Mississippi v. Luke Woodham
What made Luke Woodham wake up one morning in October 1997 and go on a killing rampage that saw his mother and two school girls murdered?
This question has haunted the residents of Pearl, Miss. and many other victims of several separate incidents that have involved teen-agers who have gone on shooting sprees in their high schools over the past several months. From West Paducah, Ky., to Jonesboro Ark. to the most recent incident at Springfield, Ore., shooting sprees at high schools have become all to common.
This trial out of Hattiesburg, Miss. finds Woodham, 17, accused of murder in the
shooting spree that killed his former girlfriend and another fellow student on October 1.
Prosecutors believe that Woodham participated in a conspiracy with six other teen-agers to
launch the attack on their school. The defense claims that Woodham was insane at the time
of the shootings and did not realize what he was doing. Woodham, 16-years-old at the time
of the incident, already has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of his mother. He will not be eligible for parole until he is 65-years-old. If convicted for murder, aggravated assault, and conspiracy to commit murder in this separate trial he faces the same punishment.
Haunted by Demons, "Kroth" Strikes
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Luke Woodham: The defendant, as he appears in a high school yearbook.
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Prosecutors say that on the morning of October 1, Woodham beat his mother, Mary Woodham, with a baseball bat and stabbed her to death with a butcher knife while she was sleeping. Then three hours later, Woodham took a rifle, placed it under his trench coat and drove to Pearl High School. Once he arrived, Woodham pulled the gun from under his coat and unleashed a hail of gunfire that killed Christina Menefee, his former girlfriend, a classmate, Lydia Dew, and wounded seven other students. Assistant principal Joel Myrick grabbed a pistol from his car and subdued Woodham at gunpoint. According to reports, as Myrick asked Woodham why he had shot his classmates, the teen allegedly said, "Mr. Myrick, the world had wronged me."
Days after Woodham's arrest, it was revealed that he may not have been alone in his attack on Pearl High School. Apparently, Woodham was the member of a satanic group called "The Kroth" with six friends and allegedly, Woodham's attack on the high school was part of a vague, yet larger, conspiracy to kill other members of the Pearl community. (The other teens charged in the murder conspiracy are Grant Boyette, Wes Brownell, Donald Brooks II, Allen Shaw and Justin Sledge. The sixth teen-ager is a juvenile whose name has not been revealed to the public. He will be tried in juvenile court. Boyette, who is believed to be the mastermind of the scheme, and the other Kroth members will face trial on a future date.) "The Kroth" allegedly also planned to murder Brooks' father, a local firefighter.
At his mother's murder trial on June 4, 1998, a tearful Woodham testified that he woke up on the morning of the incident haunted by demons. These demons, Woodham said, told him that he would be nothing unless he went to school and killed his targets. He also claimed that he tried to resist the demons but he kept hearing his friend Boyette's voice in his head telling him "to do something." Woodham, however, never specifically said that Boyette told him to kill and did not remember the actual slaying of his mother.
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Woodham claims that demons made him go on a murderous rampage in October 1997. |
Uphill Battle for the Defense
Because of Woodham's alleged infatuation with demons and voices at the time of the murders, his defense attorneys are expected to claim, as they did during his previous trial, that he was insane and incapable of knowing the gravity of his actions. Despite the supportive testimony of defense psychiatrists, prosecutors at that trial presented psychiatrists who testified that Woodham indeed was sane at the time of the murder and that his actions were deliberate and planned.
Before trial, one of Woodham's attorneys, Leslie Roussell, attempted to stipulate that Woodham indeed brought the gun to the school and opened fire. This would have reduced the amount of emotional testimony from victims at the trial and the likelihood that the jury's emotions would be stirred. It also would have reduced the focus of the trial to Woodham's mental state. But prosecutor John Kitchens rejected the defense's offer, saying that he can prove his case and that he intends to call more than a dozen of Woodham's classmates and teachers to the stand. He also said that the victims deserve to testify at Woodham's trial.
During jury selection, 80 potential jurors were interviewed before a panel of nine men, six women and three alternates were seated. Thirteen prospective jurors said they could not be fair because they already had formed an opinion on Woodham's guilt. Only 11 people said they had head no media reports about Woodham's previous trial and conviction. This trial was moved from Pearl to Hattiesburg because of pretrial publicity.
Woodham has been seen carrying a Bible with him to court during his trial. Reportedly, he has found religion during his time in prison. No doubt, if he is convicted of two more murders for his satanic rampage last fall, Woodham will have two more life sentences to get acquainted with God. As he said at the conclusion of prior conviction, it may be God's will.
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