Kazmierczak 6 21 Kirkwood City Council shooting Kirkwood, Missouri 2/7/2008 2008 Charles Lee Thornton 6 2 Westroads Mall shooting Omaha, Nebraska 12/5/2007 2007 Robert A. Hawkins 9 4 Crandon shooting Crandon, Wisconsin 10/7/2007 2007 Tyler Peterson 6 Virginia Tech massacre Blacksburg, Virginia 4/16/2007 2007 Seung-Hui Cho 33 23 Trolley Square shooting Salt Lake City, Utah 2/12/2007 2007 Sulejman Talovic 6 4 Amish school shooting Lancaster County, PA 10/2/2006 2006 Charles Carl Roberts 6 5 Capitol Hill massacre Seattle, Washington 3/25/2006 2006 Kyle Aaron Huff 7 2 Goleta postal shootings Goleta, California 1/30/2006 2006 Jennifer Sanmarco 8 0 Red Lake massacre Red Lake, Minnesota 3/21/2005 2005 Jeffrey Weise 10 5 Living Church of God shooting Brookfield, Wisconsin 3/12/2005 2005 Terry Michael Ratzmann 7 4 Damageplan show shooting Columbus, Ohio 12/8/2004 2004 Nathan Gale 5 7 Lockheed Martin shooting Meridian, Mississippi 7/8/2003 2003 Douglas Williams 7 8 Navistar shooting Melrose Park, Illinois 2/5/2001 2001 William D. Baker 5 4 Wakefield massacre Wakefield, Massachusetts 12/26/2000 2000 Michael McDermott 7 0 Hotel shooting Tampa, Florida 12/30/1999 1999 Silvio Leyva 5 3 Xerox killings Honolulu, Hawaii 11/2/1999 1999 Byran Koji Uyesugi 7 0 Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting Fort Worth, Texas 9/15/1999 1999 Larry Gene Ashbrook 8 7 Atlanta day trading spree killings Atlanta, Georgia 7/29/1999 1999 Mark 0. Barton 9 13 Columbine High School massacre Littleton, Colorado 4/20/1999 1999 Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold 15 24 Thurston High School shooting Springfield, Oregon 5/21/1998 1998 Kipland P. Kinkel 4 25 Westside Middle School killings Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/1998 1998 M. Johnson, A.Golden 5 10 Connecticut Lottery shooting Newington, Connecticut 3/6/1998 1998 Matthew Beck 5 Caltrans maintenance yard shooting Orange, California 12/18/1997 1997 Arturo Reyes Torres 5 2 R.E. Phelon Company shooting Aiken, South Carolina 9/15/1997 1997 Arthur Wise 4 3 Fort Lauderdale revenge shooting Fort Lauderdale, Florida 2/9/1996 1996 Clifton McCree 6 Walter Rossler Company massacre Corpus Christi, Texas 4/3/1995 1995 James Simpson 6 0 Air Force base shooting Fairchild Air Force Base, WA 6/20/1994 1994 Dean Mellberg 5 23 Chuck E. Cheese's killings Aurora, Colorado 12/14/1993 1993 Nathan Dunlap,. 4 Long Island Rail Road massacre Garden City, New York 12/7/1993 1993 Colin Ferguson 6 19 Luigi's shooting Fayetteville, North Carolina 8/6/1993 1993 Kenneth French 4 8 IO 1 California Street shootings San Francisco, California 7/1/1993 1993 Gian Luigi Ferri 9 6 Watkins Glen killings Watkins Glen, New York 10/15/1992 1992 John T. Mille 5 0 Lindhurst High School shooting Olivehurst, California 5/1/1992 1992 Eric Houston 4 10 Royal Oak postal shootings Royal Oak, Michigan 11/14/1991 1991 Thomas Mcilvane 5 5 University oflowa shooting Iowa City, Iowa 11/1/1991 1991 Gang Lu 6 Luby's massacre Killeen, Texas 10/16/1991 1991 George Hennard 24 20 GMAC massacre Jacksonville, Florida 6/18/1990 1990 James Pough 10 4 Standard Gravure shooting Louisville, Kentucky 9/14/1989 1989 Joseph Wesbecker 9 12 Stockton schoolyard shooting Stockton, California 1/17/1989 1989 Patrick Purdy 6 29 ESL shooting Sunnyvale, California 2/16/1988 1988 Richard Farley 7 4 Shopping centers spree killings Palm Bay, Florida 4/23/1987 1987 William Cruse 6 14 ' United States Postal Service shooting Edmond, Oklahoma , 8/20/1986 1986 Patrick Sherrill 15 6 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre San Ysidro, California 7/18/1984 1984 James Huberty 22 19 Dallas nightclub shooting Dallas, Texas 6/29/1984 1984 Abdelkrim Belachheb 6 Welding shop shooting Miami, Florida 8/20/1982 1982 Carl Robert Brown 8 3 In The Aftermath of Rampage Shootings
