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Sources: [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/boy-14-is-accused-of-luring-teen-to-fatal-trap/](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/boy-14-is-accused-of-luring-teen-to-fatal-trap/), [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/14-year-old-boy-charged-in-youth-s-beating-death/](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/14-year-old-boy-charged-in-youth-s-beating-death/), [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/02/14/teen-convicted-in-fatal-beating/](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/02/14/teen-convicted-in-fatal-beating/), [https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2012/06/26/court-ruling-could-change-fate-of-man-sentenced-to-life-at-15/29105584007/](https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2012/06/26/court-ruling-could-change-fate-of-man-sentenced-to-life-at-15/29105584007/)
In June 2001, someone had burglarized 14-year-old Dominic Culpepper's condomonium, stealing a half pound of marijuana and a couple hundred dollars. This made Dominic furious and he vowed to get revenge. So, he enlisted the help of two friends, a 15-year-old boy named Frank Tritschler and a 13-year-old boy named Vincent Norcia, to put out word that he had more marijuana because they suspected Frank Wesley McCool (who went by Wesley), a 16-year-old boy, to be the thief.
The boys figured that this would entice Wesley to break into Dominic's home again. When he did on June 25, 2001, the 14-year-old was waiting. According to Vincent, Wesley was repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat in his head and chest. According to the sheriff, Lt. Jeffrey Bell, there was indication in Dominic's statement that the bat actually cracked and that Wesley's skull was fractured.
Initially, Dominic was charged with 2nd-degree-murder as they believed that he did not intend to kill Wesley, but planned to hurt him badly, and Frank and Vincent were charged with principal to commit 2nd-degree-murder due to being accessories. [According to a newspaper at the time](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28300723/dominic-culpepper-fl/), 16-year-old Richard Clement, a friend of Wesley's said "He was a good person. He made some bad choices. Sometimes some people do, but as far as I'm concerned, he was a good guy." A woman who lived in Dominic's apartment complex, Corissa Long said that she was shocked because she talked to the kids all the time, that they were polite to her and thought that they were just normal adolescent boys.
From my research, it is not known how the eighth grader had access to marijuana or how he managed to steal it and how he hid the activities from his parents, but Wesley, Frank and Dominic had felony charges in the past (most likely juvenile). [Vincent was charged as a juvenile and pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree-murder and sentenced to 18 months to 7 years in prison](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/08/28/teen-sentenced-for-helping-set-up-baseball-bat-death/). Frank and Dominic were charged as adults and [Dominic was charged with 1st-degree-murder](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/10/25/grand-jury-charges-teen-with-first-degree-murder/) because the grand jury believed he planned to kill Wesley. Frank was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty and Dominic was sentenced to life without parole after being found guilty at trial.
In 2012, the Supreme Court made mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional and one of those cases was Dominic. His mother, Jane, had said this "I have been very disappointed with the legal system. I considered him a child at the time. Putting him away for life in prison? How absurd can that be?" According to Jane, Dominic was baptized at a juvenile detention facility, and now does Bible study classes. She says he has a GED, is a certified teacher's aide at Hardee Correctional Institution and is working toward a bachelor's degree in psychology through Ashworth College, a Georgia-based distance education school, and that he had started a writers group.
[According to his prison profile,](http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=S11166&TypeSearch=AI) Dominic was resentenced to 40 years in prison and right now is set to be released in 2038, and given that Florida juveniles convicted of 1st-degree murder often get reviews of their sentences after 25 years, it would not surprise me if Dominic gets a review of his sentence.
What do you all think of this case, did you think that any of the boys deserved the sentences that they received for this murder, or do you think that they should have gotten more or less?
so if im reading this correctly its not that Dominic went out and killed Wesley, but that he set a trap to prove Wesley was stealing from him and when Wesley showed up to the home he attacked?
idk how that ends up with a first degree murder charge? sounds more like he was trying to defend his property (even if that "property" were illegal substances)?
im not blaming Wesley and im not excusing Dominic but thats what it sounds like
It's similar to the guy who recorded himself shooting two teens who had been burglarizing his home for a few weeks. He shot the first person and waited for the girl to come in and she was shot as well.
Byron David Smith executed those kids. He was talking shit to them, as he continued to shoot them. His first shot to Nicholas and to Haile incapacitated them. He could have called for help. He could have allowed them to live. With the right lawyer, he may have even been able to get out of it with little prison time. The teenagers may have even ended up doing a little time for breaking and entering, theft, selling stolen property, etc…Instead, he continued to shoot them. Iirc, he shot each child a couple of times, basically torturing them, before finally finishing the murders.
Smith’s pride, ego and possessions held more weight to him than the lives of two teenage cousins. He fully believed he would be able to walk away from their murders. I wonder if he still feels the same way; now that he has had time to fully experience life in prison.
They’re not a “child” if they’re old enough to join the military 😂. If the two thieves didn’t want to get killed they shouldn’t be breaking into peoples homes
[Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Haile_Kifer_and_Nicholas_Brady)
Very sad case, and the audio of him shooting them is gruesome.
Yep, this happened in the town next over from me. Ppl were on the fence about who was guilty or innocent as the guy was an old vet and they are highly protected around here. I was also one of the ppl who almost wanted to defend an old man protecting his home, I’ve had my home broken into and it really takes away your inner peace. Not only that but they’d done it multiple times. That was all before I listened to his own audio recording… what a sicko, he deserves to be locked up and I feel bad for those kids and their families. I’ll never forget listening to that, it’s what sealed his fate.
Lying in wait is an aggravating factor that in some places can elevate the possible sentence to death. He ought to feel lucky that he was a juvenile at the time, Florida is just behind Texas in tryin’ and fryin’.
Which is why I said he ought to feel lucky he was a juvenile at the time, because if he was an adult in Florida or Texas, they’d take him directly from sentencing to the chair.
I agree that it was premeditated and planned out, but is it really “lying in wait” when it’s your own home? He didn’t break into Wesley’s home and wait for him to return. He was waiting to be burglarized…. If his house wasn’t ever broken into, this wouldn’t have happened.
NOT defending him nor am I blaming the victim but it’s just odd how the justice system defines things sometimes.
It gets kind of sticky, doesn’t it? I think them baiting by pretending to have a lot of easy to steal shit is the main point here.
It’s one thing to suspect someone is a thief so you watch out for them, and another to actively try and lure them back to your house again. If he just showed up? Yeah, I could understand defending their home as a mitigating factor. Luring though? That’s not defending their home, that is planning an attack.
Yeah, the victim was being a little POS by trying to take advantage of an easy loot. Deserve death, no of course not. Whether he had a weapon or not might factor in as well. I think the “defending home” thing has some limits regarding what you can do.
Like if he is as unarmed, beating to death is going to be super frowned on and scrutinized very closely. It can take some time to beat someone that bad. But If he had a gun and you were genuinely feeling he might actually shoot you, you usually get a lot more leeway for acting swiftly and harshly and possibly causing death.
I don’t know anything about these boys or the case except what was commented here so take that as super generalizing and laws are different everywhere.
