Teen who killed family on (Sam) Donaldson ranch goes free

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A young man who was 14 when he shot and killed his family on a New Mexico ranch owned by newsman Sam Donaldson has been freed, a spokeswoman for the state's youth and families agency said Saturday.

Cody Posey had just finished the eighth grade when he was arrested on July 7, 2004, in connection with the slayings of his father, stepmother and stepsister.

He confessed to the slayings, but said he snapped after years of physical and psychological abuse. He said he fatally shot his father, Paul Posey, 34, stepmother, Tryome Posey, 44, and stepsister, Mairlea Schmid, 13, and then used a backhoe to bury their bodies inside a manure pile.

Posey was convicted in February 2006 of voluntary manslaughter for his father's death, second degree murder for his stepmother's death and first degree murder for his stepsister's death.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/08/new.mexico.posey.release/index.html

---

The article also reports: "While in custody, Posey obtained his high school degree and completed nearly two years worth of college credits, Clees said, adding that he had no disciplinary issues and served as a mentor to other youths."

(edited to remove second part after reading responses)

[Tunkamerica]

1. Leave it to a chronically abused 14 year old to not make a rational decision.

[proteus_lives]

2. His parents I can understand but his step-sister? Why did the 13 year-old deserve to die?

If she did nothing to him, he deserves to be in prison for the rest of his life for her murder.

His picture was creepy. He looks like a psycho.

Five gets you ten that they find him with a hooker's body in the trunk in a few years.

[Xipe Totec]

6. You ask this of a 14 year old abused child? nt

[proteus_lives]

11. Yeah, I would ask him why he killed his sister.

[Javaman]

37. step sister.

I have known some truly evil kids in my life.

Not defending his actions, but nothing says that she didn't take part in some form of abuse of the kid as well.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. I won't even get into it with you

as I know it's a lost cause. I will say, however, that I wish the father could be brought back from the dead in order to try him and throw his ass in prison for a good, long time. The abuse heaped upon that kid was nothing short of torture.

Psychologist: In killing his family, Cody Posey took the only road available to him
By Emanuella Grinberg, Court TV


ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (Court TV) — A New Mexico teen killed his parents because he felt he had no other recourse to escape their alleged abuse, a forensic psychologist testified Friday in the 16-year-old's first-degree murder trial.

"I think if he had any other avenue of exit available to him, he might have taken it," clinical psychologist Susan Cave told jurors in Cody Posey's trial for the murder of his parents and stepsister in July 2004.

many, many examples of abuse at link, if anyone bothers to read...

http://news.findlaw.com/court_tv/s/20060127/27jan2006165056.html

You'll understand if I take the word of a professional in the field of forensic psychology over that of anonymous draconian-justice-demander on an internet forum who offers nothing more than a cursory glance at an incredibly tortured individual and then proceeds to envision a dead prostitute in his trunk.
:eyes:

[proteus_lives]

13. I'm not questioning him killing his abusers.

I'm wondering why he killed his sister.

I don't doubt he was abused or had reason to kill his parents. But why the sister? Did she abuse him?

He shot her twice in the head and buried her under shit. Lot of rage there, maybe he hated her because she wasn't abused.

If he just killed his abusers, I'd support letting him go too but the sister? No one showed reason why she deserved to die.

[boppers]

17. She was part of the abuse in his mind, and a witness to his vengeance.

Simple as that.

The more complex explanation involves learning more details of the case, where she was a favored child, and leveraged sibling rivalry to deflect/project abuse on to him.

Also note that the jury found different verdicts for the three different killings, with the harshest verdict for killing the step-sister.

[Cirque du So-What]

22. According to transcripts from the trial

The father paid his stepsister to rat him out - even for stuff he did at school. That certainly doesn't make a decent excuse for killing her, but he definitely had issues with her. Seeing the 'everyday' torture that the kid had to endure, I imagine he didn't appreciate his stepsister's contributions toward additional abuse at the hands of his sadistic father & stepmother.

[proteus_lives]

23. So he killed her for revenge.

I can understand his motivation but I still don't think he should get a pass on her murder.

[CoffeeCat]

3. Abused children aren't always...

...able to ask for help or get help.

Abusers are incredibly skilled at drilling into them--that no one will believe them and
that they are worthless and powerless. If Posey was abused from the time he was very
young, the only reality he probably knew was that of feeling like less than a human
being who no one would help.

I was a victim of child abuse and I've listened to hundreds of other stories from
children who were also abused. It is a rarity to hear that a victim told. They
were always terrorized into silence and submission.

Furthermore, when you're a child--you love your parents and you want their approval.
There is a deep trauma bond. You are dependent on them for love, shelter, food
and clothing. The thought of turning in your own parents--especially when you are
so broken--is nearly unthinkable.

Of course, in an ideal world--all abused children would pick up the phone and
call the police. However, it's so psychologically complex and not as easy
as that.

I certainly don't condone Posey killing his family. However, I would never
fault him for failing to call the police.

[reorg]

4. Coulda woulda shoulda - that's beside the point

"The state asked the court to impose the maximum adult sentence, life without parole."

Had American psycho revenge justice had its way, a fourteen year old boy would have spent the rest of his life in prison.

[Warpy]

5. The abuse was well documented at the time

meaning a lot of people knew about it but it still continued.

