You be the judge: Bellevue murderer asks for shorter sentence

Oct 2, 2024, 1:37 PM

Photo: A Bellevue man convicted of murdering four people is requesting a new sentence....

A Bellevue man convicted of murdering four people is requesting a new sentence. (Photo @JobsForFelonsHub via Flickr Creative Commons)

(Photo @JobsForFelonsHub via Flickr Creative Commons)

BY JULIA DALLAS

MyNorthwest Content Editor

A Bellevue man convicted of murdering four people when he was 17 is requesting a new sentence.

“The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio Tuesday asked listeners to be the judge.

Case of Bellevue man

In 1997, two 17-year-olds killed their acquaintance and then went to her house and killed her mother, father and younger sister. The teens were both found guilty of first-degree aggravated murder in separate trials. Alex Baranyi and David Anderson were mandatorily sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to The Seattle Times.

</p> <p>However in 2012, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2011/10-9646" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the U.S. Supreme Court found</a> that mandatory life sentences without parole for people under 18 years old were unconstitutional. On Wednesday, reported the media outlet, Baranyi will be in King County Superior Court to find out if the judge will grant his request for a sentence that aligns with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that juvenile offenders have “a meaningful opportunity at life beyond incarceration.”</p> <p>After 27 years in prison, Baranyi wants to be released now. However, The Seattle Times reported, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is vying for an 80-year sentence from the time of the conviction, which it believes is appropriate under state law.</p> <p><strong>Gee and Ursula</strong>: <a href="https://mynorthwest.com/3993043/gee-and-ursula-what-can-be-done-to-make-us-feel-safer/">What can be done to make us feel safer?</a></p> <h2>Gee: ‘He should stay in prison for the rest of his life’</h2> <p>Gee Scott, co-host of “Gee and Ursula” said he feels there is “some type of shift going on” where people are now trying to look at “both sides.” However, Gee said the decision was an easy one.</p><div class="adbreak"><div data-unit="/21740664820/Seattle/KIROFM/MyNW_in_article_1" class="opscoad-news-in-article-2"></div></div></p> <p>“It feels like I’m getting both sides, ‘Well, Gee, you have to look at it this side and you don’t know where the child was raised and what his parents did,’ and man, what?” Gee said.<br /> “No, he should stay in prison for the rest of his life. If he’s a model prisoner, good, continue in prison. Continue doing your thing there, bro, in prison.”</p> <p>Gee delved in, saying that life is short.</p> <p>“If someone takes your life, that’s it,” he said. “It’s over, right? So, I just don’t understand the leniency that I think is coming into people’s hearts, like, ‘Well, you got to understand why they … ‘ No, I don’t. The emotional intelligence that we lack in today’s society is just unreal to me.”</p> <p>

Research plays into second chances

Co-host Ursula Reutin said while she agrees with Gee, research says otherwise.

“There is research that says your brain is not fully developed, these other factors come into play, or should they come into play?” Ursula questioned. “Whether he was abused or whether he had been neglected by his parents, he was immature at the time and he has shown that he can be productive in society, let’s say. And the fact is, he was 17.”

However, Ursula noted that Baranyi and Anderson were fully aware of the law and purposefully committed the murders before they turned 18.

“I mean, that is diabolical, honestly,” she said.

Gee rebutted, saying that while he made mistakes as a teenager, “it is not normal to be 17 years old and commit premeditated murder on four people. That is not a normal thing. And I don’t care what science or doctors or experts are out there, I’m gonna be the old man on the lawn that I’m not budging.”

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Ursula said that there should be a rehabilitation factor when it comes to crime and not every crime deserves life in prison. However, she thinks the pendulum has swung too far that now, murderers are being considered for release.

“It’s a hard pass the deliberate killing of basically wiping out an entire family,” she said.

What do you think?

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m.- noon on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.