King Brothers who killed father look to a fresh start

Alex and Derek King made global headlines in 2001 after they were arrested and jailed for killing their father, but now they’re out of jail and are looking for a fresh start.

Terry Lee King was bludgeoned to death by his two children, Derek (age 13 at the time) and Alex King (age 12) with an aluminum baseball bat in 2001. The boys then set fire to the family’s home, in Cantonment, Florida in an attempt to conceal their crime.

The King brothers claimed that they committed the murder to end “mental abuse” including being “stared down” and spanked. Both brothers pleaded guilty to third degree murder in November 2002. A book entitled A Perversion of Justice: A Southern Tragedy of Murder, Lies and Innocence Betrayed was published that argues that the boys were innocent, but they remained in jail until released in April last year.

Alex and Derek King have finally broken their silence with an interview on The Today Show where they said they want the public to know they have become “productive citizens” functioning in their Jacksonville community.

“Not to minimize the situation, but we all make mistakes and we shouldn’t be judged on one act and one spot in our life,” Derek King told Matt Lauer. “There are times when we do see what we did wrong and we choose to move on past that, and we acknowledge the mistakes that we made and the bad choices that we made. And we can move on past that and hopefully, we learn from our past. And it sheds light on the future and it pushes us on toward a positive path.”

America isn’t exactly a forgiving place for convicted murders, and the brothers have struggled since being released, but their attitude is definitely a positive one. The full King Brothers interview video as follows:

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