The kid felt he had nowhere to turn. Saying he snapped one day is completely believable. People who snap are not thinking logically. They're not thinking at all. It's just pure adrenalin.

To get through years of juvie with no behavior issues is significant, especially in this state. To complete high school and go on to college courses says something else.

This kid deserves a chance.

[Ter]

10. Not after 6 years

Remember, he killed the step-sister, who was innocent.

[Warpy]

12. Do you know she was innocent?

Accounts at the time say she joined her mother in the heavy abuse. Youth doesn't make innocence as anyone who's been bullied knows.

Besides, we're talking about somebody who was a kid at the time. Kids have brains wired differently. He's not a kid any more, he's an adult with an adult brain with adult checks and balances. He's redeemed himself in juvie.

I say give him a chance.

Of course, if you don't believe people can ever redeem themselves, you're entitled to your opinion. I just know I was a teenager from hell who never got caught and I changed dramatically when I grew up. This kid did, too.

[Ter]

34. I think anyone can redeem himself, but triple murder is iffy

More power to him if he did redeem himself. I'm skeptical but I hope I'm wrong. What abuse did the step-daughter do?

[mitchum]

8. What did his 13 year old stepsister do to him?

Was she also an abuser? A complicit witness to the abuse? Or an inconvenient witness to his crimes?

[proteus_lives]

14. Apparently, he gets a pass on that.

And we're the monsters for asking about it.

:eyes:

[mitchum]

20. Cynics are far more vile than murderers.

Don't you know that by now?

[proteus_lives]

25. According to DU law apparently.

I'm slowly learning.

[quakerboy]

15. Look up the info

I did, instead of idle speculation. Apparently the sister would spy on him, tattling nearly every day(according to moms diary), and looked forward to him "getting his".

Its sad when a 13 year old believes that dad sending brother to school with black eyes is normal, is cool. Hopefully she did not know the full extent of things. IE Dad trying to force brother to have sex with step mother.

I have to wonder if sister wouldn't have been next in line for such activities. And for a kid with a seriously broken mind like Cody that killing could almost be internally thought of as mercy.

But people will be asking these questions for years to come. The only thing that will really tell us anything is how Cody lives the rest of his life.

[proteus_lives]

24. So one victim killed another.

Mercy or revenge?

[quakerboy]

27. Can you read minds?

I can not. Especially when that mind may be drastically different than it was 6 years ago in a tortured child with PTSD.

[proteus_lives]

28. No. But I can ask questions.

Has he ever expressed remorse for killing her?

[chatnoir]

29. Yep. And not just her.

Posey expressed remorse throughout his trial for the killings. Posey was spared from a life sentence in prison because the presiding judge said the state failed to prove that he could not be rehabilitated. That ruling meant Posey had to be sentenced as a juvenile.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/murderer-sent-to-halfway-house

[proteus_lives]

30. Good.

More chance of him actually rehabilitated if he was actually remorseful.

[Ter]

9. Just for killing the step-sister, he should have gotten life

n/t

[quakerboy]

16. Just asking...

Why? Are you making the assumption that she was innocent of the situation? Are you personally familiar with the case, or do you just feel that with this one article you know more than the judge and justice system that examined the case and came to this conclusion?

[mitchum]

19. Well, the justice system did indeed find him guilty of 1st degree murder in his stepsister's death.

He wasn't exonerated.
I was curious as to what was his rationale for the murder of his stepsister.
My sister was also a tattletale, but I never considered killing her. I also knew it be very hard to get away with. As was the case here.
And like you, I also wonder if he, on some level, thought he might save her from abuse by killing her. Or if he, or his attorney, at least, thought to offer that up as a reason.

[quakerboy]

21. My sister was not a tattle tale

But even if she was, my father, for all his issues, never crushed my fingers with pliers, threatened my testicles with heated metal implements, or attempted to force me to sleep with my step mother. Perhaps if he had, the threat of being told on might take a whole new dimension.

I don't know what happened. Until this post, I had never heard of this case. But that's what I came up with with a few moments, Google, and a relatively clear mind.

[Ter]

35. Yes I was

If she wasn't innocent I offer my apologies.

[activa8tr]

18. Might as well ruin a fourth life when three have been taken

Compassion and understanding of victims of abuse has no place in the American justice system.

:sarcasm:

[Ter]

36. Well now reports are saying she was part of the abuse

However, if (and I have no idea if she was or not) she was 100% innocent, then I wouldn't support him being release. I'd like to learn the facts of this case before I give a definite answer.

[24601]

26. The issue isn't whether she was innocent but what his state of

mind, maturity & intent was at the time. Not many 14 year olds have achieved sufficient maturity to make adult decisions. Is they were so capable, they could drive, vote, join the military, get married & drink. But the law presumes they aren't at that point yet - until one of them proves the presumption correct by killing - then folks jump in to say we should treat them like an adult. My 15 year old and (in 12 days) 17 year old aren't ready to make adult decisions and shouldn't be treated like they are.

[BreweryYardRat]

31. Good riddance to the hideously abusive parents...

...but I'm not sure the step-sister's sins were sufficient to justify killing her. However, I can understand that in his shattered mental state, he might not have realized he'd pulled the trigger a third time.

Tricky ethical situation here.

[proteus_lives]

33. He shot her twice in the head and hid her body.

He probably knew what he was doing.

[tabasco]

32. Six years not enough for the sister.

The little fucker will probably kill again.