Nathaniel Brazill

Name

Nathaniel Brazill

Background

Nathaniel Brazill was an American. He was born September 22, 1986.

Brazill was charged with the murder of his school teacher at age 13. At the time of the shooting, he was 13, and he was 14 at sentencing and during some reported proceedings.

Brazill was an honor student with a perfect attendance record. His mother, Polly Powell, was an assistant food services director at a Lake Worth retirement home and was involved in several abusive relationships. Police reported that there were 17 domestic incident reports at her home in the six years prior to the shooting. One of Powell’s partners demanded that Nathaniel move out of the house. Brazill was also reportedly fascinated with weapons and wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement or the military. He spent time playing simulated fighter pilot games and visiting military-related web sites.

Powell had been separated from a third stepfather. She had multiple stepfathers involved in Brazill’s life, and at times Brazill was forced to jump in to break up fights between his mother and one stepfather. Another stepfather refused to let him live with the family, so he spent days with his mother but at night was sent to his grandmother’s house to sleep. The family never talked at length about the abuse or the effect that the multiple stepfathers had on Nathaniel. His biological father was not a constant presence in his life.

Powell married her latest husband in the same month she told her son she had breast cancer. Then Brazill’s grades began to drop, and he made references to suicide in a letter to Mr. Grunow. He developed a crush on a schoolmate. On the last day of school, after he had been sent home earlier that day by an assistant principal for throwing water balloons, he was barred from the classroom by his teacher when he wanted to say goodbye to the girl.

Brazill also made a statement at sentencing in which he said he never intended to harm his teacher and expressed remorse.

The offence

On the last day of school, May 26, 2000, Nathaniel Brazill shot his teacher, Barry Grunow, at Lake Worth Middle School in Florida. The shooting involved one bullet to the head.

Brazill referred to Barry Grunow as his favorite teacher. He had asked Grunow if he could enter the teacher’s classroom to speak with two students. When Grunow said no, Brazill pointed a .25-caliber handgun at him and it went off, killing the teacher. The prosecution and the defense did not dispute that Brazill fired the shot that killed Grunow, but they characterized it differently: the defense said it was an accident.

Before the shooting, Brazill had been suspended for throwing water balloons in the school cafeteria. Afterward, he returned to school and was barred from the classroom where he wanted to speak with the two girls. He then demanded to see the two students, and when the teacher refused, he shot him between the eyes.

Barry Grunow died, leaving behind a wife and two small children.

Investigation

No investigation-specific actions or findings were stated beyond the reported court proceedings and testimony described during trial and sentencing.

Trial

Nathaniel Brazill was tried as an adult.

Charges and verdict

A Florida jury convicted Brazill of second-degree murder with a firearm. The jury rejected the prosecution’s argument that the shooting was premeditated.

Brazill was also convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm.

Brazill was charged with first-degree murder and faced a guaranteed sentence of life without parole if convicted of the more serious charge.

Jury deliberations and court proceedings

The panel deliberated for 16 hours before returning a verdict. The jury assembled to judge the case rejected the prosecution’s argument that the shooting was premeditated and returned a conviction of second-degree murder.

The trial featured the testimony of 23 students, including Brazill, and many more teachers and community figures. Several children broke down on the stand when recalling the shooting.

Brazill remained largely stoic during the proceeding and had a similar demeanor during trial and on the stand.

Arguments presented at trial and sentencing stage expectations

Prosecutor Marc Shiner pressed for a first-degree murder conviction and argued that Brazill made statements before the shooting that indicated he planned the killing. The court instructed the jury that premeditation meant thinking “long enough to allow reflection,” and the jury decided Brazill was not guilty of the higher charge.

Defense attorney Robert Udell said the law colloquially known as “10/20/life” did not apply to criminals younger than 16 and argued that Brazill’s age and spotless prior history gave the judge the option of sentencing Brazill to less time than the statutory minimum. Udell said he might ask a psychologist who examined Brazill to testify during the sentencing hearing.

Dr. Phil Heller was expected to take the stand during the trial, but the defense decided not to call him for undisclosed reasons. Heller said in a telephone interview after the verdict: “He was not a sociopath.”

Kevin Hatcher, principal of Lake Worth Community Middle School, said: “We're gonna be there for kids and we're gonna be there for teachers. As needs arise, we'll do what's best.”

The Reverend Thomas Masters, chairman of the Coalition for Justice, said: “We must continue to pray for the healing of the Grunow family. At the same time we're going to have to go back to the drawing board and fix the juvenile justice system.”

Sentencing

Sentence imposed

On July 27, 2001, Nathaniel Brazill was sentenced to 28 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Judge Richard Wennet sentenced Brazill in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The judge pronounced sentence while Brazill stood silent and expressionless.

Judge Wennet ordered that Brazill serve two years of house arrest after completing his prison term and spend five years on probation. While in custody, Brazill was ordered to earn a high school equivalency diploma and enroll in an anger management course.