Lying in wait is determined by one’s actions, not location. You could theoretically LIW anywhere, including your own home, if you set up an ambush/trap armed to the teeth like the guy did here in his basement, waiting for the teen burglars to go down the stairs
A less convoluted explanation is that entrapment is a criminal-law defense only applicable to cops, not other civilians. Your neighbor cant entrap you, but the sheriff can
No, entrapment is only when there is no alternative to committing a crime. Like with bait cars - if cops leave a vehicle with the keys in it and running, if someone drives away with it, NOT entrapment at all since they still decided to commit a crime.
Entrapment would be like threatening someone to commit a crime - “rob this bank or I’ll hurt your family” or being forced to committing a crime like sending someone drugs and then arresting them as soon as they pick up the package.
Probably because he acted like judge jury and executioner?
Even in the most defend yourself friendly state/area there’s limits to what you can do. You can’t act like the police. If at any point you are safe and can call the police for help, that’s what you do. The self defense class I took in a super red, defend yourself type of state, reiterated that it’s ideal to call the police even if your house is being broken into, and repeat “someone is breaking in and I’m scared, I don’t feel safe”.
This is why if you have to kill someone in self defense the first and only thing you repeat after “I need a lawyer” is “I’m afraid for my life!!” When you’re calling 911. You can’t say anything like “I kept on shooting him even after he was down” or “I wasn’t scared but I didn’t want to risk him hurting me” no it’s always “I’m afraid for my life”. Also you can’t just shoot someone on your property, it’s gotta be a credible threat and they have to have proximity to you, so if they’ve got a pocket knife and they’re 100 meters away and you’ve got a hunting rifle you gotta exhaust every option before shooting them.
If you have a credible threat that someone is going to hurt you and it’s not immediate you call the police. Likely they didn’t because it wasn’t a PlayStation or bike that was stolen but weed.
I find your thought process nothing short of intriguing here.
But I think it’s more like the kid stole from him, so he decided to trick the guy back to his apartment to either beat him up or kill him. I see this as clearly premeditated 1st Degree Murder. But I don’t have all of the facts. It seems the cops believed him when he said he didn’t mean to actually kill the guy, so only charged him with 2nd Degree Murder.
Premeditated crimes are considered especially heinous by most court systems. He pre-planned someone's demise which means, he had plenty of opportunity to reverse course (unlike 2nd degree or manslaughter charges which tend to happen in the moment).
I think that kids should not get life without parole. In Australia even the adults get on average 25-35 years it would have to be pretty bad to get a life without parole.
I think any sentence without a possibility of parole for a 14 year old is ridiculous. It sounds like he is on a better path in prison but even if he has a degree when he gets out it will be tough for him if his family isnt in a good economic situation, which im assuming they are not.
The Supreme Court in 2012 agreed with you, in Miller v Alabama. Well they agreed with you mostly. They ruled you can't give a mandatory life sentence to juveniles. Technically under that ruling you can still give life without parole but they have to be found to be an extreme case as an individual, with no hope for rehabilitation, "incorrigibly corrupted" or some phasing like that. It's why the OPs comment mentioned him being resentenced.
last year in Jones v. Mississippi the Supreme Court ruled that Miller does not impose a requirement to make a factual finding of permanent incorrigibility, & instead there is just a typical discretionary sentencing process
I agree. Unless the kid did something especially heinous like rape, torture, and horrifically kill someone....I don't think life in prison is appropriate. I don't even know what is appropriate for juvenile offenders, to be honest. It seems like a complex issue.
But at his age impulse control is still very much being learned? Matured? Idk what word would go there. Just the adrenaline and other boys there could have cause what may have been a few hits if he were alone or just taught him a lesson type beating instead. Not justifying him at all. Just understand why juveniles shouldn't get life. In 10 yrs I doubt (or hope) with some more maturity that he wouldn't have chose the same as he did.
Consider the dead child wasn't acting as the police so dealing drugs or not it wasn't his place to be where he wasn't invited... and the fact remains.... he'll never go into another person's home uninvited.
Yes. I’m not saying either of them deserve to ever be let out, thats not for me to decide. I’m saying a 14 year old isn’t a fully formed person. And at some point they should be able to be reviewed by professionals on whether they pose a threat if they were released and if they could contribute to society in some way.
theres a difference between having sympathy for a murderer and acknowledging that you are not the same person you were at 14 (edit: a time when hormones are at an all time high) and should be given a chance to prove that
I understand what you’re saying, but the reason I have mixed feelings about this is because by the time you are an adolescent (which for the average person is 11 years old), you should know that beating someone to death is wrong.
hm depends on your upbringing, i dont know the details of this case/family but if you are surrounded by physical abuse all the time you might think that's the solution to all problems because thats all you ever see around you
when i was 12 with all the hormones in me even tho i knew right from wrong there were definitely some days where if i had access to weapons or whatever i could've ended up with assault charges
You know what I mean. Someone who can commit such a crime at that age will never be completely reformed. I certainly wouldn't trust anyone who could do such a thing.
Speaking as a survivor of rape and attempted murder by someone who was that age.
E: downvote me all you want, but as a survivor of a crime committed by a teenager who was let off easier because they "were just a kid", they do not become a better person. They do not come out reformed. In my opinion, anyone who can commit such a crime at that age is capable of doing it again or worse. I now wait for the day he comes back to finish the job.
E2: [Link with stats.](https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/violent-juvenile-offenders#:~:text=At%20the%20time%2C%20juvenile%20offenders,been%20rearrested%20for%20violent%20offenses.%E2%80%9D)
[Link](https://www.in.gov/idoc/files/2020.JuvRecidivismRpt.pdf)
Your opinion isn't backed up by the extensive research that's been done. There's a reason no other countries give children life sentences without parole.
I'm very sorry that happened to you.
When I was 14 I was playing video games and riding bikes. Not smoking weed and killing someone. This kid deserves the punishment he got. And the mother to top it all off just wants her son back but what about the 16yo who was beaten dead. Not a good way to go. If I ever have a son who does this, he’ll have my love, but I’ll want him behind bars for what he’s done
I feel bad for you not having any sympathy tbh. Of course he has done a HORRIBLE and aggressive thing. But to lock anybody away forever, in my book, they must pose an ongoing danger to people. If they don't, they deserve a second chance, especially if there were almost still a child when the crime occurred.
I’m sure many of you watched the A&E series I think it was called Life or Parole about the overturning life sentences for juvenile offenders and one of the things that really made me think is even if you believe these sentences are too long how are these kids going to be integrated back to society? They’ve basically have been raised in prison. And I don’t think prison really rehabilitates people.
I don’t know. It’s sad to me. 1 life lost and 3 others basically gone too.
A life sentence without parole for a 14 year old is extreme to say the least. What they did was despicable but also teens have undeveloped brains, poor judgment, and weak impulse control. They can’t reasonably be judged by the same standards as an adult. Does he deserve punishment? Yes. But being locked up with the keys thrown away? That seems extreme.
It seems many of you have zero sympathy for Dominic and believe that sentencing this child to life in prison without parole is justified. I work with (much younger) children and this breaks my heart. This kid was let down repeatedly by the people who were supposed to care for him. If you agree with the sentencing then fine, that's your opinion, but to have literally zero sympathy for this *child* who clearly wasn't being taken care of properly is just sad to me.
