Once again the deep pocket pays for the crime: at the end of last year the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va. agreed to pay $1 million “to settle four lawsuits over a deadly shooting rampage by a struggling student. … The lawsuits accused the [school] of ignoring repeated warnings that Peter Odighizuwa was a threat before he opened fire in 2002, killing the dean, a professor and a student and wounding three other students. Odighizuwa pleaded guilty earlier this year and is serving six life sentences. … The plaintiffs had argued that the school should have foreseen the violence because the 46-year-old Odighizuwa — who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia — had a history of outbursts, threats and other disruptive behavior.” On the other hand, the Nigerian-born Odighizuwa “told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this year that the students should not get any money from the school. ‘The law school isn’t a psychiatrist. It doesn’t know what’s in my head,’ he said.” (“Settlement Reached in Suits Over Law School Shooting Rampage”, AP/Law.com, Jan. 3)

Filed under: crime and punishment, deep pocket