Teen Killers: Life Without Parole Documentary

I'd seen this documentary before some time ago and watched a repeat quite recently and thought others here may be interested in its content. Columbine is briefly mentioned in one of the stories. Despite the brief mention there were many moments throughout this documentary that reminded me of Columbine and all those involved. I'd be interested to hear others thoughts too.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The 'About' section under the video reads:

Quote :

In the United States more than 2,500 people are serving life-without-parole sentences for crimes they committed when they were 17 or younger. In this film, five of them, all convicted for first degree murder, tell their stories. Brian was a 16-year-old outsider inspired by the Columbine School massacre when he and school friend Torey killed their classmate Cassie in a chilling murder reminiscent of a scene from a horror film. Josiah and Jacob both reflect on the impact childhood abuse had on the appalling murders they committed and Sean recalls gang life in the notorious Bloods, killing a passer-by the first time he shot a gun. All five give sober insights into their teenage selves and the deep regret they feel for their victims and all those impacted by their crimes. Through their stories the film asks some difficult questions. What is justice when a teenager kills? Can a horrific act place a life beyond redemption? Are there alternatives or should we simply dispose of them?

I've never heard of it, but sounds interesting! Thanks for posting.

I watched this a couple of days ago. I wonder if Eric & Dylan had lived they'd have blamed each other as well like the two boys who stabbed the girl did?

Thanks for the link. I've been really documentary obsessed this summer for some reason.. & it's barely July!

So I finally got around to watching this. Let me start by saying that I was greatly disturbed when, as a horrific murder was being described, I was suddenly interrupted by a Pantene commercial. It actually took me a minute to figure out what was going on, lol.

This was hard to watch. Great, but hard to watch. I'm not sure which was worse, the matter of fact admissions of some of the men or the guy Torey who claimed his innocence throughout and really seemed incredibly childish despite being an adult who has spent 6+ years in prison.

I was particularly impressed by Sean Taylor, who was the only black man featured in the documentary. He was incredibly articulate and expressed his remorse without blaming it on his abusive childhood or whatever caused him to kill. It sounds like he was doing some good things in trying to help others better themselves and I hope it continues. I very much enjoyed this.

thanks for the link, I watched it, too.
Very interesting documentary. It was weird how the parents of Torey Adamcik said he was innocent. I kept thinking that maybe Torey truly thinks he IS guilty, because he was always looking down when his parents or he himself said that he was innocent.
What I didn't really understand (since english is not my first language and I had a hard time understanding the sister when she talked), what happened to that one guy and his sister? she said something like some people were coming to their house and "we should have been protected better". What happened to them?

Torey strikes me as either in total denial (people can convince thmselves they are innocent even if theyu have evidence otherwise), or possibly even psychop[athic. He's calm, controlled, makes hi9mself to be the victim.

His buddy seems to be just a columbine space monkey.

I think I've had more sympathy for that lone black guy or the dude whose parents were in a cult. Those struck me as telling the truth, not putting any spin on the story. The others were certainly making up a narrative so to speak.

This particular family interaction in the documentary fascinates me, especially when you know the backstory.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Yeah, I found that fascinating, too. The fact alone that his parents were with him in the interview is quite absurd I think.
When I googled Torey's name I found a website called "Torey Adamcik is innocent" and apparently his mom wrote a book called "the guilty innocent".

nevermind wrote:

Yeah, I found that fascinating, too. The fact alone that his parents were with him in the interview is quite absurd I think.
When I googled Torey's name I found a website called "Torey Adamcik is innocent" and apparently his mom wrote a book called "the guilty innocent".

I didn't know his Mum wrote a book. Just checked the description on Amazon. It sounds like his Mother is saying the videos they made were something other than what they appear to be. Also just from the book description I get a sense she may be implying Torey had very little if any involvement at all in the crime.

Book Description:

Quote :

The United States is the only country in the world that will charge a juvenile as an adult and sentence them to life without parole. As the mother of one such child, I know exactly what happens when a juvenile is placed in adult court where they cannot defend themselves. They are immediately cut off from all human contact, locked in isolation, and railroaded through a justice system they simply cannot comprehend. Consequently, many of these juveniles are sentenced too much longer and harsher terms than their adult counterparts. I've personally lived through this, and I was compelled to write about it.

The Guilty Innocent is narrated by Shannon Adamcik, mother of Torey, one of the accused boys. It takes readers behind the scenes of a trial where prosecutors cared more about public opinion than truth, defense attorneys, who had never argued a murder case, were in over their heads, and a young boy’s life hung in the balance.

This is a true story and no one can tell it better than the people who lived it. A crime reporter can look at the details of a case, but they cannot tell you how it feels to live through it. I can and I did. I used the pre-trial and trial transcripts, copies of the police reports, the autopsy and DNA reports, and DVD recordings of all of the evidence in the case. I've done copious research. But more importantly, I take readers step-by-step through what it feels like when your 16-year-old son is accused of first-degree murder; all the odds are stacked against him; and his defense is in the hands of attorneys you can’t fully trust to come through for you.

Sixteen-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddard agreed to house sit for relatives on the weekend of September 22, 2006. It was something the teenager had done before…but this time something went terribly wrong. When the family returned home at the end of the weekend they found Cassie lying on their living room floor brutally stabbed to death.

Detectives focused on two of Cassie’s classmates who had briefly visited her on the night that she was murdered: Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper. Initially both boys denied any knowledge of the crime, but after two separate interrogations, Brian Draper told detectives a chilling story of murder straight out of a horror movie. The two boys were immediately arrested, and a shocking videotape was discovered that seemed to depict the two teens not only planning the cold-blooded murder, but celebrating it.

Community outrage was strong and immediate. The public demanded justice. But was the video actually what it appeared to be: a cold-blooded documentary that detailed the plotting of Cassie’s murder; or something else entirely? Could anyone uncover the truth in time and convince a jury that sometimes things aren't always what they appear to be?

I began for the simple reason that I had lived through this horrendous ordeal and I ached for someone to confide in. But reliving the most painful part of my life was extraordinarily difficult. Ultimately the only reason that I was able to persevere was my deep belief that the story was important and needed to be told. That is still true

I would be curious to see the full video footage of the planning of Cassie's murder, if I could stomach it. It seems to me from what I saw in the documentary and what I read after googling that Mom is in tons of denial. It seemed fairly clear from the video that was shown during the documentary that they were planning a murder.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the part about the one guy and his sister - what I gathered is that their parents had them as part of some sort of cult and it seems that they were sexually abused. It's been awhile since I watched this and I recall that they were fairly vague about the situation, but that was my take at the time.