A child was killed in 1995 at the predecessor for
ABM Ministries the infamous
Mountain Park AcademyBoth killers who were detained at school got life in prison. While some question that life in prison is better than a program, people have started to question the fairness of their trial and they petition for a new trial:
From:
New Trial for Anthony Rutherford and Joe Burris:
In 1995, a student was murdered at Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy, an unlicensed school for "troubled teens" in Patterson, Missouri
with a history of abuse allegations.
Will Futrelle, 15, was killed by two classmates, Joe Burris, 15, and Anthony Rutherford, 18. These students claim their motive for the crime was to get
national media attention for the children who were being mistreated at MP.
Sam Gerhardt, an operator of MP, was allowed to stand in and allow the young men to waive their right to an attorney when officials interviewed them.
Sam Gerhardt and the staff of the school are now being sued for alledgedly drugging the students of the school. If these boys were drugged, they would
not have been in a fit mental state to waive their rights.
When Rutherford and Burris were questioned, they claim they could not remember what they had planned to tell the media and officials when they arrived.
Based on the statements they gave at that time, Joe Burris was tried as an adult. This is legally and morally wrong.
We believe that Mountain Park has had the local officials either blind-sided or in their hip-pockets for many years. We intend to put a stop to this. We are
petitioning the courts to give Anthony Rutherford and Joe Burris a new trial.
We at Spft support this petition while we condemn the act itself. While we understand self-harm in a situation where even animals would have sacrificed a leg to get free it is not acceptable to take the life on another human being.
Becase of the legacy of the state of Missouri no caring for minors in religious boarding schools, we feel that they did not have a fair trial where they during the entire process in the police and justice system had qualified legal support to their aid.
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Link to the Fican thread -
Link to the Youthright thread