Behavior in Chardon Court Pours Salt into Open Wounds

Chardon school shooter, TJ Lane appeared in court on March 19th for sentencing. While in the court room family members of those he killed on February 27th 2012, spoke about their loved ones and their loss.

The words were poignant and the emotions raw. Many eulogized their children providing insight into their character, their interests, their laughter, and their loving hearts. They spoke of the pain they have endured over the past year and how the killing on Feb. 27th changed them forever. They held photos of smiling, happy young men in their arms. Some cried while others appeared numb and still in shock. Some unleashed their anger and rage at the shooter calling him a “monster” and a “pathetic, weak, vile coward”. They wished him a “slow, torturous death” hoping that prison life would be hard and painful for him.

For all who watched the proceeding, you could not help but be moved by the strong emotions of anger and sadness that was being expressed.

Then the unthinkable, Lane who had earlier taken off his dress shirt to reveal a t-shirt with the word killer written across the front, began to laugh. He continued to smile, smirk and even gestured with his middle finger to the families and made vile statements, while they spoke of their loss.

The scene played out while we as viewers watched with disgust and horror. Social media lit up with everybody offering their opinions and expressing their anger. Then the phone call came from the media asking for an interview on my professional opinion on what would cause Lane to behave in this manner.

I have served as a media contributor for more than twenty years, addressing the Columbine shooting, the Sandy hook shooting, the Chardon shooting a year ago and other tragedies too numerous to count. But trying to gather my thoughts on what occurred in the court room was different and personal. This is our community with faces of people we love and support.

My reaction and response to these events was difficult to sort out. On the one hand, I am a mother who lives in this community and can very easily understand and relate to the anger and outrage that has been already expressed. Lane’s behavior dumped salt into the open wounds of these families. They deserved to publicly eulogize their children. To express their anger and openly confront the person who killed their loved one and subsequently changed their lives forever. While maybe some solace could have come from seeing remorse or sadness from the killer. Perhaps some observable sign of pain on his part at their words, but instead their anger and pain was further ignited by Lane’s callous and disrespecting demeanor. Of course we as a community share in their anger and empathized with their pain as we watched.

As a psychologist, I offer these thoughts. While Lane was found competent to stand trial, meaning he had the cognitive capacity to understand the proceeding and was able to participate in his own defense, it does not mean he is free of mental illness. Sanity is a legal issue. Sane individuals can suffer from mental illness. I argue that what we witnessed in that court room was the same pathology that entered Chardon high school on Feb 27th 2012. A normal healthy teenager did not kill his three innocent classmates nor did a mentally healthy teenager appear in court taunting the bereaved families.

Sympathy, compassion and forgiveness are words that don’t seem to apply here. Instead I would argue for more diligent recognition of early signs of mental illness, more aggressive treatment and expanded advocacy for mental diseases. What I observed in that courtroom was mental illness. That doesn’t mean that his intentions were not planned and calculated. It does not mean that he is free of responsibility. It doesn’t mean that a lifetime in prison is not justified. It doesn’t even mean that we need to feel sorry for him.

Lane’s sister filled with her own pain, disbelief and shame stood before us expressing her wish that perhaps something good could come from all this pain. Maybe, just maybe these tragic events will turn up the very dim light that currently shines on mental illness and make it more visible.

But for today, my hope is that the families of those killed will feel the support and love of their community. I encourage them to hold tight to their memories and remain inspired by the good that was their sons.