Nine Charged in Bullying of Massachusetts Teen Who Killed Herself

[John in Denver]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/29...s-teen-killed/

[The Lawspeaker]

Good God.. Poor girl. The hell she must have gone through.
I wonder whether this kind of stuff can be stopped ?

[Grumpy Cat]

Good.

Too bad, though, she didn't live to get revenge on her bullies like I did.

[The Lawspeaker]

Would it be possible for the court to treat and sentence them as if they were adults that had committed a felony ? (if such a thing exists over there. Here we make distinctions in punishments for minors and adults).

[SwordoftheVistula]

Too bad, though, she didn't live to get revenge on her bullies like I did.

Usually that's more of a male thing. I don't recall any school shootings carried out by girls.

Would it be possible for the court to treat and sentence them as if they were adults that had committed a felony ? (if such a thing exists over there. Here we make distinctions in punishments for minors and adults).

Depends on the age. In Massachusetts you are automatically charged as an adult if 17 or older, younger people can be charged as adults in some cases.

[lei.talk]

District Attorney Scheibel directly contradicted previous claims by school Superintendent Gus Sayer that school officials had been unaware of the bullying at the school:

Contrary to previously published reports, Phoebe’s harassment was common knowledge to most of the South Hadley High School student body. The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff and administrators of the high school also were alerted to the harassment of Phoebe Prince before her death. Prior to Phoebe’s death, her mother spoke with at least two school staff members about the harassment Phoebe had reported to her.

Some bystanders, including at least four students and two faculty members, intervened while the harassment was occurring or reported it to administrators. A lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships seems to have been prevalent at South Hadley High School. That, in turn, brought an inconsistent interpretation in enforcement in the school’s code of conduct when incidents were observed and reported.

In reviewing this investigation, we’ve considered whether or not the actions or omissions to act by faculty, staff and administrators of the South Hadley public schools individually, or collectively, amounted to criminal behavior. In our opinion, it did not. Nevertheless, the actions or inactions of some adults at the school are troublesome.

- source

[Murphy]

Such a shame.. Apricity needs an emoticon for "shakes head", because I tend to find my self doing exactly that quite often.

[Daos]

Such a shame.. Apricity needs an emoticon for "shakes head", because I tend to find my self doing exactly that quite often.

[Murphy]

No. Too dark and brooding. I want a more.. tired, a more emotionally stretched "shakes head" emoticon.

[Pallantides]

America is not a safe place for Europeans.