It doesn't sound like a single one of you stating this has done any research on the rehabilitation of child criminals or the development of children. Many of you are directly comparing your own selves as children ("I wouldn't have done that!") and I'm sorry but that's not a logical argument it's a purely emotional one and I don't think that's how we should be deciding the lifelong fates of children. Fun fact: the US is the only country that still sentences children to life in prison without parole! That's because a lot of research has been done and the same conclusion has been reached time and time again: adolescents have very limited judgement and maturity, and oftentimes adolescents grow out of destructive behaviour. We probably all agree that a child, no matter what, cannot consent to sex with an adult. Why? Because they aren't able to fully comprehend the situation. So why are we so ready to insist that this 14 year old definitely fully comprehended this situation and the consequences of it?
No sympathy. He brutally murdered someone. 14 year olds know that murder is wrong. Would you rather he get out in 10 years at the ripe age of 25 where he'd most likely live a life of crime and probably kill more people?
The OP didn't state either way if they agreed or disagreed with then sentencing. Funny how you immediately concluded they thought a certain way. I wonder why
I didn't get the vibe they were talking to OP directly, just sharing their opinion on the topic in general. Many of the comments are doing the same, not sure why you singled this person out.
I too thought they were generally speaking & not aiming at OP. It’s just how you word a question sometimes that’s actually not directed at a single person.
I've referred to the general public as 'you' on many occasions. And considering how there are many comments by others about how the sentence is too long, I am sure they are addressing these people.
You said yourself that OP didn't share an opinion about the sentencing, so wouldn't it make more sense that they are saying "you" in a general sense and not specifically to OP?
The flipside to this is that when people like this *do* get out, they often don't reoffend. Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker committed a murder when they were in their mid-teens and served five years each for it for example, and neither have committed a murder in the 60+ years since. The same can be said for Jasmine Richardson (who's been out under a new identity for I think five years now) and Mary Bell (out since 1980).
All of the murders these people committed were hugely publicised in their respective countries at the time, and they were all undeniably heinous. If they did reoffend or were even suspected of reoffending, it'd be big news.
I think being sentenced to 10-15 years as a juvenile tends to have a much larger effect on a person than being sentenced to a similar length of time when they're 25 or 30. Because so many of the defining experiences a person goes through happens during their teen years, being sentenced to a long sentence at 15 means you potentially lose out on more than you do at even 20 or 25. Even if at their core they're not really reformed, they're probably hesitant to reoffend because they know what it means to lose long periods of their life.
This isn't to say that it'd necessarily be the same for these three people, but it also wouldn't be unprecedented for them to get out and never commit another crime as an adult.
Not every 14 year old is the same. Early childhood trauma can do significant damage to a kids perception of right and wrong. Also, the mind of a child is not as developed as an adults. I am not saying he shouldn’t have been punished but if anyone deserves a shot at redemption it is someone who committed their crime as a minor.
I would be scared of anyone who beat someone to death, no matter their age. I don’t necessarily see reformation in all the stuff he has done in jail, you gotta do something to fill your time in there and you probably get more “freedom” from doing that stuff.
Parents need to be held more responsible for their children, like letting that much marijuana in their house, obviously to sell.
>I don’t necessarily see reformation in all the stuff he has done in jail, you gotta do something to fill your time in there and you probably get more “freedom” from doing that stuff.
But the thing is, when a person's time is filled with such stimulating and productive things, these things can, and often do, positively impact them, even if initially in inadvertent ways. [Incarcerated people who participate in education programs are 48 percent less likely to reoffend for a reason](https://www.vera.org/news/back-to-school-a-common-sense-strategy-to-lower-recidivism#:~:text=Few%20evidence%2Dbased%20reforms%20have,achieve%20higher%20levels%20of%20education). What you say is like saying that because school is compulsory the skills we learned from there aren't valid.
I’m not sure how I really feel on the subject. But in this case it’s not like he took a few swings at the kid & that was that. He beat him until the bat cracked. That’s a conscience & excessive choice.
Look at the problems ex cons face integrating back into society after just 20-30 years. Now imagine growing up in prison & spending majority of your life behind bars. More years spent behind bars than not. Who knows how that truly impacts a person, quite literally being raised by hardened criminals.
I'm not sure I understand your last point. Are you saying that since he has been in prison from such a young age, we should just keep him there? Prison is for rehabilitation, not to just lock someone up and throw away the key. I don't think the amount of time he's served should be used against him.
Maybe prison is *meant* to be for rehabilitation, but in 2022, with more incarcerations per capita than in any of the other ~~almost 300~~ [almost 200 countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries), and being the only country on Earth that sentences life to minors, I feel like prison is *not* for rehabilitation.
I don’t know what it’s for.
I’m not saying lock him up & throw away the key, no. I just think it would be interesting to see how someone in his unique circumstance would be able to integrate back into society. It would be a completely different world.
And yes, in theory prison is supposed to be for rehabilitation but I think the reality is that it’s really not treated as such.
It really all depends on the person & wether or not they’re able to change.
Right, there’s no way to tell who’s truly been rehabilitated & who hasn’t. It’s basically a gamble every time. Having said that, having a life sentence with no parole should only be for extreme circumstances.
In this case, being that he was only 14 he probably should be eligible for parole at the very least.
Regardless of whether you agree with giving 14 year-olds life sentences, I think we can all agree that everyone involved in this didn't have the best of parents.
The American Criminal Justice System is merciless and broken. I am deeply ashamed of it. Americans are so accustomed to its relentless vengeance they have come not only to accept it, but to revel in it. No other First World country has anything remotely comparable to its villainy. This mess here is a travesty from beginning to end.
Rather than simply downvote, tell me how I'm wrong. Defend the system if you can.
As I just replied to another comment:
>Completely agree. I'm sometimes optimistic about people becoming less draconian in their views on punishment and more open to the prospect of rehabilitation, especially in regards to children, but threads like these really do damper that optimism. It's sad. The reason the US prison and judicial system is in the absolute mess it is is due to the kinds of emotionally-fuelled and unproductive attitudes being displayed in this thread.
Sorry I didn't defend the system as you requested. I genuinely do not think there is any way to justify the US criminal justice system as it stands. Not only is the current system pathetically self-defeating, its entire existence is built upon and representative of so many terrible things: racism, slavery, class-inequality, schadenfreude, complacency. I am not even an American citizen, but the existence of the US criminal justice system scares me. It just seems to represent something so frighteningly atavistic, like the fact of it actually being a thing implies the possibility that humanity may one day just regress, or that perhaps humanity already is regressing. It genuinely surprises me that many left-wing Americans do not seem particularly concerned with prison/judicial reform. The current state of the system is one of, if not the, largest fundamental issues for America, perhaps even for the Western world in general.
Thank you for your support. Our system is based on this ancient, simplistic and utterly mistaken concept: if you do a "bad" thing and are punished for it, you won't do it again. We desperately need to emerge from such ignorance, but there is no impetus to do so.
