Mug Shot Monday

 

Imagine being the sole survivor of your brother's attempt at massacring your entire family and your reward is having to face a parole board each year to keep him locked up. Such is the life of Shery Shafer. Yes, her brother was 16 when it happened. But anyone who would repeatedly shoot four family members because he was (rightfully) grounded from going to his prom's after-parties clearly isn't right. More HERE.

I first learned of this case via the episode of "Evil Lives Here" titled "The Horror I Don’t Remember." It was March 22, 1989, in the town of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., when 16-year-old Brian Britton went on an early morning rampage, shooting his parents, older sister and younger brother. 

He then ran to his aunt and uncle’s house next door and said his dad was shooting everyone; his uncle immediately called the police.

When law enforcement arrived at the scene they found Brian's 44-year-old father dead in the bedroom with a gunshot to the head. His mother was in the living room and had been shot in the chest, while his brother, Jason, was still alive but later died from his wounds. His 18-year-old sister, Sherry, had been shot twice but miraculously pulled through and survived. 

Police questioned Brian at his uncle’s house and arrested him soon after. Seemingly Brian had been arguing with his parents for weeks over his poor attendance at high school. (His punishment was to not be able to attend the prom, but his father eventually relented and reduced the punishment to just no after-parties!) Brian had an obsession with the movie Rambo, starring Sylvester Stallone, and police found that his bedroom was plastered with posters from the movie, related magazines in addition to ammo pouches and even some smoke grenades.

At the time the town police chief said:” I don’t want to say Rambo did this, but it surely played an important role here, absolutely.” 

Brian was found guilty and sentenced to serve 25 year to life, though with the possibility of parole. His 25 years minimum sentence are now up and he has so far applied for parole three times, with his last unsuccessful attempt in 2019. Sister Sherry, the sole survivor of his rage, now has to face a parole board every two years to make sure her brother doesn't get out to finish the job, a punishment I'm guessing the framers of the Constitution would agree is cruel and unusual. (Via Monsters and Critics)