Appendix II
List of International School Shootings
1925-2011 526
526This table is reproduced in its entirety from the Appendix to the following book: NILS BOKLAR ET AL, SCHOOL SHOOTINGS: INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH, CASE STUDIES AND CONCEPTS FOR PREVENTION, (2013) 519- 529. 132 Ul Table Appendix-1 Rampage School Shootings between 1925 and 2011 N 0 Deaths/ No.a Date Name(s) Gender Age Place Clime scene casualtiesb Weapon(s) Suicide 01 May 6, 1925 Unknown Male (-) Wilno, Poland Joachim Lelewel 5*/10 Firearms, explosives Yes Male (-) Gymnasium 02 May 4, 1956 Billy R. Prevatte Male 15 Prince George's Maryland Park 1/2 Firearm No County, Junior High USA School 03 March 16, 1959 Stanley Male 19 Edmonton, Ross Sheppard l/5 Firearm No Williamson Canada High School 04 June 11, 1964 Walter Seifert Male 42 Cologne, Volkhoven Plimary 11 */22 Lance, flamethrower Yes Germany School 05 August 1, 1966 Charles J. Male 25 Austin, USA University o2 Texas 16*/31 Firearms No Whitman 06 May 22, 1968 Ernest L. Grissom Male 15 Miami, USA Drew Junior High 0/2 Firearm No School 07 December 30, Anthony Barbaro Male 17 Olean, USA Olean High School 3/1 I Firearms, bombs No 1974 08 May 28, 1975 Michael Male 16 Brampton, Brampton 3*/13 Firearm Yes Slobodian Canada Centennial Secondary School 09 October 27, Robe1t Poulin Male 18 Ottawa, Canada St. Pius X Catholic 2*/5 Fiream1 Yes 1975 High School 10 February 19, Neil J. Liebeskind Male 18 Los Angeles, Unknown 1/8* Firearm No 1976 USA 11 February 22, RogerE. Male 15 Lansing, USA Everett High 1/1 Firearm No 1978 Needham School 12 January 29, Brenda Spencer Female 16 San Diego, USA Grover Cleveland 2/9 Firearm No :g 1979 Elementary g School 0.. 13 March 19, 1982 Patrick Lizotte Male 18 Las Vegas, USA Valley High School 1/2 Firearm No x·
~ "O ,!"> 0 A, 14 April 5, 1982 Kelvin Love Male 25 Hot Springs, Garland 2/0 Firearm No x· USA Community College 15 January 20, David F. Lawler Male 14 St. Louis County, Parkway South 2*/1 Firearms Yes 1983 USA Middle School 16 January 21, James A. Kearbey Male 14 Goddard, USA Goddard Junior 1/3 Firearn1s No 1985 High School 17 December 10, Floyd Warmsley Male 13 Portland, USA Portland Junior 1/2 Firearm No 1985 High School 18 August 12, 1986 Van A. Hull Male 29 New York City, New York City 1/4 Firearm No USA Technical College 19 December 4, Kristofer Hans Male 14 Lewiston, USA Unknown 1/3 Firearm No 1986 20 March 2, 1987 Nathan D. Faris Male 12 DeKalb,MO, DeKalb High 2*/0 Firearm Yes USA School 21 February 11, Jason Harless ,Male 16 Pinellas Park, Pinellas Park High 1/3* Firearn1 No 1988 USA School 22 September 26, James W. Wilson, Male 19 Greenwood, Oakland 2/9 Firearm No 1988 Jr. USA Elementary School 23 December 14, Nicholas Elliott Male, 15 Virginia Beach, Atlantic Shores 1/1 Firearm No 1988 USA Christian School 24 November 1, Gang Lu Male 28 Iowa City, USA University of Iowa 6*/1 Firearm Yes 1991
