What Does it Feel Like To Kill?

15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante wondered: What does it feel like to kill someone? So she decided to find out.

This is not the story of a crime of passion; this was no accident; this was a premeditated, ruthless and well-thought plan - she even had a grave dug for her 9-year-old victim beforehand - to deprive another human being of the right to life. 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante is a cold-blooded murderer.

Alyssa Bustamante was in court, on Nov. 18th, indicted on two felony charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Oct. 21st death of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten. Just hours before, a juvenile court judge had certified her to stand trial as an adult. Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce entered a plea of not guilty on the teen’s behalf and asked the public defender’s office to review whether she qualifies for representation. She was ordered to be held in jail without bail. If found guilty, she could be sentenced to life in prison.

As human beings we look for answers to horrific acts like this. What was the motive? Why would someone so young even contemplate doing this? Alyssa Bustamante went through psychiatric evaluations and the best answer seems to come from Alyssa herself: She did it because she wanted to know what it felt like to kill.

David Cook, a Cole County juvenile officer, testified yesterday that, after reading notes and analysis by Bustamante’s therapists, he is not much closer to figuring out a motive for the alleged crime. “There may not be a definite diagnosis,” he said yesterday in the juvenile hearing. “It may just be something the individual wanted to do. I don’t know that there will ever necessarily be an answer.”

In school, at Jefferson City High School, Alyssa was described as a good student with motivational problems. Like some other students she tended to wear dark eyeliner and black shirts printed with skull shapes but did not raise any alarms until in 2007 she tried to commit suicide. That prompted a 10-day stay at the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center. She was treated for tendencies toward depression and self-mutilation but noone suspected that she had homicidal tendencies.

Her family life was difficult. Her father, Ceasar Bustamante, is serving a 10-year sentence for assault. Her mother, Michelle Bustamante, has had personal and legal problems, prompting a court to rule her unfit to care for her children.

Alyssa and her younger siblings have been living with their grandparents since 2002, who are said to be tough disciplinarians who don't hesitate to take away privileges. She had a twitter account where she posted, shortly before the October killing, the following:

“The world goes by my cage and never sees me.” Four days later she posted: “bad decisions make great stories.”

She also had a Youtube account where she posted a video showing her brothers and herself touching an electrified fence for fun:

Kurt Valentine, Bustamante's attorney, said the teenager had recently tried to harm herself while in custody by cutting herself with her fingernails. He had urged officials to be cautious with their judgments of the suspect.

"I would ask that they wait, that they listen to the facts as they come out and not judge quickly," Valentine said. "Learn about this person, learn about this child. You're dealing with a child."

Follow me on Twitter

Christopher "Dudus" Coke Wanted

Christopher "Dudus" Coke, 40, a Jamaican national, is wanted by the US authorities on a number of drug and weapon offenses. See the story here.

The U.S. has officially asked the Jamaican government to hand him over to face those charges and has complained about the tardiness on the part of Jamaican government to do so. See the extradition request here.

"The U.S. government is looking forward to the Jamaican government respecting their obligations under the treaty," Patricia Attkisson, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, said.

 Acknowledging the request for Christopher Dudus Coke's extradition, a Jamaican official responded:

“The Government has been notified and discussions are taking place. It is principally the prerogative of the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s office”, Foreign Affairs Minister Kenneth Baugh said.

 Coke's lawyer, Tom Tavares-Finson, said he had not seen any paperwork and did not know why the U.S. was interested in his client. He claimed that Coke had no connections with the United States and was also not sure if his client would turn himself in voluntarily.

"We're waiting to hear what the decision is," said Tavares-Finson, who has dismissed the U.S. charges as "hype."

 According to reports, Coke is the alleged leader of the "Shower Posse" gang. He is charged in the U.S. Southern District of New York with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms. Coke faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. Under the Extradition Treaty, accused persons do not have to sell illicit drugs in the United States to be convicted in that country. See a report in the Jamaican newspaper the Jamaica Gleaner concerning the U.S.- Jamaican Extradition Treaty.

Christopher Coke is not only politically well-connected to the governing party in Jamaica, the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party), he is also the recognised leader of his community of Tivoli Gardens in downtown Kingston. His influence stretches across the entire island of Jamaica and overseas to the U.S. and England. His extradition to the U.S. would likely have huge ramifications among his followers and his community.

View Tivoli Gardens, Jamaica in a larger map

Another Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer gives this perspective on Coke, as well as some background information. His aliases include Dudus, President and Shortman:

"He is the leading figure among JLP garrisons and many leaders in those communities report to him. He is tremendously powerful and is feared by friends and foes alike"

According to an article in Jamaicaviews.com, there could be social unrest if Coke was to be extradited. He has the legitimacy that the government can only envy among the urban poor. A Caribbean scholar with knowledge of the workings of inner-city communities across the region put it this way:

“For the people, legitimacy in the Government stops at Carib 5 cinema (in Cross Roads). From that point down, he (Dudus) is more legitimate than the Government. He has a monopoly of force and consensual power because he has legitimacy that the Government of Jamaica cannot even dream to have where the urban poor is concerned.”

“What does a government do when they have created a government within a government? What do they now do when they have to hand up this government to another government?” he asked. “He (Dudus) can get kids to be off the street at 8:30 pm. The Government does not even have the power to scratch anybody’s hair much more to do something like that. People feel safer in Tivoli Gardens than anywhere else. It is the safest garrison. This is touchy. In a country that barely understands order, you have found somebody to provide order in the midst of chaos because downtown is chaos. What do you do with him?”

The government in Jamaica is under pressure to respond to the U.S. request for extradition from the opposition party the PNP (People's National Party). Peter Bunting, Opposition spokesman on national security, claims that the Government's failure to extradite Tivoli Gardens strongman, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, has caused a stand-off between Washington and Kingston.

Peter Bunting, said in a press statement that the longer the Government took to honour the US request to send Coke to stand trial, the country's national interests and international reputation was being jeopardised.

"It is completely untrue," said Minister of Justice and Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne:

"The Jamaican Government has, indeed, responded through the channels laid down in the Extradition Treaty between Jamaica and the United States and there is ongoing communication between the authorities of both states," she said in a press statement.

There has also been criticism of Jamaica's Prime Minister, Bruce Golding. Tivoli Gardens is his constituency and he has mostly been silent on the requested extradition of Christopher Coke. An editorial asked a question that Prime Minister Golding needs to answer clearly and unequivocally:

That question is "whether the Government's loyalties lie with those who hold that the end justifies the means or the citizens of this country who are committed to order and the rule of law".

According to Claude Robinson, a journalist with the Jamaica Observer:

All that can be expected of the prime minister is a simple and clear statement acknowledging the request and affirming that it will be dealt with in accordance with our democracy and our constitution without regard to the political affiliation of the target of the request. Once that due process is complete, the country will be told the full outcome. That's all that was expected from the prime minister. He should have delivered.

So the question remains, as it had for over two months now:

Will the Jamaican government hand over Christopher "Dudus" Coke to the U.S. authorities to answer the criminal charges against him?

See Also: Dudus Extradited? and Dudus Still Wanted  <<----

Follow me on Twitter