The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

Killer of former student deserves his punishment

40 years to life is too lenient for killing a man in cold blood.

Jordan Joseph, the 18-year-old convicted killer of Kody Ryan Cook, a former El Camino student, was sentenced Tuesday morning to 40 years to life in prison on charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm.

He killed Cook and hasn’t looked to feel a single shred of remorse for what he did and he deserves his punishment.

As someone who has covered court cases involving Dash Porter, the former student who threatened to kill his professor for a bad grade; to James Lemus, who threatened to create a massacre on campus; and even the first hearings for Nicholas Kim, the former student who killed his own mother. I’ve heard, read and seen these people in court.

I have not seen someone who could not only ruin another person’s life and their family’s life, but ruin his own life, at such a young age.

Cook was an 18-year-old psychology student and was an up-and-coming rapper, who went by the name “Lecturre.”

Cook’s life that was cut short hurt his family, and as many of them spoke at the sentencing, they condemned Joseph and his actions, as do I.

You’re an 18-year-old man and I don’t even know what happened that day, but judging on\ your testimony, you went and shot a guy because he said, “What’s up” to you.

Now Joseph said Cook was reaching for a gun, but police never found a gun and I’m not going to speculate on that, but Joseph should’ve never put himself in that situation.

I have no idea how he grew up, or what he may have gotten into as a young one, but as a young Asian, I had family who represented Asian Boyz, one of the biggest crip organizations in the U.S. and I had an uncle who was a blood and was in prison for manslaughter.

Even with these connections, I’ve never once put myself into the life of a gangbanger or a person who would do something so inhumane as to shoot someone cold-blooded in his car without emotion.

Jordan Joseph, I hope you can feel remorse for what you have done to Cook’s family, but I also hope you realize, one day, what you did to your own family, because to have your mother and grandfather condemned by the family of the young man you killed should hurt you.

More to Discover