Girl in court over MySpace Suicide prank...

[Evanescence]

This burns my goat !!!!!!!

I don't have the link...will look for it.

Some girl created a MySpace account as a BOY and courted this girl she hated...then pulled the rug out from under her, sending cruel and bully messages even encouraging her to commit suicide...

She did...hung herself....

This PUNK should get LIFE for this crap...make an example of her and when her parents complain and cry...lock them up to !!!!!!!!!!!!

So, so sad !!!!!!!!!!

:cool: :cool: :cool:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24652422/

[middletree]

This happened quite a while ago. There were lots of reasons why they weren't willing to press charges. What's weird is that the family couldn't afford to move, yet the kids who pretended to be someone she wasn't still lives around the corner.

I know it sounds right to jail this girl, but I'm not sure she did anything illegal. She opened an account, and said some mean things to this girl, pretending to be a boy. While it's cruel, the fact is that kids say cruel things in school all the time. What are you going to prosecute her for? What are the charges? What law did she break?

[sandyandporter]

Here is the latest on that. It's the MOTHER who is being tried in a Federal Court. The prosecutors all along have wanted to charge her but there aren't laws currently on the books. Look like the Federal charges are a stretch, but at least they're doing something.

Kids are cruel, parents should know better!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,367255,00.html

MySpace Suicide Case Goes to Federal Court
Monday , June 16, 2008


A Missouri woman accused of taking part in a MySpace hoax that ended with a 13-year-old girl's suicide has so far avoided state charges — but not federal ones.

Lori Drew, 49, a neighbor of the dead teen, was to make an appearance in federal court here Monday, accused of one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress.

The charges were filed in California, where MySpace is based.

Drew, of suburban St. Louis, allegedly helped create a fake MySpace account to convince Megan Meier she was chatting with a nonexistent 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans.

Megan Meier hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her. Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Meier.

U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said Drew is expected to enter a plea in federal court, then have her case assigned to a judge and be given a trial date. He said she would then be allowed to return to her home state pending trial.

Drew's lawyer has said he will legally challenge the charges. And experts have said the case could break new ground in Internet law. The statute used to indict Drew usually applies to Internet hackers who illegally access accounts to get information.

U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien has acknowledged this is the first time the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used in a social-networking case.

Rebecca Lonergan, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Southern California, has said use of the federal cyber crime statute may be open to challenge.

Lonergan, who used the statute in the past to file charges in computer hacking and trademark theft cases, said the crimes covered by the law involve obtaining information from a computer, not sending messages out to harass someone.

"Here it is the flow of information away from the computer," she said. "It's a very creative, aggressive use of the statute. But they may have a legally tough time meeting the elements."

James Chadwick, a Palo Alto attorney who specializes in Internet and media law, said he has never seen the statute, known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, applied to the sending of messages.

He said it was probable that liability for the girl's death would not be an issue in the case. "As tragic as it is," he said, "You can't start imposing liability on people for being cruel."

Missouri police didn't file any charges against Drew in part because there was no applicable state law. In response to the case, Missouri legislators gave final approval to a bill making cyber harassment illegal.

MySpace is a subsidiary of News Corp., the parent company of FOX News.

Here are a few other links as well with what transpired leading up to this latest article.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356464,00.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,314620,00.html

[middletree]

I agree the woman did something scummy, but I'm not convinced it was illegal, and it's a safe bet she had no way of knowing that the girl was going to react as she did.

[Evanescence]

I thought there were laws against encouraging suicide?

Its good thing i wasn't a judge...i'd figure out some way of locking up the whole lot...my God, the poor dead girls parents.

Let this be one of many lessons to keep kids off the dang-gum web and outside playing or doing work !!!!!!!!!

My kids will have nothing to do with web junk, cell phone text messging and other usueless junk !!!!!!!!!!!!

[sandyandporter]

I agree the woman did something scummy, but I'm not convinced it was illegal, and it's a safe bet she had no way of knowing that the girl was going to react as she did.

I'm not sure that the statutes they're trying to use will hold up. My problem with this mom is that she's shown no remorse for what she did. They were relentless on this poor girl. The mom got involved because her daughter didn't like the girl. Wow... nice role model. So I don't know if technically she broke any laws, but she shouldn't be allowed to be a mother, that's for sure.

Everyone knows how cruel kids are. As adults, parents, role models, we should be teaching them better ways to handle situations. Not jumping in and helping them with their antics.

[Evanescence]

Lock 'em BOTH up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When they complain....doube their sentence !!!!!!!!!!!!

Arggghhh......this lights my fire man !!!!!!!!!!!

[sandyandporter]

Latest...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,367255,00.html

[Aussie3rddayfan]

Lock 'em BOTH up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When they complain....doube their sentence !!!!!!!!!!!!

