Nathanil Brazill stood impassively as he was sentenced
A 14-year-old boy convicted of murdering his teacher at a Florida school has been sentenced to 28 years in prison.
Nathaniel Brazill, handcuffed and wearing an orange prison overall, showed little emotion as Judge Richard Wennet announced his decision.
Brazill was found guilty of murder in May in an adult court for the killing his English teacher, Barry Grunow, in May 2000. He had faced a minimum sentence of 25 years.
The case has attracted widespread media coverage in the United States because of the controversy surrounding the trial of children as adults, and recurring gun violence in schools.
Judge Wennet also ordered Brazill to serve an additional two years of house arrest, five years of probation after his release, and enrol on an anger management course.
BBC correspondent Rob Watson says that despite the lengthy term, the sentence was something of a victory for the defence as the prosecution had called for Brazill to be jailed for life with no chance of parole.
Following sentencing, Brazill's father, Nathaniel Brazill Sr, appeared relieved, but said the family would appeal against the decision.
"We'll live with it, but it's not over," he told reporters outside the court building.
Mr Grunow's brother-in-law, Nick Hlawka, told reporters after the hearing: "I can't speak for all of the family, but I can tell you that it just wasn't enough time."
Murder conviction
At a sentencing hearing on Thursday, Brazill made his first public apology for shooting Mr Grunow, and repeated an earlier plea that he had not meant to hurt his teacher.
Brazill was convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of Mr Grunow, aged 35, at Lake Worth Middle School on 26 May 2000, the end of the school term.
He shot Mr Grunow between eyes in the doorway of a classroom after the teacher refused to let him speak to two girls in his class.
He had returned to school after being suspended by a counsellor earlier that day for throwing water balloons.
During the trial, a defence witness described Brazill as a "pot boiling over" following his suspension. Brazill had also witnessed physical abuse of his mother by several of her boyfriends.
Apologising during the Thursday hearing, Brazill said: "I'm sorry for the pain I've caused the Grunow family."
"Mr Grunow was a great man and a great teacher ... I've been thinking about Mrs Grunow and how lonely she is," he added.
The teacher's murder was captured in graphic detail by a school video camera installed as part of nationwide efforts to curb classroom violence.
'Danger to society'
Barry Grunow's mother and two brothers described Brazill as a danger to society, and have requested he serve the maximum sentence
Brazill's defence lawyers had argued the shooting was unintentional, that he had thought the gun was locked and would not fire.
But the prosecutors described the boy as a
cold blooded murderer who had shot the
teacher on purpose.
-- Anonymous, July 27, 2001