(continued) u. ,_.N Ul Table Appendix-I (continued) N N Deaths/ No.• Date Name(s) Gender Age Place Crime scene casualtiesb Weapon(s) Suicide 25 May 1, 1992 Eric C. Houston Male 20 Olivehurst, USA Lindhurst High 2/12 Firearms No School 26 May 14, 1992 John McMahan Male 14 Napa, USA Unknown 0/2 Firearm No 27 September I I , RandyE. Male 17 Amarillo, USA Pablo Duro High 0/7 Firearm No 1992 Matthews School 28 December 14, Wayne Lo Male 18 Gt. BaITington, Simon's Rock 2/4 Firearm No 1992 USA College 29 January 18, Gary S. Male 17 Grayson, USA East Carter High 2/0 Firearm No 1993 Pennington School 30 July 8, 1993 Mark Duong Male 28 Ogden, USA Weber State l */3 Firearm No University 31 April 5, 1994 Flemming Nielsen Male 35 Aarhus, Aarhus University 3*/2 Firearm Yes Denmark 32 June 17, 1994 Garnett Bell Male 46 Holywood, Sullivan Upper 0/6 Flamethrower No North. School Ireland 33 September 19, Unknown Male 18 Soweto, South Unknown 0/7 Firearm No 1994 Africa 34 October 20, Ta Phung Cuong Male 27 Toronto, Canada Brockton High 0/2 Firearm No 1994 School 35 October 12, Toby R. Sincino Male 16 Blackville, USA Blackville-Hilda 2*/1 Firearm Yes 1995 High School 36 November 15, Jamie Rouse Male 17 Lynnville, USA Richland High 2/] Firearm No 1995 School 37 February 2, BaITy Loukaitis Male 14 Moses Lake, Frontier Junior 3/1 Firearms No 1996 USA High School ~ 'O 38 February 8, Douglas Bradley Male 16 Palo Alto, USA Mid-Peninsula 1*/3 Firearm Yes ('> :::s 1996 Education .....0. Center X ~ '"O (1> ::s 0. 39 August 15, 1996 Fredrick M. Male 36 San Diego, USA San Diego State 3/0 Firearm No ~· Davidson University 40 September 17, Jillian Robbins Female 19 State College, Penn State 1/1 Firearm No 1996 USA University 41 September 25, David Dubose, Jr. Male 16 Scottsdale, USA DeKalb Alternative 1/0 Firearn1 No 1996 School· 42 February 19, Evan Ramsey Male 16 Bethel, USA Bethel Regional 2/2 Firearm No 1997 High School 43 March 8, 1997 Sergei Lepnev Male (-) Kamyshin, Russian Military 6/2 Firearm No Russia School 44 October 1, 1997 Luke Woodham Male 16 Pearl, USA Pearl High School 2/7 Firearm No 45 December 1, Michael Carneal Male 14 West Paducah, Heath High School 3/5 Fiream1 No 1997 USA 46 December 15, Joseph C. Todd Male 14 Stamps, USA Stamps High 0/2 Firearm No 1997 School 47 March 24, 1998 M.Johnson Male 13 Jonesboro, USA Westside Middle 5/10 Firearms No A. Golden Male 11 School 48 April 24, 1998 Andrew Wurst Male 14 Edinboro, USA James W. Parker 1/2 Firearm No Middle School 49 May 21, 1998 Kipland P. Kinkel Male 15 Springfield, USA Thurston High 2/21 Firearms No School 50 June 15, 1998 Quinshawn Male 14 Richmond, USA Armstrong High 0/2 Firearm No Booker School 51 April 16, 1999 Shawn Cooper Male 16 Notus, USA Notus Junior-Senior 0/0 Firearm No High School 52 April 20, 1999 Eric Harris Male 18 Littleton, USA Columbine High 15*/23 Firearms, bombs Yes Dylan Klebold Male 17 School
(continued) U\ wN u, N Table Appendix-1 (continued) .f>. Deaths/ N o. a Date Name(s) Gender Age Place Crime scene casualtiesh Weapon(s) Suicide 53 April 28, 1999 Todd C. Smith Male 14 Taber, Canada W.R. Myers High 1/1 Firearm No School 54 May 19, 1999 Unknown Male (-) Tameer, Saudi King Khalid High 0/0 Firearm No Arabia School 55 May 20, 1999 Thomas Solomon, Male 15 Conyers, USA Heritage High 0/6 Firearm No Jr. School 56 December 6, Seth T1ickey Male 13 Fort Gibson, Fort Gibson Middle 0/4 Firearm No 1999 USA School 57 December 7, AliD. Male 17 Veghel, De Leijgraaf High 0/5 Firearm No 1999 Netherlands School 58 March 10, 2000 Darrell Ingram Male 19 Savannah, USA Beach High School 2/1 Firearm No 59. April 20, 2000 Unknown Male 15 Ottawa, Canada