Teen Suicide Leads to Indictment of 9 Students
F1nut
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(March 29) --Two days before a high school dance, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince hanged herself at her parents' home. Now, investigators have accused nine of her fellow students with the bullying that may have prompted the suicide.
At a news conference today, Northwestern Massachusetts District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel detailed the charges against Prince's fellow students at South Hadley High School. They included statutory rape, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly, The Boston Globe reported.
Prince, who recently immigrated to the United States from Ireland with her family, was the target of abuse and bullying since last fall, Scheibel said, sometimes within the view of school staff, as is said to have been the case on the day she took her own life.
"The harassment reported to have occurred that day in the school library appears to have been conducted in the presence of a faculty member and several students, but went unreported to school administrators until after Phoebe's death," Scheibel said.
In the wake of Prince's suicide on Jan. 14, residents of South Hadley have demanded that school Superintendent Gus Sayer resign from office, the Boston Herald reported. Until Monday's indictments were handed down, no action had been taken against the students accused of bullying Prince.
It is believed that she was being bullied over a brief relationship with a boy at the school.
The students named in the indictments are Sean Mulveyhill, 17; Kayla Narey, 17; Austin Renaud, 18; Ashley Longe; 16, Flannery Mullins, 16; and Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16. Mulveyhill and Renaud were the only students charged with statutory rape.
Three other female students were also charged with crimes including assault with a dangerous weapon and violation of civil rights, but their names were not released.
As a result of Prince's death, the Massachusetts Legislature has approved an anti-bullying bill, the Boston Herald reported, that mandates that school principals report bullies to police in cases where criminal charges might be applicable.
While I am very sorry that the young woman took her life, I am appalled at the Massachusetts District Attorney's action and that of the Legislature. I have to wonder if they will start witch hunting again.
Discuss.
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"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
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Comments
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I was the skinniest kid in school and took my fair share of abuse (it's how I learned to stand up for myself!)but I get the feeling that this girl went thru hell. Where were the parents and the teachers in all this? Harrasment from jereks is part of life but in school you have to draw the line somewhere esp. with rape involved and those jerks responsible should have been dealt with in some manner. No need for government to get involved...just another case of people not taking responsibility. This is the country we have these days...let somebody else deal with it(and in this case they did not)...sad.Yep, my name really is Bob.
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Very sad. Zero tolerance for bullying IMO.Michael
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I too am sorry to hear of this young person's suicide. However, it would seem to me that there were some underlying mental issues with this poor girl that the bullying set off and mainly the rape set off.
Setting a zero tolerance policy where criminal charges are automatically brought against a student(s) takes the judgement call out of the hands of the trained educators and school administration and places an across the board criminal record on any student for anything that is construed as bullying. How is bullying going to be defined. Is telling someone to STFU going to be included under the bullying umbrella? Is normal juvenile teasing to be construed as bullying? I can cite many more examples. This is scary.
We just went through this zero tolerance crap with my younger son and it has been so abused that they had to start a new program to keep children with good behavior and grade records from having felony charges stick. In our case, the courst assigned my son to a "mediator" who after interviewing my son had several options at her disposal one being community service. He ended up only to have to write an essay in letter form to the mediator expressing what he learned from the experience and how what he did could have been dangerous to himself and other students. The two felony charges, after being first suspended then expelled from his school and placed in a diciplinary school with real juvenile delinquents, have been dropped and now I have to pay to have the charges expunged from his record.
This boy was arrested by State Troopers, finger printed, mug shot etc. We had to take him to court several times. If this occured last year or before, the feloney charges would have stuck due to the strictness of the zero tolerance laws. This law has caused so many children to be suspended, expelled and charged with felonies for the silliest of actions. One girl had a belt buckle with a picture of brass knuckles on it . . . she went through this nonsense because of the way the law was structured.
These cases of bullying need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the teachers, deans, and school administrators before any across the board criminal laws are applied. IMHO!
As far as the rape is concerned then the rape laws should be followed. Bullying, that should be defined by the school board and enforced by the school board and if the bullying breaks any of the current laws then the child should have to go through due process. -
Kids can be ruthless when it comes to that sort of thing, and it goes on everywhere. best thing to do is get your kids in martial arts at about age 4 and make them stick with it. IMO. Very sad.
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Zero tolerance = zero brains. Not surprising this came from the People's Republik of Massachusetts.If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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I have no tolerance for bullying. That being said, schools that I know that institute this policy (zero tolerance) are not jumping to criminal charges. There are other measures and intelligent school boards are able to access this like professionals should. Too bad they all do not think that way. I guess the laws are different from place to place.Michael
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bobman1235 wrote: »Not surprising this came from the People's Republik of Massachusetts.
