Wisconsin Teen's Killer: 'I Would Call It Justice'

John Spooner convicted of killing 13-year-old
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2013 2:46 AM CDT
Updated Jul 19, 2013 7:50 AM CDT
Wisconsin Teen's Killer: 'I Would Call It Justice'
John Henry Spooner, 76, right, confers with his defense attorney Monday, July 15, 2013.   (AP Photo/Dinesh Ramde)

Wisconsin 76-year-old John Spooner was convicted this week of killing 13-year-old Darius Simmons in a case that featured questions on George Zimmerman. Now, Spooner has taken the stand as the court examines whether he suffered from insanity during the attack. When he offered his take on the story, jurors were shocked, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Spooner said of the shooting: "I wouldn't call it revenge; I would call it justice."

What's more, he said, he would have killed Simmons' brother if his gun hadn't malfunctioned. "Something snapped," he said. He believed the Simmons brothers had stolen his guns. "If what I did was in cold blood, what do you think about these kids robbing a sick old man?" he asked. When his lawyer asked whether he meant to kill Simmons, he said he didn't know. "I was going after something important, and it was mine." And did he feel bad about shooting the boy? asked a district attorney. "Not that bad." Spooner faces either life in prison or life in a mental institution; the jury is set to offer its verdict today. (More Wisconsin stories.)

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