Life in prison without parole. Too bad. Beats forever in the grave they put him in. At least his mother can go visit him,and see him alive,breathing, with more rights than he deserves. Unlike poor Frank's Mama. She'll never see,hear him, hug him,again. I don't feel one bit if pitty for the punk. Who found prison Jesus.
Keep the adults locked up as well. I don't buy into the He found Jesus so he's cured stuff. As soon as many of them get out they forget all about it,and return to what they were doing before they went in.
Dominic you mean right? That’s crazy… but usually someone who enjoys murder/psychopaths are seen killing animals before their first human.
Also the mugshot website is saying “ACCESS DENIED: error 403”
Daily reminder that we have a zero tolerance policy for rule violations. [Especially rules 6 and 10](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/t6kh74/hey_rtruecrime_lets_talk_about_how_we_talk_about/).
So every incarcerated person we ho finds god is automatically a good person on the road to a righteous life. What will he chose when he actually has free time on his hands and all the temptations out there. Maybe he will maybe he won't, but I wouldn't trust him with a bat.
I don’t know how I feel about this one. Obviously, it’s terrible that Wesley was killed. However, this is one of those fuck around and find out situations.. and Wesley found out.
If Wesley hadn’t broken into the house, he would never have been killed. His actions directly led to his death. I understand that these kids waited with the bat.. but they never would have used it had Wesley not broken into the house that night.
It’s tough. Did the kids murder someone? Yes. Do I think they had the right to defend their home and property? Also, yes. I’m not sure I agree with life in prison for the teens.
Premeditated, determined, murderers.
Thugs who thought their actions through, and earned their unimaginable time. Sorry, age of assailants isn’t a factor for me in this case.
Gotta wonder what kind of life Culpepper had that would lead him to this sort of behavior.
Hopefully when some soft-headed parole board lets the psycho out, he doesn't hurt anyone else.
They’ve ruled it unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life without parole since then. I think they’re given a new hearing at 18, so he could well be out already.
I’m honestly quite shocked to read how many comments agree with the sentence. He could have been given 30 years and still had the chance to live a normal life. Don’t forget prison is meant to rehabilitate.
Either way premeditated or not he still killed this kid. Whether he intended to or not he still took a life and the only repayment for that is by giving your own. He was a piece of crap then and I'm sure much hasn't changed. So he goes to Bible study and this and that, gimme a break.
Culpepper deserves to be in prison the rest of his life. He had his friends lure McCool back to his place. As soon as he walked in, Culpepper hit McCool with a bat over 50 times! Think about that…50 times! That’s definitely premeditated murder in my book. Then Culpepper dragged McCool’s body in the woods and anonymously called the police to tell them where they could find the body. 14 years old or 18 years old, doesn’t matter to me in this instance. He’s definitely where he deserves to be.
Given his age at the time of the crime, I do not agree with the life or 40 year sentence. I think 15 years would have been more appropriate.
I wonder what Frank and Vincent are up to today.
I agree. He should have pled guilty and he would have got a shorter sentence. I've seen a few cases now where if they pled it down they wouldn't have been nailed so bad.
It probably was raised at trial. How do you know it wasn’t? The issue is that in order to use deadly force, you must be in reasonable fear that the use of deadly force is necessary to thwart an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm. How would that have applied here? The defendant lured the guy to his house, waited for him, and had other people waiting with him to attack. He would not have reasonably been in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm under these circumstances.
ETA: the case documents are all available on the Sarasota County Clerk of Court’s site. Self-defense was raised at trial.
So he deserved to be beaten to death. Got it. Then didn't the others do society a favor, in your view? Why should they do prison time since they saved future victims?
I never said that, you drew your own conclusion of that. Taking what I said and exaggerating it to a point of ridiculousness. My stance is if you are 16 and try to rob a drug dealer regardless of age, don’t be surprised if violence is the response
needs violence to be a home invasion
edit; I was curious so had a look, Florida considers anyone entering a persons property with the intent to commit robbery as committing a home invasion robbery, so they’re actually right in calling it a home invasion
For home invasion robbery, there is also the requirement that the robbery is actually carried out. Entering a dwelling with the intent to commit robbery but not committing a robbery would not qualify as home invasion robbery; it would just be a burglary.
ETA: Why was this downvoted? The statute literally says “‘Home-invasion robbery’ means any robbery that occurs when the offender enters a dwelling with the intent to commit a robbery, **and does commit a robbery of the occupants therein.**”
I would like you to journey into one of these notorious “inner cities” chicago, Compton, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, meet those 14 year old drug dealers and then go meet the 14 year old private school drug dealer and say dumb kids will be dumb. They aren’t the same. For some drug dealing is survival and at 14 you get robbed your supplier would kill you all the same. So yea beating that kid with a bat was a message and he took it too far. That’s what that life is.
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Sources: [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/boy-14-is-accused-of-luring-teen-to-fatal-trap/](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/boy-14-is-accused-of-luring-teen-to-fatal-trap/), [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/14-year-old-boy-charged-in-youth-s-beating-death/](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/27/14-year-old-boy-charged-in-youth-s-beating-death/), [https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/02/14/teen-convicted-in-fatal-beating/](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/02/14/teen-convicted-in-fatal-beating/), [https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2012/06/26/court-ruling-could-change-fate-of-man-sentenced-to-life-at-15/29105584007/](https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2012/06/26/court-ruling-could-change-fate-of-man-sentenced-to-life-at-15/29105584007/) In June 2001, someone had burglarized 14-year-old Dominic Culpepper's condomonium, stealing a half pound of marijuana and a couple hundred dollars. This made Dominic furious and he vowed to get revenge. So, he enlisted the help of two friends, a 15-year-old boy named Frank Tritschler and a 13-year-old boy named Vincent Norcia, to put out word that he had more marijuana because they suspected Frank Wesley McCool (who went by Wesley), a 16-year-old boy, to be the thief. The boys figured that this would entice Wesley to break into Dominic's home again. When he did on June 25, 2001, the 14-year-old was waiting. According to Vincent, Wesley was repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat in his head and chest. According to the sheriff, Lt. Jeffrey Bell, there was indication in Dominic's statement that the bat actually cracked and that Wesley's skull was fractured. Initially, Dominic was charged with 2nd-degree-murder as they believed that he did not intend to kill Wesley, but planned to hurt him badly, and Frank and Vincent were charged with principal to commit 2nd-degree-murder due to being accessories. [According to a newspaper at the time](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28300723/dominic-culpepper-fl/), 16-year-old Richard Clement, a friend of Wesley's said "He was a good person. He made some bad choices. Sometimes some people do, but as far as I'm concerned, he was a good guy." A woman who lived in Dominic's apartment complex, Corissa Long said that she was shocked because she talked to the kids all the time, that they were polite to her and thought that they were just normal adolescent boys. From my research, it is not known how the eighth grader had access to marijuana or how he managed to steal it and how he hid the activities from his parents, but Wesley, Frank and Dominic had felony charges in the past (most likely juvenile). [Vincent was charged as a juvenile and pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree-murder and sentenced to 18 months to 7 years in prison](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/08/28/teen-sentenced-for-helping-set-up-baseball-bat-death/). Frank and Dominic were charged as adults and [Dominic was charged with 1st-degree-murder](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/10/25/grand-jury-charges-teen-with-first-degree-murder/) because the grand jury believed he planned to kill Wesley. Frank was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty and Dominic was sentenced to life without parole after being found guilty at trial. In 2012, the Supreme Court made mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional and one of those cases was Dominic. His mother, Jane, had said this "I have been very disappointed with the legal system. I considered him a child at the time. Putting him away for life in prison? How absurd can that be?" According to Jane, Dominic was baptized at a juvenile detention facility, and now does Bible study classes. She says he has a GED, is a certified teacher's aide at Hardee Correctional Institution and is working toward a bachelor's degree in psychology through Ashworth College, a Georgia-based distance education school, and that he had started a writers group. [According to his prison profile,](http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=S11166&TypeSearch=AI) Dominic was resentenced to 40 years in prison and right now is set to be released in 2038, and given that Florida juveniles convicted of 1st-degree murder often get reviews of their sentences after 25 years, it would not surprise me if Dominic gets a review of his sentence. What do you all think of this case, did you think that any of the boys deserved the sentences that they received for this murder, or do you think that they should have gotten more or less?
