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MacKenzie's
WISH
ECM Post Review Article January 2016
Justina Peper still dreams about her little girl, Mackenzie. Sometimes she can close her eyes and it’s like 20 years ago was really yesterday, and her beautiful daughter, with blue eyes and a head full of sweeping blonde hair, is looking up at her, smiling.
Three-year-old Mackenzie died on March 10, 1996, at a farmhouse in Shakopee. The man who was convicted of beating her so severely that she died, Brian Patrick Merkt, served two-thirds of his sentence and was let out of prison on supervised release in early 2014. Merkt is listed as a Level 2 predatory offender. He settled in the Stacy-Linwood area and had a last known address of Braham when he was arrested Dec. 10 and booked into the Chisago County Jail for violating terms of his release.
Sarah Latuseck, director of communications for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said Merkt is serving another year in a medium security prison in Lino Lakes because he “failed to comply with the condition ‘sex offender programming as arranged by agent.’”
Wanting more time
Peper and her daughter, Nicole Bussiere, who was 5 years old and at home when Merkt murdered her sister, want him to serve out the rest of his sentence in prison, which would mean he wouldn’t be released again until 2022. That wish coming to fruition isn’t likely, though.
“A number of issues are taken into consideration when determining the length of time an offender is revoked back to prison,” Latuseck explained. “Considerations include the seriousness or nature of the violation, the offender’s past criminal history, past revocations to prison or restructures in the community, agent and counsel recommendations, and aggravating and mitigating factors with the case.” Peper and Bussiere believe that Merkt, who was Peper’s former fiancée, should have received a life sentence for his crime. But Merkt, defended by high-priced Minnesota attorney Earl Gray, was acquitted in June 1997 of rape and first degree murder charges; he was only convicted on a second-degree, unintentional murder charge.
Bussiere described her sister as her “best friend” and said she still watches videos of their last Christmas together.
“I went through therapy; I’m still going through therapy, 20 years later,” Bussiere said. “He doesn’t even have to go to classes or anything; he can refuse them. I’m stuck going through therapy and trying to fix myself.”
Prior to Merkt being placed back in prison for another year, a petition on Change.org, created by a woman Peper and Bussiere have never met who took interest in their story, was garnering hundreds of signatures. The aim of the petition is to have it reach 1,000 signatures, which it’s just shy of now, and be presented to the Minnesota Department of Corrections to convince them Merkt should serve out his sentence.
“We were hoping to get 1,000 signatures before he went to court, but obviously he went to court before that happened,” Peper said.
Peper said due to Merkt being designated as a Level 2 offender instead of a Level 3, which is the “highest risk to reoffend,” according to information on the Department of Corrections website, it’s difficult to find information on him.
Peper said she’s notified when he’s released from prison, but she does not receive information on where he’s living or when he has court dates. When Merkt was released in 2014, Peper said she found out about where he was living because the Department of Corrections circulated a flier that noted Merkt was going to be living in the Stacy-Linwood area. News outlets picked up on the information and did stories about Merkt being released.
When a Level 3 offender is released from prison, a community notification meeting must be held, by state law. Due to Merkt being a Level 2 offender, a formal meeting was not required when he was released. However, in this case, based on the seriousness of the offense, authorities decided on mailing a notice to the community in the Stacy-Linwood area surrounding Merkt’s residence.
Even though it can be tough for Peper and Bussiere to find information on Merkt, they said as soon as he gets out of prison again in December, they’re going to try to track down where he’s living so people in the vicinity can be informed that he’s their neighbor. “I hope to God he never reoffends,” Peper said. “That would be horrible. I do what I do, and that’s to keep people notified about what I know.”
Anxiety, fear
Peper said life for her and Bussiere almost got to a point where they weren’t thinking about Merkt’s crime as often, but his 2014 release and the idea that he’ll be released again in December has them on edge. Bussiere said thoughts of Merkt have permeated her mind, ruined her productivity at work and increased her anxiety.
They both fear Merkt and hope to never cross paths with him again. Peper said she has days when she just doesn’t want to have to deal with the thought of notifying people that Merkt will be out society again in less than a year, but then there’s what she calls a “little tap” on her shoulder and a voice. “It says, ‘It’s about me, Mackenzie,’” Peper said. “It’s not for me; it’s not about me. It’s about Mackenzie.”
On mackenzieswish.com, a website created to keep tabs on Merkt and honor the memory of Mackenzie, Bussiere wrote about her sister and what she remembers of Merkt’s crime. “I would give my life if it meant bringing her back,” she wrote. “She was the sweetest little girl you would ever know. She would just melt your heart. There have been many times where I’ve wished he would have taken me instead. He is and always will be a monster.”
Source: http://ecmpostreview.com/2016/01/06/its-about-mackenzie/