Ambush in the Schoolyard

Shooter, 13, to seek rehearing on high court's insanity ruling

The attorney for Andrew Golden, the younger of two boys who killed four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro two years ago, still wants his client to be allowed to argue that he was insane. So, he plans to ask the Arkansas Supreme Court to reconsider Thursday's ruling that denied him that right.
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Boy shooter may be due new hearing

Andrew Golden, the younger of two boys who killed four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro two years ago, should have been allowed to argue in his juvenile court proceeding that he was incompetent, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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Boy merited insanity plea, justices told

Andrew Golden, the younger of two boys who killed four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro two years ago, should be allowed to argue that he was insane, his lawyer told the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday.
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Gun maker, grandfather dropped from school shooting suit

The manufacturer of a rifle that was used to kill two people during the Westside Middle School shootings is not accountable for the deaths, a judge ruled.
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Westside killers back in court

Two boys who killed four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School two years ago were back in court Thursday for pretrial testimony in a lawsuit against them, their parents and one grandparent.
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State seeks out in killer boys' civil suit

The state Public Defender Commission should not be required to pay civil lawsuit defense costs for two boys who were convicted of killing five people last year at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, the commission's executive director said Wednesday.
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Panel says defense of boys not state's job

The state's public defense attorneys say it's not their place to defend the two Westside Middle School shooters in an forthcoming civil trial.
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Westside shooter returns to court to face federal charges

Mitchell Johnson, one of two boys convicted in state juvenile court in the 1998 shooting deaths of four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, was back in federal court Wednesday, where he faces federal charges related to the shootings.
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School killer's mental file open for attorney general

The attorney general's office has been granted access to confidential documents in preparation for opposing Andrew Golden's appeal of his juvenile court convictions in the Westside school shootings when five people were slain.
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Second Westside killer appears in U.S. court

Mitchell Johnson faces federal charges in shooting, as does accomplice, prosecutor says

The second of two boys convicted in the 1998 murders of five people at a middle school outside Jonesboro appeared in federal court in Little Rock on Friday.
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Special lyrics to echo in Jonesboro

Two Alabama songwriters, moved by the rash of shootings in schools the past year and a half, tonight will perform a song they wrote aimed at quelling the violence.
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Columbine victim's dad says nation in for change

Rachel Scott would not ask to be brought back today, her father, Darrell Scott, said.
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Free trigger locks chief's idea to curb child shootings

Preferring prevention to having officers respond to a child-shooting call, Police Chief Jesse King began passing out free trigger locks to gun owners Tuesday.
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School expulsions for guns drop 8%

The number of students expelled for bringing weapons to school in Arkansas dropped by 8 percent last year, the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday.
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County asks judge to reconsider Jonesboro ruling

An attorney representing Craighead County has asked a circuit judge to reconsider his ruling that requires the county pay for the legal defense in a civil trial of the two boys who last year killed five people at Westside Middle School.
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