Darn Massholes, sorry I'm from Connecticut. Seriously though, I'm sure about 90% of us can relate with this girl and all possible mental issues aside, there is no excuse for rape or unrelenting bullying IMHO. Hopefully this thread doesn't get out of control, let's show a little restraint/respect in the poor girls memory. Prayers are with her family in their time of need, I can't imagine what they are dealing with.
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It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. -
Well, it says "As a result of Prince's death, the Massachusetts Legislature has approved an anti-bullying bill, the Boston Herald reported, that mandates that school principals report bullies to police in cases where criminal charges might be applicable."
That looks like it gives some leeway to the principal.TNRabbit
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Well, it says "As a result of Prince's death, the Massachusetts Legislature has approved an anti-bullying bill, the Boston Herald reported, that mandates that school principals report bullies to police in cases where criminal charges might be applicable."
That looks like it gives some leeway to the principal.
Sorry I missed that! That is way it should be. -
Zero tolerance = CYA.
No exceptions or no extenuating circumstances = not having to actually think and make a tough a decision.
What's next? Thinking bad thoughts will lead to assault charges?"Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
Too many questions in this case that are not answered in the article.
Where did the rape charges come from? The article glances over that charge and focuses on the harrasment aspect. To me the rape charge is the only charge that has any merit and I believe the other charges will be dropped.
BTW does Mass. release the names of juvies ?? MD would never name them.
A tragedy none the less, regardless of any criminal charges. -
wutadumsn23 wrote: »Darn Massholes, sorry I'm from Connecticut. Seriously though, I'm sure about 90% of us can relate with this girl and all possible mental issues aside, there is no excuse for rape or unrelenting bullying IMHO. Hopefully this thread doesn't get out of control, let's show a little restraint/respect in the poor girls memory. Prayers are with her family in their time of need, I can't imagine what they are dealing with.
-Jeff
Not to make light of this issue but I never heard that before and found it funny. -
Zero tolerance = CYA.
No exceptions or no extenuating circumstances = not having to actually think and make a tough a decision.
What's next? Thinking bad thoughts will lead to assault charges?
That's where Delaware has been headed but the public, judges and educators outcry against these zero tolerance laws have been so loud that the legislators had no choice but to review the laws and make some major changes to them. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Not to make light of this issue but I never heard that before and found it funny.
Yeah, I have a few more too, like I said I am from Ct. so I had to represent. Is that waht the kids these days say, anywhoot.
-JeffHT Rig
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It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-FourWhat's next? Thinking bad thoughts will lead to assault charges?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche -
I like to sue people, but anti-bullying is not the government's job to enforce . . . giving administrators and teachers the right to punish a child with impunity would go a long way.
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Bullying = terrorism.
Think it's extreme? What's point of terrorism? To scare others in to abiding your will. What's bullying? To scare others in to abiding your will. The difference? Terrorism is a crime committed by moron adults who should know better. Bullying is a action committed by moron kids who don't know better. The only reason it's not a crime specifically is that mark of innocence that a child has.
While making hamfisted legislation like this is a bit on the extreme side, bullying is a bunch of BS and shouldn't be tolerated at all. Learning to stick up for yourself is one thing but "learning" to do it because some other person is making your life painfully miserable is not the way to do it.Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
My comment wasn't in any way meant to excuse bullying - I too was "bullied" and teased as a kid and would like nothing better than to see those who were responsible punched in the ****. My beef is with anything that has the words "zero tolerance" in front of it. Every situation is different and should be judged as such. I know we all would agree that bullying is never acceptable but I'm sure there are situations where something could be construed as bullying / harassing but was actually not meant as such, or someone overreacted, or even outright lied and made accusations, and then some kid gets criminal charges thrown at him at the age of 17.If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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Thank you Jstas!
I was bullied in school all through my grade school years in public school, The teacher would drive me home on her way home to make sure that I got there.
What I went through is the reason why I HATE children & never wanted any of my own.
Have any of you listened to yourselves? Parents should send their children to classes to learn how to be violent to prevent violence being done to them???? Yah ok.
It's easy for you all to talk if you haven't been bullied or were bullys yourselves. For those of us that went through it & survived it it is totally different.
Unfortunately this girl didn't survive. And because she didn't she's a head case? I suppose she asked to be raped as well! Talk about blaming the victim!