Cairine Wilson 0/5 Knife No High School 60 February 22, Unknown Male 14 Portland, USA Unknown 0/3 Knife No 2001 61 March 5, 2001 Charles A. Male 15 Santee, USA Santana High 2/13 Firearm No Williams School 62 March 6, 2001 Unknown Male 13 Limeira, Brazil Unknown 1/2 Fiream1 No 63 March 22, 2001 Jason Hoffman Male 18 El Cajon, USA Granite HilJs High 0/5* Firearms No School 64 April 20, 2001 Unknown Male 14 Monroe, USA Sherrouse 0/0 Firearm No Alternative School 65 October 25, Unknown Male 19 Sundsvall, Vaestermalms High 1/1 Knife No :i> 2001 Sweden School 'Cl 'Cl January 16, Peter Odighizuwa Male 43 Grundy, USA Appalachian School 3/3 Firearm No (1) 66 :::, 2002 ofLaw x·p. t"Cl (1) ::1 0. 67 February 19, AdamLabus Male 22 Freising, Freising Vocational 3*/3 Firearm, bombs Yes ~- 2002 Germany School [+ L.'s former workplace] 68 April 26, 2002 Robert Male 19 Erfurt, Germany Johann Gutenberg 17*/7 Firearms Yes Steinhauser Gymnasium 69 April 29, 2002 Dragoslav Male 17 Vlasenica, Vlascenica High 2*/1 Firearm Yes Petkovic Bosnia School 70 October 21, Huan Yun Xiang Male 36 Melbourne, Monash University 2/5 Firearms No 2002 Australia 71 October 28, Robert Flores, Jr. Male 41 Tuscon, USA University of 4*/0 Firearms Yes 2002 Arizona 72 November 15, Anthony Cipriano Male 18 Scurry, USA ScuITy-Rosser High 0/0 Attempted arson No 2002 School 73 January 27, Edmar A. Freitas Male 18 Taiuva, Brazil Coronel B. Ortiz 1*/8 Firearn1 Yes 2003 School 74 May 9, 2003 Biswanath Halder Male 62 Cleveland, USA Case Western 1/2 Firearn1 No Reserve University 75 June 6, 2003 Anatcha Male 17 Pak Phanang, Pakanang School 2/4 Firearm No Boonkwan Thailand 76 July 2, 2003 Florian K. Male 16 Coburg, Coburg II Middle 1*/1 Firearms Yes Germany School 77 February 9, John W. Romano Male 16 East Greenbush, Columbia High 0/1 Firearm No 2004 USA School 78 September 28, Rafael Solich Male 15 Patagones, Islas Malvinas 3/6 Firearm No 2004 Argentina Secondary School Ul ( continued) N Ul VI Table Appendix-I (continued) N O'\ Deaths/ No." Date Name(s) Gender Age Place Crime scene casualtiesb Weapon(s) Suicide 79 November 24, James Lewerke Male 15 Valparaiso, USA Valparaiso High 0/7 Machete No 2004 School 80 February 14, Unknown Male 17 Neyagawa, Japan Chuo Elementary 1/2 Knife No 2005 School 81 February 14, Unknown Male 16 Arlington, USA Lamar High School 0/2 Sword No 2005 82 March 21, 2005 Jeffrey J. Weise Male 16 Red Lake, USA Red Lake Senior 10*/12 Firearms Yes High School 83 June 10, 2005 Unknown Male 18 Hikari, Japan Hikari High School 0/58 Bombs No 84 November 8, Kenneth Bartley, Male 15 Jacksboro, USA Campbell County 1/2 Firearm No 2005 Jr. High School 85 March 14, 2006 James S. Newman Male 14 Reno, USA Pine Middle School 0/2 Fiream1 No 86 August 30, 2006 Alvaro R. Castillo Male 19 Hillsborough, Orange High 0/2 Firearms, smoke- No USA School bomb 87 September 13, Kimveer S. Gill Male 25 Montreal, Dawson College 2*/19 Firearm Yes 2006 Canada 88 September 29, Eric Hainstock Male 15 Cazenovia, USA Weston High 1/0 Firearms No 2006 School 89 October 9, 2006 Thomas White Male 13 Joplin, USA Memorial Middle 0/0 Fiream1s No School 90 November 20, Sebastian Bosse Male 18 Emsdetten, Geschwister Scholl 1*/37 Firearms, bombs, etc. Yes 2006 Germany School 91 April 10, 2007 Chad A. Male 15 Gresham, USA Springwater Trail 0/10 Firearm No Escobedo High School 92 April 16, 2007 Seung-Hui Cho Male 23 Black~burg, Virginia Tech 33*/25 Firearms Yes USA University ,6' 'O 93 May 15, 2007 Wu Jianguo Male 17 Maoming, China Dianbai County 2/4 Knife No (1) ~ No. 3 Middle 0..x· School ~ "Cl ~ i:l 0.. 