Before Alec Kreider was sentenced for murdering three members of a Manheim Township family, he bragged to a fellow inmate that he would kill again "if given the opportunity."
Lancaster County Court Judge David Ashworth wants to make sure he never gets that chance.
This morning, Ashworth handed down an opinion rejecting the 17-year-old Kreider's request to reduce the sentence he imposed last month from three consecutive to three concurrent sentences of life in prison without parole.
The brutal murder of Tom and Lisa Haines, and their 16-year-old son, Kevin, in May 2007 horrified the Lancaster County community. The sole survivor of the family, the couple's daughter, Maggie, told police she ran from the house after seeing her parents mortally wounded and hearing her brother's screams.
The community's shock was compounded when police arrested the teenage victim's best friend.
In Pennsylvania, there is no parole for those sentenced to life in prison. Only the governor can offer a pardon.
Ashworth, in his sentence, noted that he would oppose any clemency for Kreider.
Three consecutive life sentences would mean three pardons from the governor — a highly unlikely possibility.
While the crime "evoked an array of emotions on the part of many people," Ashworth wrote that he reached his conclusion after "rational, detached and dispassionate reasoning based on the particular facts of this case."
"Quite simply the severity of (Kreider's) actions warranted the severity of the sentence," Ashworth wrote.
When Kreider pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month for the murders, Ashworth noted he allowed the teenager "no less than five opportunities" to speak to the family of the victims in the courtroom.
Kreider's "refusal to express any remorse after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder was a sign of his character," and was taken into account when the judge decided whether to sentence him concurrently or consecutively for the crimes.
Ashworth wrote that he believed Kreider's "indifferent attitude toward the slaughter of three innocent people made him a poor candidate for rehabilitation and a danger to the community."
Defense attorney David Blanck, in writing the appeal, suggested that his client had the right to remain silent and the judge should not have held that against him.
"The reference to the 'lack of statements of the defendant,' was to his remorse for the homicides and not to the motive in this case, as erroneously suggested by the defendant," Ashworth wrote.
Ashworth quoted from the transcript of the sentencing proceeding, when he told Kreider, "Our laws do not require you to explain why you chose to kill these people. However, this community and, more importantly Maggie Haines and her family, deserve some explanation or insight into what could possibly cause a person to commit such a heinous and violent crime."
District Attorney Craig Stedman and Assistant District Attorney Kelly Sekula, in writing the prosecution's response to the appeal, asked for the consecutive life sentences to make "it clear that each one of these lives is important. Each one of these lives deserves special consideration and punishment."
"The facts, as admitted to by (Kreider), paint a horrific picture of the cold, calculating and unrelenting actions taken by (Kreider) to destroy the Haines family," Ashworth wrote.
Kevin Haines, Kreider's "self-described 'best friend,' suffered from over a dozen defensive wounds to his arms and hands indicating that he put up a significant struggle for his life before he gave it up, as a result of massive wounds to his throat and face," Ashworth wrote.
Mrs. Haines, who survived the initial abdominal stabbing long enough to send her daughter from the house, Ashworth wrote, "then endured the horror of having her attacker return to the bedroom to finish off the job by slashing her face."
"Mercifully," Ashworth continued, Tom Haines died quickly from a stab wound to the chest and Maggie escaped, physically unharmed.
"It is incongruous for (Kreider) to now complain about the severity of a sentence," Ashworth wrote, adding that in sentencing the defendant to consecutive terms he was taking into consideration Kreider's statement that he would kill again if given the opportunity.
"This Court firmly believes what (Kreider) has said and will not afford him any opportunity to kill again."
In Pennsylvania, juveniles charged with murder are treated the same as adults in court and prison. Kreider is currently at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill.
Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.
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