SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon court of appeals has denied a motion to shorten the sentence for Thurston High School shooter Kipland P. Kinkel.
At age 15, Kinkel killed his parents. He later went to his high school cafeteria in Springfield, fatally shooting two students and wounding about two dozen others in May 1998. He was captured and eventually sentenced to nearly 112-years in prison.
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed a Marion County judge's ruling that went against Kinkel in 2013. Kinkel's attorney has argued that the prison term amounts to a life sentence that violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment - in part, because Kinkel was 15 years old at the time.
"At the time of his crimes, he was mentally ill. He’s schizophrenic, and it was untreated at the time. When he committed the crimes, he was hallucinating and – schizophrenia can be a bad thing if it’s untreated. It was then. It’s being treated now. He’s under proper medication now. He’s completely harmless," said his attorney Andy Simrin.
"Anybody in those circumstances ought to have some opportunity to establish their redemption," he added.
Despite the attorney's arguments, the court ruled that Kinkel's sentence should stand.
The Appeals Court opinion states that Kinkel previously appealed his sentence as cruel and unusual, and Oregon law prohibits him from using the same argument in another appeal.
The 33-year-old is being held at the medium-security Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem. He was hoping for a reduced sentence or a retrial.
"He's doing fine. He takes everything matter of fact. He knows he's where he is for a long period of time even, if we were successful here," Simrin said.
He says they will continue to fight, hoping one day Kinkel will get the opportunity for parole.
Background:
VIDEO archive: 1998 shooting at Thurston High School
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