KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a statement a teen made to police about a fatal 2005 school shooting is admissible in his second trial.
The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/I6B9pT) reports the ruling came Wednesday after lawyers for Kenny Bartley Jr., who was 14 at the time of the shooting, argued that his statement should be thrown out.
Defense lawyers said their client was too young and high on pills when he signed a waiver of his rights and told police he fatally shot an assistant principal and wounded two others at Campbell County High School.
But the judge found Bartley, who had an above-average IQ of 130, understood what he was doing.
A Tennessee appellate court in March sustained a judge's granting of a new trial in the case.