Plea Deal for Cornell, Sturtz, and Netwal

A trial for William Cornell, Shawn Sturtz, and Bradley Netwal won't begin on Monday.

It's not going to happen at all.

A plea deal has been reached.

WAUSAU, Wis. -- Three teenagers accused of plotting a Columbine-like attack on a Green Bay high school reached plea agreements Friday, a court official said.

Details of the agreements were not immediately released, but a trial set to begin Monday was called off, said Marcia Knoebel, an assistant to Brown County Circuit Judge J.D. McKay. Hearings for the three were set for Monday.

William Cornell, 18, Shawn Sturtz, 18, and Bradley Netwal, 19, were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree homicide and conspiracy to damage property with explosives _ felonies that carry a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison. The teens have been jailed since their arrests.

Prosecutor John Zakowski declined to elaborate on the plea deals but said they were different for each teen and involve accountability for the conspiracy.

"We learned it (the plot) wasn't quite as imminent as we thought it was," he said.

...Cornell and Sturtz had long been fascinated by the April 1999 massacre in suburban Denver in which two students at Columbine High School killed 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves, police said.

The Wisconsin plot was foiled when another student alerted an associate principal, officials said.

The plot may not have been as imminent as first thought; but the fact that there was a plot at all is frightening.

The student responsible for alerting the associate principal should be commended for averting what could have turned out to be another school massacre.

At this point, we don't know the details of the deals for Cornell, Sturtz, and Netwal.

The three teens have already spent close to a year in jail.

Whatever the plea agreements may be, I hope Cornell, Sturtz, and Netwal's days of planning a bloodbath at Green Bay East High School or anywhere else are over.

I hope the agreements take into account just how serious such plans are, even when they're in the early stages. It's no game to plan a Columbine-like attack.

Under NO circumstances should a kid amass weapons, build bombs, and plan to commit murder and detonate explosives in his school.

As in so many other situations, this all boils down to personal responsibility and doing what's right.

--Students should not bully others.

--Victims of bullying must seek help from their parents and teachers.

--Parents need to know what's going on in their children's lives.

--Teachers and school staff need to address instances of bullying, and punish the perpetrators.

--No student should ever acquire weapons, plot to kill people and destroy property.

--Each is person is responsible for his or her actions.

I don't see Cornell, Sturtz, and Netwal as victims.

I see them as extremely lucky that another student tipped off the school about their plan before it was too late.

Had they taken it to the next level, maybe instead of reaching a plea deal they would be on trial for first-degree murder or dead.