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Jury holds fate of teen in teacher shooting

Prosecutor Marc Shiner: "You don't point a gun at someone and when it goes off ... call it an accident."

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- The jury reconvened Tuesday morning in the trial of a 14-year-old boy charged in last year's shooting death of his middle school English teacher in nearby Lake Worth last year.

The jury deliberated about three hours Monday evening, having received the case in the late afternoon following a dramatic closing argument by the state prosecutor in which he clutched the pistol used in the shooting, pulled the trigger and told jurors that Nathaniel Brazill "knew what he was doing."

Assistant State's Attorney Marc Shiner said a "storm was brewing" inside Brazill when he took the gun to Lake Worth Community Middle School on May 26 last year and shot Barry Grunow, his favorite teacher, in the head.

VIDEO CNN's Mark Potter reports on the testimony of 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazill (May 8) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) See highlights of 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazill's testimony (May 8) Part 1 | Part 2 (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Mark Potter reports on the alleged shooting captured on this security video taken at a Florida school (May 4) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Mark Potter has more on the first degree murder trial of Nathaniel Brazill in West Palm Beach, Florida (May 2) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)  DOCUMENTS • Read the complaint against the gun maker (FindLaw) (PDF) • Read the indictment and probable cause affidavit in the Brazill case (FindLaw) (PDF) • Read the Florida law on juveniles being tried as adults Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.  MESSAGE BOARD School safety

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"This is first-degree murder anyway you look at it," Shiner said.

Waving the shiny, .25-caliber pistol in the air, Shiner told jurors that "some significant force" is needed to fire the handgun. Brazill testified last week that the gun went off accidentally and that he took the gun to school simply to carry it.

"Why'd he put the clip in if he's just carrying the gun?" quipped Shiner. "He knew what he was doing."

Shiner emphasized Brazill pointed the gun at Grunow for 11 seconds. "Mr. Grunow is standing there looking at the hole in this gun for 11 seconds. That's a long time," Shiner said.

The prosecutor counted aloud, "One 1,000; two 1,000; three 1,000" -- ending after 11 seconds.

A hushed courtroom watched as Shiner then repeatedly cocked the weapon and pulled its trigger.

Shiner implored the jury to find the defendant guilty of first-degree murder. He cited Brazill's emotionless testimony as evidence of a killer who has no remorse.

Brazill testified for two days last week, speaking calmly even as he described shooting Grunow in the head. He cried for about 15 seconds only after Shiner asked the youth whether he thought his teacher took him seriously after he had been shot.

"I was sweating more than he was. How could he do that? How could he be so calm?" Shiner asked rhetorically. "Maybe [the reason] he could be so calm is because he knows he's guilty of first-degree murder."

"Maybe he knew he intended to kill and he's not going to tell you because he doesn't want you to find out."

Brazill was 13 at the time of the shooting. His lawyer maintains the shooting was accidental.

"It is not premeditated murder. It's not even close," said defense attorney Robert Udell during his closing argument. Premeditation is required for a first-degree conviction.

"We never said, and I will not tell you that Nathaniel is not responsible for what happened here. His parents aren't at fault, the school is not at fault, the gun is not at fault ... Nathaniel is at fault," Udell conceded.

Although Brazill has been charged with first-degree murder, the jury can find him guilty of lesser charges, including second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Shiner pushed the jury for a conviction on first-degree murder. He quoted a student who testified that Brazill told her he was going to "f-up" the school.

"He wanted to be a big shot with a firearm and, because of that, Mr. Grunow is in the ground," Shiner said.

Defense attorney Robert Udell: "It is not premeditated murder. It's not even close."

Udell argued Brazill never intended to shoot Grunow but said even if his client did, he did not make the decision until the seconds before the gun went off. Udell said that was not enough time to be premeditated.

If convicted of first-degree murder, the teen-ager would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Udell tried to lay the groundwork for one of the lesser charges and asked the jury to start with second-degree murder and work its way down. He suggested manslaughter.

"If Russian roulette was manslaughter, then that was what happened here. Nathaniel Brazill was playing Russian roulette" when he pointed a loaded gun at his teacher, Udell said.

Shiner told the jury not to worry about the age of Brazill when it came time to decide the case. "It wasn't your decision to try this case as an adult," he said. "That's not your burden."

But Udell made Brazill's age a key part of his closing argument. "Thirteen-year-olds don't think sometimes. They can't think past the next 10 minutes. Sometimes they get stupid on us," he told the jury.

Shiner mocked that argument. "A 13-year-old gets stupid on us and can't think past 10 minutes. Can you believe that?" he asked.

Brazill made key concessions last week while on the witness stand. During cross-examination he admitted that he told a friend after being sent home from school for a water balloon fight that he would return to school with a gun; that he was trying to scare Grunow; that having a gun made him feel like a big man and that he pulled the trigger.

The teen also said he was angry at Grunow because the teacher refused to let him talk to a pair of his friends in the classroom on last year's final day of school.

Brazill said he then pulled the slide back on the gun to cock it and told the teacher to get out of his way.

"I was aiming at his head."

"Where did you hit him?" Shiner asked.

"In the head."

Shiner had Brazill hold the pistol to show jurors "how you shot Mr. Grunow between the eyes, unintentionally." Brazill showed the jury how he had moved the slide on the gun, cocked it and put a bullet in the chamber.

"You wanted to make sure there was a live round in the gun?" Shiner asked.

"Yes, sir."

Shiner then told Brazill to show the jury how he pulled the trigger.

"I didn't intentionally pull the trigger," Brazill said. "My hand was on the trigger."

"Who pulled the trigger?"

"I did."

Last week, the brother of the victim, Steve Grunow, said there would only be one acceptable outcome to the trial.

"If this isn't first-degree murder, I don't know what is," Grunow said.

The boy's mother told a new conference Friday that she prayed for leniency.

"I would ask them to really trust their feelings and just judge Nathaniel accordingly," Polly Josey-Powell said. "We know he did wrong, we know he must be punished, but be fair."

His father said this is a situation where no one wins.

"We can only pray that we as a nation can learn something ... when you put a child in an adult's courtroom" said Nathaniel Brazill Sr.

Defense rests after teen shows how he shot teacher
May 9, 2001
14-year-old boy denies he planned to kill teacher
May 8, 2001
Jury told teen's gun couldn't have fired by itself
May 7, 2001
Teen admits he fired gun that killed teacher
May 7, 2001
Classmate: Teen made death threat before shooting
May 4, 2001
Jury in teen's trial sees videotape of shooting
May 3, 2001
Friend says she saw teen-ager pull trigger
May 2, 2001
Florida teen offered plea in teacher shooting
April 17, 2001
Grand jury weighs charging 13-year-old as adult in teacher shooting
June 12, 2000

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