For the seventh time since carrying out one of the
first mass school shootings in the nation, Brenda Spencer has once again been denied parole.
On February 21, 2025, parole commissioners considered whether or not Spencer deserved a second chance at freedom for the 1979 school shooting at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego.
Commissioners decided against it.
Commissioners did so largely because Spencer continued to minimize the shooting and her motivations to carry the shooting out.
"This denial gives the board no pleasure, especially after all these years, and it is clear there are limitations when it comes to your mental and physical health," said Commissioner Teal Kozel.
During the four-hour hearing, commissioners asked Spencer about the shooting and what she has done since to try and rehabilitate herself and make amends to the victims and the families of those who died.
For most of that time, Spencer struggled to remember what made her carry out the mass shooting and had difficulty putting into words her motivations, her feelings about that day, and much else.
Spencer's attorney said her client had been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, causing her to have problems putting her feelings and thoughts together, especially under duress.
Most of Spencer's responses were no more than a few words long. The longest of which was her trying to explain what brought her to carry out the mass shooting.
“It was a lot of physical and sexual abuse from my father," said Spencer during the hearing. "I dealt with it by self-medicating with drugs and alcohol."
In the most emotional moment during the hearing, Spencer said she wanted to die that day. She wanted police to shoot her, and she believed the quickest way for that to happen was to start shooting kids.
www.cbs8.com
