Why I feel no remorse for this baby-faced killer
Initially I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy towards the young killer as he entered the room, head bowed.
He was short, he was pimply-faced and probably still doesn’t shave regularly.
I thought to myself this kid, Michael Jones, now 20, is going to be older than I am now when he gets released.
But then I sat down with him to speak about what he did, how he did it and the fact that he openly admitted to not thinking to stop and help his victim Chris Lane, an aspiring Australian baseball player, who he and two friends had just shot dead at the side of the road because they were bored.
Michael really thought he was going to get away with it - and probably could have been successful had the young men been smart about it. Thankfully, they were caught because they were just a bunch of young troublemakers hellbent on evil.
Chris, 22, was young, fit and madly in love with his girlfriend, living his own version of the American dream thanks to a college baseball scholarship.
On August 16, 2013, he decided to go for a jog in his adopted home town of Duncan, Oklahoma. But he would never make it home. He was shot in the back for no reason in broad daylight.
I spoke with Michael, the driver of the vehicle, who was just 17 when he swerved towards Chris so his friend and now convicted killer Chancey Luna could get a clear shot.
His head was down and as he refused to look me in the eyes. I began to feel remorse for him.
But I then reminded myself of the pain he has caused.
It was dark when my crew and I arrived at the Davis Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, a privately-run prison.
Michael had already agreed to talk to us, but for some reason prison officials didn't tell him we were waiting for him inside the big and stark room where prisoners are normally visited by their families.
It reeked of chemicals, the prison warden warned us he wouldn't be shackled or handcuffed.
There was great anticipation as I came face-to-face with Michael in his beige prison jumpsuit.
Straight away Michael asked us for a box of tissues and said: "It's going to be one of those."
Surprisingly he didn't seem nervous and it was as though he had prepared himself.
He first told me he was remorseful but it was hard to believe after watching his first police interview. Then he was a "cocky" little kid who fiddled with his handcuffs as he admitted he killed Chris because of “boredom, I think, boredom I guess."
Later, I watched subsequent interviews and started seeing a 17-year-old boy who wanted his mum and dad and thought that if he told the truth he could go home.
Police said it was jailhouse remorse and he was only sorry because he got caught. Although he didn’t pull the trigger, Michael committed one of the most evil acts one could imagine.
Michael pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on March 3, 2015 and has been sentenced to life in prison. He won’t be eligible for parole until he is 55.
His accomplice, 16-year-old Chancey, was found guilty of first-degree murder and given life in prison without parole.
An accessory to Chris’ murder was 15-year-old passenger James Edward Junior - but I believe he was the “evil little kid" in the pack.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison but will serve less than half that after he became a state's witness against his accomplices.
Michael told me he was high on methamphetamine and confessed to me something he had never admitted to his parents or police.
He told me that before murdering Chris, the trio drove past a property and shot a donkey dead in a bizarre attempt to settle a drug debt.
I don’t think it was for money, the donkey was owned by a man in his late 70s.
I am passionate about anti-gun laws, but even if guns weren’t involved, those young boys would have done something horrific that day.
In Australia, I met with Chris’ sisters and his parents, Donna and Peter Lane.
The Lane family are wonderful, loving and doting people.
Tears swell in my eyes as I try to empathise with what the Lane family have and are still going through.
I can’t imagine still what the pain of losing a son is like.
Peter told me what a fine young man his son had turned into. He had sent away a boy and got back a man.
Imagine picking up the phone thinking it was your son, only to be told by a stranger that he had been murdered.
Peter is such a tough character and I still now feel the pain in his face.
Chris’ family’s pain knows no end. You can push grief down from the surface for a while but can never get rid of it.
When you are watching the documentary I want you to know that Chris was a wonderful young man who found love while chasing his dream
It is always horrible to see young guys’ lives thrown away like that but no more horrible than seeing Chris’ life and his American dream snuffed out.
I guess I can have some sorrow and pity for the boys being so young at the time. But then again, not one of them sat there and thought that what they were doing was a bad idea.
I have always told my son that you are always responsible for your actions and you must always accept the consequences.
I still can’t make any sense of it. There was no need to kill him.
They all had evil intentions that day. The three of them are wannabe gangsters.
If you would like to donate toward Chris Lane’s Little League ground in Essendon, go to www.gofundme.com/chrislanebaseball .
Mike Amor was talking to Krystal Johnson.
Watch Seven News Investigates – In Cold Blood: The Chris Lane Story on Tuesday at 8.30pm on Seven.