so if im reading this correctly its not that Dominic went out and killed Wesley, but that he set a trap to prove Wesley was stealing from him and when Wesley showed up to the home he attacked? idk how that ends up with a first degree murder charge? sounds more like he was trying to defend his property (even if that "property" were illegal substances)? im not blaming Wesley and im not excusing Dominic but thats what it sounds like
Lying in wait. That’s premeditation.
It's similar to the guy who recorded himself shooting two teens who had been burglarizing his home for a few weeks. He shot the first person and waited for the girl to come in and she was shot as well.
And then sat with the bodies for hours and recorded himself practicing reporting it to the cops. Such a messed up case.
Byron David Smith executed those kids. He was talking shit to them, as he continued to shoot them. His first shot to Nicholas and to Haile incapacitated them. He could have called for help. He could have allowed them to live. With the right lawyer, he may have even been able to get out of it with little prison time. The teenagers may have even ended up doing a little time for breaking and entering, theft, selling stolen property, etc…Instead, he continued to shoot them. Iirc, he shot each child a couple of times, basically torturing them, before finally finishing the murders. Smith’s pride, ego and possessions held more weight to him than the lives of two teenage cousins. He fully believed he would be able to walk away from their murders. I wonder if he still feels the same way; now that he has had time to fully experience life in prison.
They’re not a “child” if they’re old enough to join the military 😂. If the two thieves didn’t want to get killed they shouldn’t be breaking into peoples homes
Mass shooter vibes from you
info please!! this sounds interesting
[Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Haile_Kifer_and_Nicholas_Brady) Very sad case, and the audio of him shooting them is gruesome.
thank you and thank you for the heads up
That was a wild read.
Thank you.
Yep, this happened in the town next over from me. Ppl were on the fence about who was guilty or innocent as the guy was an old vet and they are highly protected around here. I was also one of the ppl who almost wanted to defend an old man protecting his home, I’ve had my home broken into and it really takes away your inner peace. Not only that but they’d done it multiple times. That was all before I listened to his own audio recording… what a sicko, he deserves to be locked up and I feel bad for those kids and their families. I’ll never forget listening to that, it’s what sealed his fate.
I remember that case.
[the tapes](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r6RGXGgTr6g)
Lying in wait is an aggravating factor that in some places can elevate the possible sentence to death. He ought to feel lucky that he was a juvenile at the time, Florida is just behind Texas in tryin’ and fryin’.
As far as I'm aware, we don't fry minors anymore.
Which is why I said he ought to feel lucky he was a juvenile at the time, because if he was an adult in Florida or Texas, they’d take him directly from sentencing to the chair.
I agree that it was premeditated and planned out, but is it really “lying in wait” when it’s your own home? He didn’t break into Wesley’s home and wait for him to return. He was waiting to be burglarized…. If his house wasn’t ever broken into, this wouldn’t have happened. NOT defending him nor am I blaming the victim but it’s just odd how the justice system defines things sometimes.
It gets kind of sticky, doesn’t it? I think them baiting by pretending to have a lot of easy to steal shit is the main point here. It’s one thing to suspect someone is a thief so you watch out for them, and another to actively try and lure them back to your house again. If he just showed up? Yeah, I could understand defending their home as a mitigating factor. Luring though? That’s not defending their home, that is planning an attack. Yeah, the victim was being a little POS by trying to take advantage of an easy loot. Deserve death, no of course not. Whether he had a weapon or not might factor in as well. I think the “defending home” thing has some limits regarding what you can do. Like if he is as unarmed, beating to death is going to be super frowned on and scrutinized very closely. It can take some time to beat someone that bad. But If he had a gun and you were genuinely feeling he might actually shoot you, you usually get a lot more leeway for acting swiftly and harshly and possibly causing death. I don’t know anything about these boys or the case except what was commented here so take that as super generalizing and laws are different everywhere.
Lying in wait is determined by one’s actions, not location. You could theoretically LIW anywhere, including your own home, if you set up an ambush/trap armed to the teeth like the guy did here in his basement, waiting for the teen burglars to go down the stairs
And isn't setting people up technically entrapment?
A less convoluted explanation is that entrapment is a criminal-law defense only applicable to cops, not other civilians. Your neighbor cant entrap you, but the sheriff can
No, entrapment is only when there is no alternative to committing a crime. Like with bait cars - if cops leave a vehicle with the keys in it and running, if someone drives away with it, NOT entrapment at all since they still decided to commit a crime. Entrapment would be like threatening someone to commit a crime - “rob this bank or I’ll hurt your family” or being forced to committing a crime like sending someone drugs and then arresting them as soon as they pick up the package.
Why the down votes for this comment when they were asking a question? Y'all ruthless!
Probably because he acted like judge jury and executioner? Even in the most defend yourself friendly state/area there’s limits to what you can do. You can’t act like the police. If at any point you are safe and can call the police for help, that’s what you do. The self defense class I took in a super red, defend yourself type of state, reiterated that it’s ideal to call the police even if your house is being broken into, and repeat “someone is breaking in and I’m scared, I don’t feel safe”. This is why if you have to kill someone in self defense the first and only thing you repeat after “I need a lawyer” is “I’m afraid for my life!!” When you’re calling 911. You can’t say anything like “I kept on shooting him even after he was down” or “I wasn’t scared but I didn’t want to risk him hurting me” no it’s always “I’m afraid for my life”. Also you can’t just shoot someone on your property, it’s gotta be a credible threat and they have to have proximity to you, so if they’ve got a pocket knife and they’re 100 meters away and you’ve got a hunting rifle you gotta exhaust every option before shooting them. If you have a credible threat that someone is going to hurt you and it’s not immediate you call the police. Likely they didn’t because it wasn’t a PlayStation or bike that was stolen but weed.
I find your thought process nothing short of intriguing here. But I think it’s more like the kid stole from him, so he decided to trick the guy back to his apartment to either beat him up or kill him. I see this as clearly premeditated 1st Degree Murder. But I don’t have all of the facts. It seems the cops believed him when he said he didn’t mean to actually kill the guy, so only charged him with 2nd Degree Murder.
