(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) On Jan. 23, 2024, a judge in California decided to not put a woman who murdered her boyfriend by stabbing him 108 times behind bars, instead sentencing her to only 100 hours of community service and probation.
In May 2018, Bryn Spejcher murdered Chad O’Melia with a kitchen knife, as well as her dog, according to the Daily Wire. When police apprehended Spejcher, she was screaming and stabbing herself.
The now 32-year-old audiologist entered a “cannabis-induced psychosis” after smoking marijuana, Spejcher’s lawyer claimed. He then added that she did not have a history of using the drug and that the only reason why she did that was because she was pressured by the 26-year-old accountant to smoke out of his bong.
Initially, Ventura County prosecutors charged Spejcher with second-degree murder but downgraded the charge to involuntary manslaughter after medical experts said that her psychotic break was triggered by the drug.
However, it was still possible for her to face four years in prison, which she didn’t get in the end. As expected, the decision by Judge David Worley to not send her to prison shocked both prosecutors and the victim’s family.
“The sentence is a terrible miscarriage of justice. I can only hope it is not repeated by other judges. Because involuntary manslaughter and the use of a deadly weapon in California permits judicial discretion… the court was able to set her free with no jail. It is an unheard of sentence in my jurisdiction,” Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Audry Nafziger, who tried the case, said.
She then added that her being under the influence of the drug cannot be a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“We do not let people off the hook for drinking and hurting people. People are convicted of being intoxicated and harming others and they, rightly, go to jail,” Nafziger said.
Sean O’Melia, the father of the victim, also responded to the unjust decision by saying that the ruling could enable violent criminals to break the law and then blame weed for what they’ve done.
“I think [Judge Worley] set an absolutely terrible precedent in the state of California where it’s okay to kill somebody after you smoke marijuana,” he said.
