Kaine not ruling out any action on Va. Tech review
CHRIS YOUNG
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was recently asked by a group of shooting victims and family members to reopen the investigation into the 2007 massacre.
SPECIAL REPORT: |
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is not ruling anything out in a review and possible revision of his special panel's report on the April 16, 2007, massacre at Virginia Tech, including reconvening the panel, a spokeswoman said this morning.
Lynda Tran said the governor's office regretted any confusion about his intentions in the letter.
She said the governor is concerned that reconvening the panel would be difficult, because members were all volunteers.
But, she said, "getting a factual narrative of what happened that day is a top priority."
Families yesterday reacted angrily to the letter, which some said showed Kaine and the state government weren't serious about examining the actions of state and Tech officials.
Last month, they called for the panel to be reconvened after long-missing mental health records of killer Seung Hui Cho turned up in the home of a former Tech official.
(This is a breaking news update)
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday again rejected calls by families of those killed in the Virginia Tech massacre to reconvene his investigation panel.
The families' latest request came after Kaine revealed last month that a former Tech official had kept long-missing mental-health records of killer Seung-Hui Cho at his house.
"I don't know who [Kaine is] protecting. Obviously it isn't the truth," said Suzanne Grimes, whose son, Kevin Sterne, nearly died during Cho's rampage on April 16, 2007, the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
The governor disclosed his decision in an e-mail signed by his lawyer and sent yesterday to families by an assistant to his chief of staff.
After briefings to families last year and a series of Tech documents obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch that showed discrepancies in the investigative report, Kaine said he would review the report and correct any errors.
Late last year, his office told families that it would complete fact-finding by the end of March. Earlier this year, he said he would not reconvene the panel.
So far, nothing in the report has been changed. It took longer than expected to determine how to handle suggested revisions, Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran said yesterday.
Kaine's e-mail says families should submit any suggested corrections by Aug. 19.
The e-mail also says the governor's office is hiring the same consulting company that helped compile the original report to review those suggestions.
"They didn't get it right the first time. I don't know how they'll get it right the second time," Grimes said.
Tran said the governor believed the consultant did a good job of compiling the report on a tight deadline, in order to come up with recommendations for schools and the legislature. The new assignment -- to review and possibly revise the report as a record of the event -- is different, Tran said.
Last year, police and Tech officials stunned families and victims by disclosing -- months after Kaine's panel reported -- that the official timeline in the panel report was wrong. They said the length of time police focused on the wrong suspect in the first two shootings the morning of April 16 was much shorter than the panel reported, raising new questions about whether the delay in warning the campus that day was justified.
Tech documents later obtained by The Times-Dispatch showed that Tech locked down some buildings after Cho's first two killings, even though the school's top officials decided against a general warning.
It was only last month, as a former Tech official named in two lawsuits filed this year prepared for an interview with plaintiffs' lawyers, that Cho's long-missing mental-health records surfaced. The former director of the university counseling center had the records at his home.
He turned them over to the university nearly a week before Kaine disclosed they had been uncovered.
Michael Pohle, whose son Michael died in the massacre, said: "What is being done reminds me of the movie 'Dodgeball,' where Rip Torn played the coach and told his team that if you learned the five 'D's of dodgeball, you would be a good player. Those five were: dodge, dip, drop, dive and dodge."
Contact David Ress at (804) 649-6051 or dress @timesdispatch.com.
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Reader Reactions
“Sadly, I am not surprised since the subject is no longer emphasized in American public schools.“- TB
Oh, come on, now… I know it is taught rather rigorously because I teach the class (Civics, that is). I spend year after year emphasizing the importance of fulfilling civic duties and responsibilities, so please, sir… don’t belittle my life’s work. Here is the content which is taught to every student coming through the VA school system, to give you an idea:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Superintendent/Sols/history7.doc
Just because some choose to remain ignorant does not mean that Civics is a bygone subject in the public schools. Believe me, it is kept very much alive by people who care passionately for what they teach (or at least all the people with whom I work).
Continuing to dwell on this case is not going to accomplish anything. It is a waste of time. Let it rest.
Look, let’s get it over with. Fire that sneaky lookin’ president they got out there & let Tech rebuild quickly with a new young blood president. Close that dark chapter once and for all.
Really psons? The RTD has done article after article on the story for 2+ years now when there wasn’t any news to really report. The RTD more than any newspaper around has kept it going over and over and over.
Secondly, how does the fund go from $8 million to $153 million overnight from private donations? The $8 million took almost 6 months to gather, but magically they got $145 million in private donations overnight and they are funneling that to the teachers? And you can’t find anyone that will investigate that allegation?
Riiight
Thanks, I have to stop here now…
psons, I am indeed sorry for you loss and certainly hope that what I have messaged here has not caused you added despair. As a third generation VPI graduate, I too have felt your grief.
Quite simply, I would like to see this matter put behind all of us. If there is anything new that can improve the safety on our college campuses, I would be the first to say go for it. Otherwise, this seems very hurtful and unwarranted. We know who the culprit was and he was very emotionally disturbed!
I too am done posting on this matter and wish all the victim’s families ‘godspeed!‘
Just one more comment. We tried going to newspapers everywhere. No one wanted to get involved because it was considered Old News. No money in it.
I happen to be a relative of one that was killed if you must know. We all just want this opened up again with the FACTS out on the table. Do you actually think I’m going to sit here and type out everything that is known and in case there is one little thing wrong I could be in trouble. No Way. Just Open it Up Again…..I’m done posting on here.
I keep hearing folks say that ‘facts were hidden.‘ What was hidden? Support what you say with facts, otherwise, you are just part of a very hurtful (paranoid) conspiracy.
There is not one of us who wouldn’t have responded differently if we knew then what we know now. My point is that news organizations should report new facts as they become apparent and not attempt to stir the pot. That then boarders upon malicious intent. And folks who post on chat boards also should attempt to do so with integrity and accuracy.
“Allow the state to hold mentally unstable people indefinitely, make public anyone treated for mental disorders. Pass this information on to teacher’s instructor’s faculty members, students. Then they can monitor odd or unusual behavior”
This is a very ignorant statement (the statement not the poster.) By the he Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the American Psychiatric Association’s standard reference for psychiatry includes over 400 different definitions of mental disorders.
Logically you would be unable to “make public” of everyone who has a mental disorder, not to mention the invasion of privacy. Many people suffer from mental disorders, but seek help and take medications, to disclose their private information is appalling! If anything it would keep people from seeking help because of the fear. People with mental disorders already have to deal with the stigma of having a mental disorder.
Cho was a very disturbed individual, and he should have had more interaction with doctors, and the doctors at tech did drop the ball. Having him on a list with hundreds of thousands of individuals I doubt would have stopped what happened that day.
As a side note….male erectile disorder is listed under the DSM’s list of mental disorders….who would want that information public!!!
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