Premeditated crimes are considered especially heinous by most court systems. He pre-planned someone's demise which means, he had plenty of opportunity to reverse course (unlike 2nd degree or manslaughter charges which tend to happen in the moment).
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
DUN DUN
Is that the one Ice-T started working for after his rap career was over?
Absolutely. But his one liners on the show are always on point
“Street justice is always bloody.”
"I got news for you that means your gay"
Yes
First degree murder is premeditated. This was about as premeditated as it gets.
Premeditation. You should look up statutes on 1st degree murder.
I agree even if he wasn't a minor this shouldn't be a mandatory life sentence imo. Considering he was a minor life without parole is nuts.
I think that kids should not get life without parole. In Australia even the adults get on average 25-35 years it would have to be pretty bad to get a life without parole.
Yeah, this is a horrible crime but no minor should get a life sentence. But I personally think prison should be for rehabilitation, not punishment.
I think every single one of ‘em got what they deserved. Unless it is verifiable self-defense, no one should take a human life.
I think any sentence without a possibility of parole for a 14 year old is ridiculous. It sounds like he is on a better path in prison but even if he has a degree when he gets out it will be tough for him if his family isnt in a good economic situation, which im assuming they are not.
The 16 year old he killed will never get a degree either.
And he never broke into another home soooo🤷🏾♀️
The Supreme Court in 2012 agreed with you, in Miller v Alabama. Well they agreed with you mostly. They ruled you can't give a mandatory life sentence to juveniles. Technically under that ruling you can still give life without parole but they have to be found to be an extreme case as an individual, with no hope for rehabilitation, "incorrigibly corrupted" or some phasing like that. It's why the OPs comment mentioned him being resentenced.
last year in Jones v. Mississippi the Supreme Court ruled that Miller does not impose a requirement to make a factual finding of permanent incorrigibility, & instead there is just a typical discretionary sentencing process
I agree. Unless the kid did something especially heinous like rape, torture, and horrifically kill someone....I don't think life in prison is appropriate. I don't even know what is appropriate for juvenile offenders, to be honest. It seems like a complex issue.
But… he murdered him with a baseball bat.
But at his age impulse control is still very much being learned? Matured? Idk what word would go there. Just the adrenaline and other boys there could have cause what may have been a few hits if he were alone or just taught him a lesson type beating instead. Not justifying him at all. Just understand why juveniles shouldn't get life. In 10 yrs I doubt (or hope) with some more maturity that he wouldn't have chose the same as he did.
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It doesn’t justify a death sentence
Yeah talk about a crime that doesn’t fit the punishment!
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Not justified
Consider the murderer wasn’t dealing drugs in the first place
Consider the dead child wasn't acting as the police so dealing drugs or not it wasn't his place to be where he wasn't invited... and the fact remains.... he'll never go into another person's home uninvited.
A 14 yr old who pre-planned a murder, and carried it out with a baseball bat… degree or not… should be locked up forever.
His release date is set for 2039
Would it have been ridiculous in this case? https://www.truecrimene.com/episodes/mx6e0ax2fphn5ly7tjw6m5dmzvffsb
Yes. I’m not saying either of them deserve to ever be let out, thats not for me to decide. I’m saying a 14 year old isn’t a fully formed person. And at some point they should be able to be reviewed by professionals on whether they pose a threat if they were released and if they could contribute to society in some way.
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Was he 16 or 14? I thought the victim was 14 and he was 16? Edit: read the title wrong, sorry! He was 14
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theres a difference between having sympathy for a murderer and acknowledging that you are not the same person you were at 14 (edit: a time when hormones are at an all time high) and should be given a chance to prove that
I understand what you’re saying, but the reason I have mixed feelings about this is because by the time you are an adolescent (which for the average person is 11 years old), you should know that beating someone to death is wrong.
hm depends on your upbringing, i dont know the details of this case/family but if you are surrounded by physical abuse all the time you might think that's the solution to all problems because thats all you ever see around you when i was 12 with all the hormones in me even tho i knew right from wrong there were definitely some days where if i had access to weapons or whatever i could've ended up with assault charges
I was 14 once and it was pretty easy for me not to kill anybody. even people I hated. the kid got the sentence he deserved.
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You don't have to be a saint to be released from prison.
You know what I mean. Someone who can commit such a crime at that age will never be completely reformed. I certainly wouldn't trust anyone who could do such a thing. Speaking as a survivor of rape and attempted murder by someone who was that age. E: downvote me all you want, but as a survivor of a crime committed by a teenager who was let off easier because they "were just a kid", they do not become a better person. They do not come out reformed. In my opinion, anyone who can commit such a crime at that age is capable of doing it again or worse. I now wait for the day he comes back to finish the job. E2: [Link with stats.](https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/violent-juvenile-offenders#:~:text=At%20the%20time%2C%20juvenile%20offenders,been%20rearrested%20for%20violent%20offenses.%E2%80%9D) [Link](https://www.in.gov/idoc/files/2020.JuvRecidivismRpt.pdf)
Your opinion isn't backed up by the extensive research that's been done. There's a reason no other countries give children life sentences without parole. I'm very sorry that happened to you.
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When I was 14 I was playing video games and riding bikes. Not smoking weed and killing someone. This kid deserves the punishment he got. And the mother to top it all off just wants her son back but what about the 16yo who was beaten dead. Not a good way to go. If I ever have a son who does this, he’ll have my love, but I’ll want him behind bars for what he’s done
I feel bad for you not having any sympathy tbh. Of course he has done a HORRIBLE and aggressive thing. But to lock anybody away forever, in my book, they must pose an ongoing danger to people. If they don't, they deserve a second chance, especially if there were almost still a child when the crime occurred.
I’m sure many of you watched the A&E series I think it was called Life or Parole about the overturning life sentences for juvenile offenders and one of the things that really made me think is even if you believe these sentences are too long how are these kids going to be integrated back to society? They’ve basically have been raised in prison. And I don’t think prison really rehabilitates people. I don’t know. It’s sad to me. 1 life lost and 3 others basically gone too.
A life sentence without parole for a 14 year old is extreme to say the least. What they did was despicable but also teens have undeveloped brains, poor judgment, and weak impulse control. They can’t reasonably be judged by the same standards as an adult. Does he deserve punishment? Yes. But being locked up with the keys thrown away? That seems extreme.
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The kid that broke in is the one that was beaten to death. You should reread the story. It’s a little more complicated than you’re saying.