If parents did thier jobs properly, this wouldn't happen. But we all know that there are tons of people out there who should never been allowed to have children.Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2 -
I was the skinniest kid in school and took my fair share of abuse (it's how I learned to stand up for myself!)but I get the feeling that this girl went thru hell. Where were the parents and the teachers in all this? Harrasment from jereks is part of life but in school you have to draw the line somewhere esp. with rape involved and those jerks responsible should have been dealt with in some manner. No need for government to get involved...just another case of people not taking responsibility. This is the country we have these days...let somebody else deal with it(and in this case they did not)...sad.
it's easy to blame the parents and teachers but you must know that the girl is 15 years old, or a "rebellious" period of teenage, when it's not easy to open up to other adults.
plus the "rape" was probably with consent with the boy she was in a relationship with. how many 15 year olds talk to their parents about having sex?Onkyo 805, RtiA5s, Csi5, Rti6s -
bobman1235 wrote:My comment wasn't in any way meant to excuse bullying - I too was "bullied" and teased as a kid and would like nothing better than to see those who were responsible punched in the ****. My beef is with anything that has the words "zero tolerance" in front of it. Every situation is different and should be judged as such. I know we all would agree that bullying is never acceptable but I'm sure there are situations where something could be construed as bullying / harassing but was actually not meant as such, or someone overreacted, or even outright lied and made accusations, and then some kid gets criminal charges thrown at him at the age of 17.
It's rare...but I agree wholeheartedly with bobman.
Bullying IS wrong. But a law to outlaw it? At this rate there will be a LAW covering every single action that can be thought of that may or may not have some sort of negative impact to almost everyone. Where does it end?"Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
I have NO problem with a law to outlaw bullying. I work at a medium-sized middle school (800 or so kids), and while kids are getting better at hiding bullying, I still see the effects on those taking the brunt of attention from other kids.
There should be no excuse for bullying. If a student is caught doing it in any sense, there should be swift punishment befitting the type/severity of the bullying. Obviously the "zero tolerance" viewpoint doesn't belong in any type of school setting, as kids WILL be kids at some point. But there also needs to be NO instance where a case of bullying in it's many forms goes unpunished."Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
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Statutory rape is different than rape. It means that it was consensual, but that she was under 18.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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Thank goodness we are a nation of law and not men.
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The only reason bullying gets to this level is that the kid that stands up to the bully and bashes his or her face in gets in heaps of trouble. In our litigious society the victim would get sued for retaliation. It's ridiculous. If you're going to be a bully having your teeth knocked in should be a risk of that behavior. Kind of like how if you're going to be a criminal gettin' your **** shot should be a hazard of the trade.
I was always a big enough kid in school that I never got screwed with, but I watched friends get bullied and what always ended it was when they would take a stand and sock the bully in the kisser. I helped out a few times.
Old school and it works.
No, I'm not saying that getting picked on means you have a right to punch someone, but eventually it's the only thing that gets the message across.
Zero tolerance is for people who don't have functioning brains in their heads. Every situation is different. -
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Reading comprehension and common sense go hand in hand nowadays.Statutory rape is different than rape. It means that it was consensual, but that she was under 18."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche -
hearingimpared wrote: »I too am sorry to hear of this young person's suicide. However, it would seem to me that there were some underlying mental issues with this poor girl that the bullying set off and mainly the rape set off.Unfortunately this girl didn't survive. And because she didn't she's a head case? I suppose she asked to be raped as well! Talk about blaming the victim!
Cathy, I hope you aren't referring to my statement with what you said above. If you are, then I have to say that being bullied from grade school through high school sure made me feel lousy but it didn't get me to the point of suicide and I was a big kid and took no **** from anyone but was still bullied because I was the only Italian kid in an all Irish and Black neighborhood so I fit in NOWHERE. I don't hate Irish or Black people because of it.
If indeed this poor girl committed suicide because of being bullied then, yes, I think there had to be some underlying issues mentally or as you put it "a head case" because she either 1. kept the bullying to herself and it festered to the point of dispair and/or 2. her parents didn't notice any mood changes which makes them suspect of being poor parents. We notice right away when our son comes home from school and he isn't himself and pursue the issue.
I'm not blaming the victim at all. I'm stating that no-one commits suicide unless they are in the pits of deep despair that has been going on for a while.
As far as the rape goes. We don't know if she was raped. According to the article, a charge of "statutory rape" was made which could have been that she, a minor, consented to having sex with a boy who is 18 or above.
As far as you not ever wanting to have children because you "HATE KIDS" because you were bullied is very shocking to me. I'm not judging you and don't know to the extent you were bullied but that seems a little extreme to me. -
bobman1235 wrote:Woohoo!!
Don't go getting all giddy over it...I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again."Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
