Chardon High School shooter T.J. Lane is about to start a new life as he heads to prison until his life ends. Legal experts say that life will be difficult if Lane acts the way he did during his sentencing hearing Tuesday. You may be aware that Lane walked into the courtroom in Geauga County and took off his outer shirt to expose a t-shirt with the word "KILLER" written across the front, something the judge says he did not see. Lane used obscene language and gestures. He also had a smirk on his face nearly the entire. J. Dean Carro with The University of Akron School of Law says it's Lane's attitude that will spell trouble for him in prison more than the crimes he committed.
"Those people are not going to necessarily be receptive to hand gestures, to smirking, to smiling and there is a way that people react to that in prison that is not going to be very favorable to T.J. Lane," said Carro.
Can you read between the lines?
Carro says the hierarchy of the people who are generally hated the most by fellow prisoners is usually led by child molesters, then rapists. He says Lane may be the exception, not because he murdered people, but because of his attitude.
You have some pretty tough people in prison who will not tolerate what they may perceive as a punk kid making inappropriate gestures or smirking or smiling," said Carro. "That won't be received very well."
Carro says the courtroom behavior gives a little insight about what Lane's attorneys may have been dealing with.