Just caught (most of) this. Am as confused and torn as I was upon first hearing about the case eight years ago. Some random thoughts…
The coverage was ridiculously dramatic and treacly – did they really need all that music or emphasis on certain words?
It was also almost entirely sympathetic to the boys’ cases, which I suppose isn’t exactly a bad thing. Even if you think they’re monsters, they’re out of juvi now, so something’s got to be done with them. That woman helping them adjust seems like an angel.
As with all these things, between the facts and the editing it’s so hard to come to any conclusions. The younger one seems a bit spacey, a bit numb. I’m not going to do an internet diagnosis, but if he were in a movie I’d label him as Most Likely to Be Revealed as a Sociopath.
Wonder if they will end up living together as adults, like they (claim to) want. Weird.
I missed a bit in the middle. Did it mention if the younger one now self-identifies as gay?
And lastly, they are both pretty gorgeous. I don’t doubt that that fueled interest in the case (and sympathy for them) to some degree. Wonder if it will help them out later in life. Call me morbid, but I can see a hot photographer shooting them for a (very controversial) fashion spread or ad campaign.
I watched it, mostly because it was on and I was knitting with a cat in my lap.
Have only the very vaguest of recollections of hearing about the case in the first place, so was pretty confused by the whole thing. Did the kids really do it? And why? Was the pedophile part of it or not?
And, yes, the blissful demeanor of Alex was just fucking creepy.
Keith Morrison came across as a complete freakin’ tool (and, no, I almost never watch Dateline). Does he have anything going for him but the voice and the hair?
Link for the similarly confused - the interviewees were the now-grown sons who killed their father, Terry King, as young teen/pre-teen, claiming abuse.
Here’s a pic of them as kids. Sorry about the confusion – I was in the UK when the crime happened and read about it entirely online. The TV special made it sound like it was on par with JonBenet Ramsey in terms of coverage.
Have you seen the guy on SNL who does a pretty good impression of Keith Morrison?
I think he has have done a couple of different Dateline-Keith Morrison sketches (its the same cast member who does the Vincent Price sketches) and he has the same lurid manner of speech and innuendo dripping questions that make Morrison such a repulsive, if strangely compelling figure…
(The first time I ever remember seeing the real Keith Morrison in action was when he was reporting on the “Heavens Gate” mass suicide----The utter delight with which he talked about the men in the cult being self castrated was something I can still remember, and I think back on each time I see him on air.)
Sorry I cut out some of your post - I hope you aren’t offended.
I think you made some good points. Is the younger one a sociopath? I don’t think he is. Are they both murderers? Definitely. So should we all forgive them and forget the past like they are trying to do? No.
For Derek and Alex to call the murder of their father a “mistake” is … disturbing. I’m not sure how they were rehabilitated…and I honestly believe they are trying to be “good” but there’s a problem. You can tell by their body language and their attitude that they do NOT feel guilty for killing their father …to this day. Yes, they may understand that killing is wrong (because they went to jail for that) but it’s what motivated and prodded them to kill their father that makes them truly scary beings. Are they normal? Definitely not. But they are desperately trying to be … “normal.” Do I believe in second chances? Yes. And don’t get me wrong, I think they deserve happiness…to an extent.
Their punishment is that they will always be judged for their crime…and they should be. Why? Because they should never forget the evil they are both capable of. I found it ignorant and selfish of Derek and Alex to both complain that they can’t find jobs because people judge them. Yet, if they were to honestly recall their childhood memories of their father, they would realize that they not only judged him, but also chose to beat him with a bat and take away his life. So it’s like their past will always haunt them for the rest of their lives. No matter how they try to deny that part of themselves. In many ways, it would have seem more sympathetic if they cried and admitted they were evil.
I’m not a psychic, but sometimes … you can predict the outcome of certain situations. And if I were Derek’s or Alex’s friends and family members - I would pray that these men NEVER move away from their current families to live together. Because as individuals, I think they can live peacefully…but if they were to live together…10-15years from then, something bad will happen. I really hope I’m wrong.
No, they didn’t mention it.
But, he IS gay. And this may sound harsh, but I hope he gets lots and LOTS of therapy for that because he discovered he was gay … through a pedophile…
The repercussions and deeds of his past will no doubt be a constant reminder and also affect his relationships.
It’s hard for me to hold children morally responsible for their actions, particularly acts of violence, since every bit of research we have indicates child brains are still in development particularly around the area of impulse control and judgment. These kids mostly just strike me as victims manipulated by another adult.
I did not watch the video but reading the transcript neither of them strike me as sociopathic. They seem pretty well-balanced actually. I’m not sure why it’s weird that they’ve made peace with stuff that happened nearly a decade ago. I’m sure it was a painful process getting there, just strikes the viewer as odd because WE haven’t thought about it much in eight years. But these kids haven’t had much choice but to weigh the import of those events in their minds daily. If you confront something horrific repeatedly, eventually you become numb to it.
AFAIC they did their time and now they have their second chance. To have good people take a vested interest in their well-being is unusual and they are fortunate for that.
Alex King is not gay, nor he ever was. He was manipulated into thinking otherwise when he was just a child. Larry King in interview asks Alex if he is going to have problems with girls now, and Alex responds no, that hopefully he and his brother will both get married once and reconnect as real brothers.
You can find it here: Larry King Live : CNN : July 25, 2010 9:00pm-10:00pm EDT : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive
On 9:40 pm clip.