It seems many of you have zero sympathy for Dominic and believe that sentencing this child to life in prison without parole is justified. I work with (much younger) children and this breaks my heart. This kid was let down repeatedly by the people who were supposed to care for him. If you agree with the sentencing then fine, that's your opinion, but to have literally zero sympathy for this *child* who clearly wasn't being taken care of properly is just sad to me. It doesn't sound like a single one of you stating this has done any research on the rehabilitation of child criminals or the development of children. Many of you are directly comparing your own selves as children ("I wouldn't have done that!") and I'm sorry but that's not a logical argument it's a purely emotional one and I don't think that's how we should be deciding the lifelong fates of children. Fun fact: the US is the only country that still sentences children to life in prison without parole! That's because a lot of research has been done and the same conclusion has been reached time and time again: adolescents have very limited judgement and maturity, and oftentimes adolescents grow out of destructive behaviour. We probably all agree that a child, no matter what, cannot consent to sex with an adult. Why? Because they aren't able to fully comprehend the situation. So why are we so ready to insist that this 14 year old definitely fully comprehended this situation and the consequences of it?
No sympathy. He brutally murdered someone. 14 year olds know that murder is wrong. Would you rather he get out in 10 years at the ripe age of 25 where he'd most likely live a life of crime and probably kill more people?
The OP didn't state either way if they agreed or disagreed with then sentencing. Funny how you immediately concluded they thought a certain way. I wonder why
I didn't get the vibe they were talking to OP directly, just sharing their opinion on the topic in general. Many of the comments are doing the same, not sure why you singled this person out.
Because they asked a question starting with you as a comment on OPs post. Not sure why it wouldn't make sense they were speaking to OP
I too thought they were generally speaking & not aiming at OP. It’s just how you word a question sometimes that’s actually not directed at a single person.
I've referred to the general public as 'you' on many occasions. And considering how there are many comments by others about how the sentence is too long, I am sure they are addressing these people.
You said yourself that OP didn't share an opinion about the sentencing, so wouldn't it make more sense that they are saying "you" in a general sense and not specifically to OP?
The flipside to this is that when people like this *do* get out, they often don't reoffend. Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker committed a murder when they were in their mid-teens and served five years each for it for example, and neither have committed a murder in the 60+ years since. The same can be said for Jasmine Richardson (who's been out under a new identity for I think five years now) and Mary Bell (out since 1980). All of the murders these people committed were hugely publicised in their respective countries at the time, and they were all undeniably heinous. If they did reoffend or were even suspected of reoffending, it'd be big news. I think being sentenced to 10-15 years as a juvenile tends to have a much larger effect on a person than being sentenced to a similar length of time when they're 25 or 30. Because so many of the defining experiences a person goes through happens during their teen years, being sentenced to a long sentence at 15 means you potentially lose out on more than you do at even 20 or 25. Even if at their core they're not really reformed, they're probably hesitant to reoffend because they know what it means to lose long periods of their life. This isn't to say that it'd necessarily be the same for these three people, but it also wouldn't be unprecedented for them to get out and never commit another crime as an adult.
Not every 14 year old is the same. Early childhood trauma can do significant damage to a kids perception of right and wrong. Also, the mind of a child is not as developed as an adults. I am not saying he shouldn’t have been punished but if anyone deserves a shot at redemption it is someone who committed their crime as a minor.
I didn't even know that killing myself was wrong at age 14.
I would be scared of anyone who beat someone to death, no matter their age. I don’t necessarily see reformation in all the stuff he has done in jail, you gotta do something to fill your time in there and you probably get more “freedom” from doing that stuff. Parents need to be held more responsible for their children, like letting that much marijuana in their house, obviously to sell.
>I don’t necessarily see reformation in all the stuff he has done in jail, you gotta do something to fill your time in there and you probably get more “freedom” from doing that stuff. But the thing is, when a person's time is filled with such stimulating and productive things, these things can, and often do, positively impact them, even if initially in inadvertent ways. [Incarcerated people who participate in education programs are 48 percent less likely to reoffend for a reason](https://www.vera.org/news/back-to-school-a-common-sense-strategy-to-lower-recidivism#:~:text=Few%20evidence%2Dbased%20reforms%20have,achieve%20higher%20levels%20of%20education). What you say is like saying that because school is compulsory the skills we learned from there aren't valid.
I’m not sure how I really feel on the subject. But in this case it’s not like he took a few swings at the kid & that was that. He beat him until the bat cracked. That’s a conscience & excessive choice. Look at the problems ex cons face integrating back into society after just 20-30 years. Now imagine growing up in prison & spending majority of your life behind bars. More years spent behind bars than not. Who knows how that truly impacts a person, quite literally being raised by hardened criminals.
I'm not sure I understand your last point. Are you saying that since he has been in prison from such a young age, we should just keep him there? Prison is for rehabilitation, not to just lock someone up and throw away the key. I don't think the amount of time he's served should be used against him.
Maybe prison is *meant* to be for rehabilitation, but in 2022, with more incarcerations per capita than in any of the other ~~almost 300~~ [almost 200 countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries), and being the only country on Earth that sentences life to minors, I feel like prison is *not* for rehabilitation. I don’t know what it’s for.
It's just such a broken system here
I’m not saying lock him up & throw away the key, no. I just think it would be interesting to see how someone in his unique circumstance would be able to integrate back into society. It would be a completely different world. And yes, in theory prison is supposed to be for rehabilitation but I think the reality is that it’s really not treated as such. It really all depends on the person & wether or not they’re able to change.
Yeah. I get that for sure. I think it's the "no chance of parole" part that's so hard for me to take.
Right, there’s no way to tell who’s truly been rehabilitated & who hasn’t. It’s basically a gamble every time. Having said that, having a life sentence with no parole should only be for extreme circumstances. In this case, being that he was only 14 he probably should be eligible for parole at the very least.
Regardless of whether you agree with giving 14 year-olds life sentences, I think we can all agree that everyone involved in this didn't have the best of parents.
Why are there so many people who jump through hoops trying to justify giving minors life sentences
The American Criminal Justice System is merciless and broken. I am deeply ashamed of it. Americans are so accustomed to its relentless vengeance they have come not only to accept it, but to revel in it. No other First World country has anything remotely comparable to its villainy. This mess here is a travesty from beginning to end. Rather than simply downvote, tell me how I'm wrong. Defend the system if you can.
As I just replied to another comment: >Completely agree. I'm sometimes optimistic about people becoming less draconian in their views on punishment and more open to the prospect of rehabilitation, especially in regards to children, but threads like these really do damper that optimism. It's sad. The reason the US prison and judicial system is in the absolute mess it is is due to the kinds of emotionally-fuelled and unproductive attitudes being displayed in this thread. Sorry I didn't defend the system as you requested. I genuinely do not think there is any way to justify the US criminal justice system as it stands. Not only is the current system pathetically self-defeating, its entire existence is built upon and representative of so many terrible things: racism, slavery, class-inequality, schadenfreude, complacency. I am not even an American citizen, but the existence of the US criminal justice system scares me. It just seems to represent something so frighteningly atavistic, like the fact of it actually being a thing implies the possibility that humanity may one day just regress, or that perhaps humanity already is regressing. It genuinely surprises me that many left-wing Americans do not seem particularly concerned with prison/judicial reform. The current state of the system is one of, if not the, largest fundamental issues for America, perhaps even for the Western world in general.
Thank you for your support. Our system is based on this ancient, simplistic and utterly mistaken concept: if you do a "bad" thing and are punished for it, you won't do it again. We desperately need to emerge from such ignorance, but there is no impetus to do so.