94 October 10, Asa H. Coon Male 14 Cleveland, USA Success Tech l*/5 Firearm Yes ~· 2007 Academy 95 November 7, Pekka-Etic Male 18 Jokela, Finland Jokela Upper 9*/12 Firearm Yes 2007 Auvinen Secondary School 96 December 9, Matthew J. Male 24 Arvada, USA Missionary 5*/5 Fiream1 Yes 2007 Murray Training School [+ New Life Church] 97 January 8, 2008 Ian Chimenko Male 13 Lower Alsace, Antietam Middle- 0/3 Knife No USA Senior High School 98 February 8, Latina Williams Female 23 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Technical 3*/0 Firearm Yes 2008 USA College 99 February 14, Stephen P. Male 27 DeKalb, IL, Northern Illinois 6*/18 Firearms Yes 2008 Kazmierczak USA University 100 February 25, Chen Wenzhen Male (-) Leizhou, China Leizhou No. 2 3*/4 Knife Yes 2008 Middle School 101 April 28, 2008 Philippe(-) Male 15 Meyzieu, France Olivier de Sen-es 0/4* Knife No Middle School 102 April 28, 2008 Wesley R. Male 30 Washington, DC, Excel Institute 0/2 Firearms No Johnson USA (Vocational Training School) 103 August 17, 2008 Morne Ham1se Male 18 Krugersdorp, Nie Diederichs l/3 Sword No South Africa Technical High School (continued) Vt N -...) Table Appenclix-1 (continued) VIw 00 Deaths/ No." Date Name(s) Gender Age Place Crime scene casualtiesb Weapon(s) Suicide 104 August 18, 2008 Unknown Male 17 Eldorado Park, Eldorado Park High 0/0 Firearm No South Africa School 105 September 23, Matti J. Saari Male 22 Kauhajoki, Seinajoki 11 */1 Firearm Yes 2008 Finland University of Applied Sciences 106 March 11, 2009 Tim Kretschmer Male 17 Winnenden, Albertville School 16*/11 Firearm Yes Germany 107 Aplil 10, 2009 Dimitris Male 19 Agios Ioannis OAED Vocational 1*/3 Firearms, knife Yes Patmanidis Rentis, College Greece 108 April 26, 2009 Odane G. Maye Male 18 Hampton, USA Hampton 0/3* Firearms No University 109 August 24, 2009 Alex R. Youshock Male 17 San Mateo, USA Hillsdale High 0/0 Explosives, sword, No School etc. 110 September 17, Georg R. Male 18 Ansbach, Karolinen 0/11 Axe, knife, etc. No 2009 Germany Gymnasium 111 November 26, Unknown Male 23 Pees, Hungary University of Pees 1/3 Firearm No 2009 112 January 13, Unknown Male 26 Perpignan, University of 1/3 Knife No 2010 France Perpignan 113 February 18, Unknown Male 23 Ludwigshafen, Technics II 1/0 Knife, alarm gun No 2010 Germany Vocational School 114 February 23, Bruco S. E. Male 32 Littleton, USA Deer Creek Middle 0/2 Firearm No 2010 Eastwood School ~ 115 April 28, 2010 Keith Elliott Male {-) Portsmouth, Woodrow Wilson 0/0 Firearm No 'O G::, USA High School p. $<' t'O (D :;:l 0.. 116 September 28, Colton Tooley Male 19 Austin, USA University of Texas 1*/0 Firearm Yes ><" 2010 117 January 5, 2011 Robert Butler, Jr. Male 17 Omaha, USA Millard South High 2*/2 Firearm Yes School 1!8 January 14, Unknown Male (-) Vinnytsia, Unknown 0/3 Pneumatic gun No 2011 Ukraine 119 April 7, 2011 Wellington M. de Male 23 Realango, Brazil Tasso da Silveira 13*/12 Firearms Yes Oliveira Municipal School 120 September 16, Unknown Female 14 Arroyo, Puerto Jose D. Choudens 0/37 Hypodermic needle No 2011 Rico Intermedia School •sources are often contradictory. The list is unlikely to be exhaustive and we would welcome additions and corrections bAsterisk (*) denotes figures that include the perpetator(s) among the dead or injured
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