8/3/2019 The Advocate the Twinkie Defense

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OPINION

March 21, 20074

The AdvocateBY Robert Moran

After reading some responsesto my previous column it ap-pears there were some errors inthe facts that were presented, andfor that I take responsibility.

My initial position that As-pergers does not excuse JohnOdgren from committing mur-der or that the case is still verymuch a tragedy has not changed.Correction one: Odgrens familyhad moved from the Wachus-sett school district to Princeton,Mass., so he could attend theLincoln-Sudbury school becauseit offered the behavioral therapyhe needed. Correction two: It was not teachers at the school who confiscated the knife anddid not report it. It was a schoolpsychologist.

Jonathan Shapiro, Odgrenslawyer, responded to my column.He wrote that he mentioned Aspergers in an effort to haveOdgren held in a therapeuticsetting as opposed to a prison.

I see it as the beginning of aTwinkie defense the famousdefense that was used success-fully in the case of David White,

who murdered San FranciscoMayor Gary Moscone and Su-pervisor Harvey Milk.

e defense is that somethingbiological caused the motive forthe crime and would render thedefendant not criminally liable.Shapiro told the Worcester Tele-graph & Gazette that Odgren was severely disabled and suf-fered psychological disorders, in-cluding ADHD and Aspergers.It must be said that Odgrensmotive to murder someone hedid not know is still unknown.

According to court documentsfrom Odgrens March 6 arraign-ment he told school officials, Idid it. I dont know why. I justsnapped. Odgren said later thathe did not know the kid andwanted to know what his condi-tion was.

Odgren also had a history ofviolence. He brought a screw-driver to school two days beforethe murder. He wore a trenchcoat that day, called himself atrench coat killer and told a stu-dent that he had decided not tokill him. ere was also a witness who heard James Alenson call-ing out, What are you doing?Youre hurting me, as Odgrenstabbed him.

e Metro West Daily Newsreported that, at Odgrens ar-raignment, Shapiro said Odgrenwas not getting the medicationshe needed and was on suicide watch. e article also saidShapiro petitioned the court tomove Odgren to Westboro StateHospital for evaluation. JudgeIsaac Borenstein agreed and or-dered Odgren to be there for

twenty days. Odgren pleadednot guilty.

It seems I was right.By having Odgren at the

hospital, there is a real possibil-ity that the psychologists mightgive Odgren an evaluation thatwould help to convince the juryhe was not responsible.

In that case, the message willbe sent that having Aspergers isa license to commit murder andthat people who are autistic aremurderers.

It is not and we are not.

e Twinkie Defense

Titan Editorial Providing insight, analysis and perspective since

Keeping What Weve GotBY CARLA BOUBES

Daily Titan Staff Writer

opinion@dailytitan.com

Finally justice is served! Well,kind of.

While most high-profile celebrities

are able to escape jail time for theirbad behavior, supermodel NaomiCampbell faced capital punishmentfor her violent ways on Monday.

Campbell has been sentencedto five days of janitorial duty afterpleading guilty to assaulting herhousekeeper Ana Scolavino witha bejeweled cell phone. She is alsoresponsible for herhousekeepers $363in medical bills.

Most peopleserve communityservice for litter-ing or vandalizing.However, if yourea high-profile ce-lebrity such as thegargantuan modelherself, communityservice is a reason-able judicial rem-edy for battery orsay, drug abuse.

Campbell has been known tothrow a cell phone at an assistant ev-ery now and then or smack someoneover the head with a PDA. In 2000,

she pleaded guilty to pummelingher assistant with surprise a tele-phone.

She has attended her fair share ofanger management classes, whichhave proven to be more than ineffec-tive. e supermodel has also takenup yoga hoping to do away with herangst. Unfortunately, other thantrim her figure, the yoga classes havebeen just as unsuccessful.

Her latest attack resulted in fourstaples to the Scolavino batteredhead. After a heated discussionabout a missing pair of jeans, Camp-bell fashionably hit Scolavinos headwith her sparkly mobile device.

e model described the scenario

a bit differently. According to MissCampbell, she threw a cell phone inthe apartment and happened to hither housekeeper.

is was an accident, because Idid not intend to hit her, Campbellsaid to the c ourt in January.

Well, while Scolavino tends toher injured head, Campbell startedmopping the floors of a New YorkCity warehouse on Monday.

e very colorful Boy George is fa-miliar with the facility. He spent thepast summer sweeping the streets ofthe Lower East Side and Chinatownafter he was charged with criminal

possession of a con-trolled substance.

Most people would have spent15 years in jail forhaving 13 bags ofcocaine on them.However, if youresuper flamboyantand know the wordsto Karma-Chame-leon, a little house-keeping will do.

Russell Crowealso has a history

of anger management issues. Heshead butted his way into trouble andonce pulled a Mike Tyson, biting hisbodyguards ear. In 2005, Crowetook his aggression out on a hotel

clerk throwing a desk telephone atthe man. Crowe was charged withsecond-degree assault and fourth-degree possession of a criminalweapon, the telephone. His time outfor the temper tantrum was a con-ditional discharge. Basically the Aus-tralian actor was ordered to stay outof trouble for a year.

In the meantime, Campbell willbe mopping floors for a few moredays while she thinks long and hardabout her actions. A better punish-ment would have been prohibitingher from the use of any form ofphone device. ose around Camp-bell beware; a mop can be just asdangerous as a cute little cell phone.

From Model to Mop: NaomiCampbell Gets Off Too Clean

... if youre a high-profile celebrity such asthe gargantuan modelherself, communityservice is a reasonable

judicial remedy for bat-tery or say, drug abuse.

E-mail Robert at opinion@dailytitan.com

In a week, the Skywalkwill open in the Grand Can-yon.

e clear-bottom structure

juts out 4,000 feet above theColorado River. Its probablybreathtaking and perhaps alittle vertigo inducing.

Its also just one of severaltourist projects the Huala-pai Nation offers throughtheir company Grand Can-yon West. Other activitiesinclude Hummer rides andtours of local sights, like theGuano Mine.

All this tourism is goodfor the locals, and theres noreason not to encourage it.

However, were forced towonder what kind of ecolog-ical impact is being made.

A brand-new tourist at-traction on the scale of theSkywalk is going to haveramifications beyond its con-struction.

ere will be more visitors

to the area, for one. Morevisitors means more trashand more pollution. Re-source consumption will also

go up. e water going intothe showers, toilets and foodfor tourists has to come fromsomewhere.

Other than a few tokenreferences to creating a tour-ist spot thats compatible with the environment andthe Hualapai culture, thecompanys press releases havecompletely skirted the issueof impact.

e Grand Canyon is oneof the last places in the U.S.that hasnt been significantlyencroached upon.

Grand Canyon Westshould be far more proactivein showing how its attrac-tions will affect this bastionof natural grandeur. We sim-ply cannot afford to lose any-more of this nations naturalbeauty.