With the start of the trial to determine the mental state of convicted murderer Shane Hawkins, who has already been found guilty of brutally stabbing 17-year-old Jason Grau to death while he slept before dumping his body along the Chippewa River, I find myself upset with our justice system. As far as I'm concerned, someone who confesses to murder should be dealt with in the same manner as any other cold-blooded killer. It shouldn't matter what that person's mental state was at the time of the incident. There are thousands of people out there who are mentally ill and you don't see all of them using it as an excuse to go out and murder innocent people.
As one woman testified on Monday, mental state should not excuse Shane from what he did to Jason. This particular individual stated that she also suffers from mental defects, yet she insisted that Hawkins be punished to the full extent of the law. I couldn't agree more. Anyone who commits that kind of senseless act obviously isn't right in the head to begin with, regardless of their past mental issues. Whether or not a murderer knew what he or she was doing was wrong at the time the offense should be a moot point. Someone is dead; ergo, someone should be punished.
Basically, what the jury is deciding in this particular case is if Hawkins should be sent to prison or a mental institution. Already having been found guilty of murder, I don't think mental defect should entitle criminals any sort of leniency in terms of punishment. While I am aware that there is a statute of limitations associated with determining a killer's competence to stand trial, a jury has already ruled that Hawkins was capable to do so. In fact, he took the stand Monday. But what really upsets me is the fact that the judge allowed Hawkins to ramble on during his testimony about things that seemed more ludicrous than a child's nightmares about monsters in the closet.
Thanks to live streaming, I was able to listen to some of Hawkins' testimony, but it got so bizarre, I felt as though I were listening to a sci-fi book on tape. For nearly an hour, he went on about time travel, committing murder on other planets and gods telling him to kill people. At one point, he even stated that he was the first baby born in heaven 1,200 eternities ago. After listening to that, it's safe to say that he is, in fact, a delusional sort … but, I don't think that's ever been the question. Hawkins said he is fully aware that he killed the teenager and apologized to Grau before stabbing him in the neck. So, in essence, he knows that he was in the wrong.
However, what I don't quite comprehend is why our court system allowed Hawkins to go on and on like this, essentially wasting taxpayer dollars to prove what most people already figured out when details of the murder first emerged … the man is certifiably insane. I can only imagine what kinds of things are going through the minds of the victim's family as they are listening to all of this. Regardless of what the jury decides, I think Hawkins should spend the rest of his life behind bars. He robbed a young man of his life and took a son, grandson and brother from his family. And, in all honesty, I don't think any amount of time in a mental institution will be able to rehabilitate this lost soul.
Jennie Oemig
Staff Writer
Trempealeau County Times
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