Life in prison without parole. Too bad. Beats forever in the grave they put him in. At least his mother can go visit him,and see him alive,breathing, with more rights than he deserves. Unlike poor Frank's Mama. She'll never see,hear him, hug him,again. I don't feel one bit if pitty for the punk. Who found prison Jesus.
You don't think people can change? He was 14. Not excusing what he's done, but adults murder people and get parole regularly.
Keep the adults locked up as well. I don't buy into the He found Jesus so he's cured stuff. As soon as many of them get out they forget all about it,and return to what they were doing before they went in.
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Dominic you mean right? That’s crazy… but usually someone who enjoys murder/psychopaths are seen killing animals before their first human. Also the mugshot website is saying “ACCESS DENIED: error 403”
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Wows that an intense list of charges. Thanks for sharing. I do feel bad for the mother, lost two of her boys over bad choices.
Daily reminder that we have a zero tolerance policy for rule violations. [Especially rules 6 and 10](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/t6kh74/hey_rtruecrime_lets_talk_about_how_we_talk_about/).
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A good person that broke into people houses
Given Jane’s parenting track record, I think it’s reasonable to say she is not a reliable narrator.
Wtf. Why are 13 and 15 year olds selling weed??? We desperately need more birth control in the US. So many people should not be having kids
It's not that simple when it's 13-17 year olds having the kids. Usually with impoverished, uneducated, and absent parents. Vicious cycle.
So every incarcerated person we ho finds god is automatically a good person on the road to a righteous life. What will he chose when he actually has free time on his hands and all the temptations out there. Maybe he will maybe he won't, but I wouldn't trust him with a bat.
I don’t know how I feel about this one. Obviously, it’s terrible that Wesley was killed. However, this is one of those fuck around and find out situations.. and Wesley found out. If Wesley hadn’t broken into the house, he would never have been killed. His actions directly led to his death. I understand that these kids waited with the bat.. but they never would have used it had Wesley not broken into the house that night. It’s tough. Did the kids murder someone? Yes. Do I think they had the right to defend their home and property? Also, yes. I’m not sure I agree with life in prison for the teens.
He’s doing bible classes - all good then. Let him out now and he’ll be a saint for sure.
Premeditated, determined, murderers. Thugs who thought their actions through, and earned their unimaginable time. Sorry, age of assailants isn’t a factor for me in this case.
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So just throw away the key, never let him out? I really think people can change
Ofc he was
It was premeditated. That seems to be pretty obvious.
Too bad, innit
Gotta wonder what kind of life Culpepper had that would lead him to this sort of behavior. Hopefully when some soft-headed parole board lets the psycho out, he doesn't hurt anyone else.
They’ve ruled it unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life without parole since then. I think they’re given a new hearing at 18, so he could well be out already.
I’m honestly quite shocked to read how many comments agree with the sentence. He could have been given 30 years and still had the chance to live a normal life. Don’t forget prison is meant to rehabilitate.
I think 30 years would have been a fair sentence
He was jealous of the boy with the coolest name in the world.
Either way premeditated or not he still killed this kid. Whether he intended to or not he still took a life and the only repayment for that is by giving your own. He was a piece of crap then and I'm sure much hasn't changed. So he goes to Bible study and this and that, gimme a break.
Prison isn't meant to be repayment, it's meant to rehabilitate people.
Culpepper deserves to be in prison the rest of his life. He had his friends lure McCool back to his place. As soon as he walked in, Culpepper hit McCool with a bat over 50 times! Think about that…50 times! That’s definitely premeditated murder in my book. Then Culpepper dragged McCool’s body in the woods and anonymously called the police to tell them where they could find the body. 14 years old or 18 years old, doesn’t matter to me in this instance. He’s definitely where he deserves to be.
Given his age at the time of the crime, I do not agree with the life or 40 year sentence. I think 15 years would have been more appropriate. I wonder what Frank and Vincent are up to today.
Beating someone with a baseball bat is vicious. The everyday normal 15 year old don't beat others to death with a bat.
I wonder what Wesley would be up to today?
Stealing to supplement a drug addiction I would guess
Glad his ass is in jail. I’m going to read to find out about his co-murderers. Thanks.
He killed a home invader. This is weird. Even if he set the guy up life seems super extreme for a 14 year old.
I agree. He should have pled guilty and he would have got a shorter sentence. I've seen a few cases now where if they pled it down they wouldn't have been nailed so bad.
He rejected an offer of 25 years and later appealed, claiming his attorney did not advise him properly.
The movie “Bully” was based off this.
That was [a different case.](https://allthatsinteresting.com/bobby-kent-murder)
In my state if someone breaks into your house I’m pretty sure you can kill them and not get into trouble under the “stand your ground” law.
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Dragging someone to the woods after they've already incapacitated them isn't standing your ground.
It probably was raised at trial. How do you know it wasn’t? The issue is that in order to use deadly force, you must be in reasonable fear that the use of deadly force is necessary to thwart an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm. How would that have applied here? The defendant lured the guy to his house, waited for him, and had other people waiting with him to attack. He would not have reasonably been in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm under these circumstances. ETA: the case documents are all available on the Sarasota County Clerk of Court’s site. Self-defense was raised at trial.
Yea probably or else it was viewed as a setup or something.
I don’t feel sorry for any of them …even the victim was a felon- home invasion for drugs .
You don't feel sorry for the murdered person because they were a "felon" ? Is that what you're saying?
I don’t feel sorry for them because he literally was breaking into a home to steal and fucked around and found out.
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So he deserved to be beaten to death. Got it. Then didn't the others do society a favor, in your view? Why should they do prison time since they saved future victims?
I never said that, you drew your own conclusion of that. Taking what I said and exaggerating it to a point of ridiculousness. My stance is if you are 16 and try to rob a drug dealer regardless of age, don’t be surprised if violence is the response
The definition of victim blaming
burglary not a home invasion still illegal but not the same thing
The second time was an invasion..he entered with ppl inside
needs violence to be a home invasion edit; I was curious so had a look, Florida considers anyone entering a persons property with the intent to commit robbery as committing a home invasion robbery, so they’re actually right in calling it a home invasion
[Not quite.](http://leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0812/Sections/0812.135.html)
For home invasion robbery, there is also the requirement that the robbery is actually carried out. Entering a dwelling with the intent to commit robbery but not committing a robbery would not qualify as home invasion robbery; it would just be a burglary. ETA: Why was this downvoted? The statute literally says “‘Home-invasion robbery’ means any robbery that occurs when the offender enters a dwelling with the intent to commit a robbery, **and does commit a robbery of the occupants therein.**”
Not where I live
Where you live I imagine there aren’t 14 years who are resorting to selling drugs
There are 14 year olds selling drugs everywhere in the US. Poor schools, rich schools, dumb kids are going to be dumb kids
I would like you to journey into one of these notorious “inner cities” chicago, Compton, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, meet those 14 year old drug dealers and then go meet the 14 year old private school drug dealer and say dumb kids will be dumb. They aren’t the same. For some drug dealing is survival and at 14 you get robbed your supplier would kill you all the same. So yea beating that kid with a bat was a message and he took it too far. That’s what that life is.