In addition, Judge Wennet imposed a three-year prison sentence to be served concurrently for aggravated assault with a firearm, related to pointing at another teacher with the .25-caliber handgun he had used to shoot Mr. Grunow.

Brazill was to be kept in a juvenile corrections center until he was 18, and then be sent to an adult prison.

Sentencing context and discretionary range stated

Judge Wennet had discretion to impose any sentence from 25 years to life, though no discretion to allow parole was stated. Under Florida sentencing laws described in the proceedings, the judge was required to impose a sentence of 25 years to life, and prosecutors sought the harshest available penalties described in reporting.

Statements and testimony at sentencing

At sentencing, Brazill read from a statement. He said: “Words cannot really express how sorry I am, but they're all I have.”

He called his victim, Barry Grunow, 35, a great man and teacher. He said: “As I look back on that day I wish it had not happened and that I could bring Mr. Grunow back.”

He said: “Regardless of what anyone thinks, I never intended to harm Mr. Grunow.”

The defense attorney Robert Udell said: “He's a child, and that's who committed this crime,” before asking the judge to sentence the boy to 25 years in prison.

Polly Powell said: “I don't know what happened to my baby,” and pleaded between sobs for the judge to be lenient, saying: “I just ask you that you please have mercy on him. We know he's done something wrong. I've said that from the beginning, and we know he must be punished.”

Powell also said she took full responsibility: “I take full responsibility.”

Prosecutor Marc Shiner said: “This was a heinous crime committed by a young man with a difficult personality who should be behind bars. Let us not forget a man’s life has been taken away.”

At sentencing, Shiner said: “This defendant's demeanor sends chills up my spine,” and he argued that Nathaniel’s demeanor during the trial demonstrated lack of remorse.

Shiner said he asked for life in prison or, barring that, to 40 years followed by lifetime probation.

The teacher’s widow, Pam Grunow, told the judge: “I don't know what price Nathaniel should pay for taking Barry's life,” and she added: “That's not my job; I don't have the wisdom.”

At one point before sentencing, in reporting of comments after the verdict, Curt Grunow said they were: “very disappointed” and that the jury must have been: “been watching a different trial.”

Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies testified that Brazill was not silent and solemn in his holding cell and joked about shooting jurors.

A child psychologist for the defense, James Gabarino of Cornell University, testified that Brazill’s actions probably reflected a false bravado and his young age. Gabarino said the shooting of Mr. Grunow was an act of a child dealing with overwhelming problems, and that coupled with problems at home and the suspension and perceived rejection in Grunow’s refusal to let him speak to a girl, the victim: “may not have mattered.”

Brazill told the court and victim’s family that he never intended to shoot his favorite teacher and was sorry for the killing.

Additional sentencing-related details

Brazill was shackled and wearing an orange prison uniform during sentencing.

Reporting also stated that he would receive credit for 428 days he had served awaiting the outcome of his trial.

Appeals

A state appeals court upheld the second-degree murder conviction and upheld the 28-year sentence.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the teenager’s 28-year sentence.

Brazill’s lawyer, David McPherrin, said he should not have been convicted of second-degree murder or sentenced as an adult.

No other appeal outcomes or specific appeal dates were stated.

Outcome

Nathaniel Brazill was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.

His conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal, and his status remained that he was sentenced to 28 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Aftermath

Barry Grunow was described as leaving behind a wife and two small children.

After sentencing, Brazill’s mother, Polly Powell, said she simply wanted to begin the process of healing and was grateful the judge had shown leniency. She said: “I was hoping for less,” and she also said: “but I know my son will be home someday.”

The teacher’s relatives were described as shocked by the sentence, which was three years longer than the minimum required by law.

The judge ordered that Brazill serve house arrest after prison and complete anger management and education requirements while in custody, and that he remain in juvenile corrections until age 18.

Brazill’s sentencing and trial were described as part of debate about trying children as adults. Another Florida teenager, Lionel Tate, was referenced as convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life for beating to death a 6-year-old playmate. Lionel Tate was awaiting the outcome of appeals, and Gov. Jeb Bush denied his request for an early clemency hearing. Amnesty International monitored both cases, and State Senator Walter Campbell called for changing the way Florida handles young violent offenders.

Other details

Brazill’s suspended conduct included throwing water balloons in the school cafeteria.

Brazill used a .25-caliber handgun, which he retrieved after being sent home early.

Brazill had written a letter to Mr. Grunow containing references to suicide.

Powell married her latest husband the same month she told her son she had breast cancer.

The prosecution and defense provided contrasting pictures of Brazill: one as a cold-blooded killer and one as a troubled teenager whose family and school missed warning signs.

Brazill had asked the teacher for the opportunity to speak with two girls and demanded to see them, described in multiple ways as being connected to a crush and as a goodbye that he wanted to deliver on the last day of school.

Brazill later made an additional statement in an interview reported before the jury convicted him in May: “I just felt like jumping into the lake and drowning myself. I was disappointed. Disappointed in myself.”

In that same interview, he said: “I just felt like jumping into the lake and drowning myself. I was disappointed. Disappointed in myself.”