I don't like mondays

[Englishbird]

Anyone else see the documentary on C4 last night about the Brenda Spenser shootings at Cleveland Elementary in San Carlos 1979?

What did you think? I'm not convinced that she was sexually abused. Although she has spent her 25 years inside, is it time to give her a second chance?

What I'm amazed at is that if she is released, she wants to move back to the same house that she was in when she did the shootings. Surely that's too much for the neighbourhood to cope with?

been trying to post this in film and tv, but it won't let me for some reason.

[zebra]

I watched it too, I wasn't convinced either, although saying that her father had married her 17 year old cell mate, which isn't exactly normal responsible adult behaviour. Her mother had a lot to answer for as well. I'm not convinced that she is genuinely remorseful or safe to release. There would be mayhem if she tried to return home I would imagine and rightly so.

If the abuse is her excuse for what she did that is almost saying that anyone who has suffered physical or sexual abuse should be excused for murder.

[Englishbird]

Yes, the 17 year old cell mate situation didn't help him one bit! Her mother was peculiar and seemed solely intent on blaming the father, maybe to relieve her own guilt.

My impression is that she wouldn't be a danger to anyone, but that's not to say that she is mentally stable, although would anyone be after 25 years in prison. I think she will get parole eventually, but I wouldn't like to be the one to make that decision.

[joko]

how does being abused make you load up a weapon and take pot-shots at a schoolful of kids?
she is just desperate and decided to try to get some sympathy - she has deadlights (dead eyes) and even if she was abused that is no excuse. she is cold and hard and although probably no danger to society her calculating nature means she cannot claim any kind of diminished responibilty.

I am glad she wasn't released. She was clearly in control, she hadn't flipped, or had gone mad she was almost proud of herself, with her flippant comment "i don't like mondays, it passes the time"

when she is being lead away she is almost strutting and that fake croaky voice at the hearing was almost laughable - when she was denied and stands up to leave the room, did you see the almost imperceptible and inexplicaple smirk on her face? as though to say " ah bummer, didn't work" - any one who taped it check that bit.

i think she thought she was cool and didn't realise how much trouble she was in - as most kids don't understand the reality of their punishments.

as zebra said, her mum has a lot to answer for - she just sits back says its all her dads fault - where the hell was she while her husband was apparently abusing her daughter? if i thought any man was abusing my daughter i would remove her from him - and break his kneecaps! not just sit back and say 'dear oh dear, what a shame'!

he probably did abuse her - he was certainly an imbecile, buying her a gun! - but thats no excuse to kill and injure others. (she should have shot her dad, if she was going to shoot anyone!)

[gavinbecky]

It's old news now but her parole was denied:

http://www.10news.com/news/5021314/detail.html

[zebra]

Totally agree joko, I was also thinking that if she got out would either one or both of her parents be safe anyway, who knows whats been going on in her head all these years??

[joko]

thats right zebra - if what she says is true about her dad and mum then she must be wanting them both to suffer.

She carved runes into her chest - what normal and sane behaviour...

The fact that she said she would go back to the same house shows how little she feels for the people in the neighbourhood whose lives she destoyed.

Aside from that, she wouldn't last more than a few weeks without being attacked or even killed herself.

I think the fact that she has never given any real reason other than she just felt like it because she was bored shows how cold-hearted she is.

[Goodsoulette]

I think that she should spend the rest of her days in some form of supervised institution, i dont care what experts say, they get stuff wrong all the time. It was a horrendous mentally disturbed thing to do, I dont know if prison is the answer anymore maybe she should be entitled to some sort of liberty but hell, would you trust her again. Same goes for child rapists/abusers/ mutilators. Some times people do things so horrific that they can never be trusted again.

What kind of country is the USA that a parent gives a gun and 500 rounds to a girl for xmas.... what about a record player.

[joko]

thats a good idea - perhaps some other kind of institution....though are they really any different from each other?

i guess i'll have to cross the grenade launcher and sub atomic machine gun off my xmas list...

[vegan]

What were you all like 25 years ago? Did you ever do anything that you are ashamed of? Did you ever do anything that you would never do again? It doesn't matter how big or small a thing, the point is that a hell of a lot can change in 25 years. I know I am not the same as I was when I was a child. Brenda Spenser was a child with a lot of problems and needed help. She lost out on her childhood and her whole life. She was punished for a crime rather than given help to reform. You make a mistake in life (and yes granted she made a big one) but she was a child, does that not count for anything, or is everything about locking people up and throwing the key away just because dont understand someone.

[Chiron74]

Hello people - she killed two people - if she were male they probably would have executed her. What proof do you have that she was molested at all? None. Just the word of a murderer and her mother who seeks to avoid taking any blame for the situation. Maybe she was molested and maybe not. It seems unlikely that if her father was abusing her that he would buy her a gun. Would you buy your victim a gun? Not likely. Women get far too much sympathy in our society. She killed two people and shows no remorse - instead she plays the victim. She should stay in jail for teh rest of her life - end of story.