Lanny Perry Barnes Is History

© Dr. Gary D. Lemmons, May 28, 2006

Lanny Perry Barnes is either a very brutal murderer or a very mentally ill individual.

Barnes is the 46 year old man who allegedly ran over two women and three children multiple times at a Covington McDonald’s restaurant on Tuesday afternoon.  One of the victims, two year old Avery Nicole King, died on Wednesday.

Witnesses reported that Barnes pulled into the parking lot of the McDonald’s on Highway 278 in Covington.  Stephanie Casola and Anita King were leaving the restaurant with their children: Avery Nicole King, Jacob Paul Casola (4), and Isaac Raymond Casola(3).  Barnes allegedly struck the group, backed up and ran into the group multiple times.

There was heroism at this scene of horror.  One patron attempted to pull Barnes from the vehicle, but he was able to speed away.  The gentleman pursued him and ultimately was able to lead police to apprehend Barnes.  A McDonald’s employee scooped-up one of the boys in his arms and rushed him to the hospital…an act which officials say probably saved the boy’s life.

It is too bad that no citizen was present and able to place a .357 caliber, hollow point bullet in Barnes’s brain as he drove into those people again and again.  However, we don’t want our populace going about bearing firearms, do we?

While this is a tragic tale, I think Pastor Paul Casola of Passion Community Church in Covington and father of Jacob Paul and Isaac Raymond Casola put it best:

It is our responsibility to glorify God, honor Jesus and forgive and move on.  That is our family's responsibility. It is the responsibility of law enforcement and our judicial system not to forgive but to assure justice be served."

Lanny Barnes’s mother, Mary, has stated that her son suffered from depression.  If so, there may have been a medical reason for his actions.  That, of course, is for the doctors and the courts to determine.

If Barnes is sick, he should be treated.  Every effort should be made to restore him to health.  However, he should never be allowed the freedom to be out in public.  Perhaps a hardcore prison is not appropriate, but he should never be permitted to move among the populace without ever-present, strict restraint.  The notion of him ever driving an automobile again is absurd.

If it turns out that Barnes’s act was simply a crime of hate or anger or just because the opportunity presented itself (which is what seems to provoke some of the physical assaults on perfect strangers by teenagers and young adults in some of our larger cities), he should be promptly and punctually executed.

In either event, Larry Perry Barnes has forfeited his right to ever walk freely among humankind.  He is history.