Arggghhh......this lights my fire man !!!!!!!!!!!

While it sucks that there are no laws sufficient for conviction in this case keep in mind that no one escapes justice forever. God will call her to account. Let's pray that this girl and her parents will come to know the grace and forgiveness offered by our Lord rather than ganging up on her online. :D

[Evanescence]

the need to be punished....to protect the future of others...

God can deal with them on judgement day...I want their a$*^& in jail NOW!

[DareDevil]

I thought there were laws against encouraging suicide?

Its good thing i wasn't a judge...i'd figure out some way of locking up the whole lot...my God, the poor dead girls parents.

Let this be one of many lessons to keep kids off the dang-gum web and outside playing or doing work !!!!!!!!!

My kids will have nothing to do with web junk, cell phone text messging and other usueless junk !!!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck, E.
You will need it. ;)


Anyway, to the original subject.
I'm not sure whether it is fair to say that kids are cruel, but fact is that many kids have no idea about the implications of the things they say and do. Maybe it is a lack of experience, maybe they are simply not mature enough, but whatever it is, kids are very likely to screw up every now and then! That is also where the parents MUST come into play, imho. Even the best parents can only reduce the risk of their kids screwing up of course, but responsible parents can reduce the risk a lot!

Unfortunately, it seems as if too many parents do simply not care or are even just as clueless as their children. :(

[Evanescence]

It is obvious, kids today on a large scale have no connection with nature-- their roots..and are bombarded by entertainment devices and psuedo-babysitters....despite warning signs and obvious problems...

Maybe its time we turn Amish...

Oh wait, some of the have I-phones and DVD players in their buggies....ARGHHHH!!!!!!! !!!

[Aussie3rddayfan]

Good luck, E.
You will need it. ;)


Anyway, to the original subject.
I'm not sure whether it is fair to say that kids are cruel, but fact is that many kids have no idea about the implications of the things they say and do. Maybe it is a lack of experience, maybe they are simply not mature enough, but whatever it is, kids are very likely to screw up every now and then! That is also where the parents MUST come into play, imho. Even the best parents can only reduce the risk of their kids screwing up of course, but responsible parents can reduce the risk a lot!

Unfortunately, it seems as if too many parents do simply not care or are even just as clueless as their children. :(

Yep, parents are monumentally important in teaching their kids morals. That said, I do think kids know what they are doing is wrong and sometimes cruel. Maybe not so much in the very early years but from then on I think they do. As a school teacher I should know!

[sandyandporter]

http://www.challengeday.org/

Want to educate kids on bullying, cruelty, judging and consequences? Bring this program to your school. Find out if it's in your area and volunteer. Be the change!

[Jesuslove]

It is obvious, kids today on a large scale have no connection with nature-- their roots..and are bombarded by entertainment devices and psuedo-babysitters....despite warning signs and obvious problems...

Maybe its time we turn Amish...

Oh wait, some of the have I-phones and DVD players in their buggies....ARGHHHH!!!!!!! !!!

I agree. This is just plain wrong. I heard somewhere that the Federal Government is trying to establish cyber harassment laws. I think we need a federal cyber law.

As for bullying, it is cruel and it can ruin a child's life. As a child, I was very small, and most of my early years, I was the smallest in my class (now I'm 6', 205). Anyway, I was bullied for years by a group of kids. They were merciless. I had no way to defend myself. It really ruined a good part of my childhood. My parents eventually had to remove me from public shool and put me in private shool. Back in the day, there were no anti-bullying laws.

Anyway, I see kids like those in the Columbine High shootings and others, and I feel sorry for them. I can relate to the shooters, having been bullied. Thank GOD I didn't have access to a gun as a child, because sometimes I was tortured so bad, I would have been tempted to take one of the bully's lives. I know that sounds horrible but unless you've experienced this type of bullying, you wouldn't understand. I think the message missed with the Columbine shootings was that bullying can cause victims to lash out.

The kid that used to bully me the most as a child, died this past Easter Sunday. Until the end, he was a hardcore alcoholic, and wife beater. He was a tortured soul. I pray for him.

[Evanescence]

I agree. This is just plain wrong. I heard somewhere that the Federal Government is trying to establish cyber harassment laws. I think we need a federal cyber law.

As for bullying, it is cruel and it can ruin a child's life. As a child, I was very small, and most of my early years, I was the smallest in my class (now I'm 6', 205). Anyway, I was bullied for years by a group of kids. They were merciless. I had no way to defend myself. It really ruined a good part of my childhood. My parents eventually had to remove me from public shool and put me in private shool. Back in the day, there were no anti-bullying laws.

Anyway, I see kids like those in the Columbine High shootings and others, and I feel sorry for them. I can relate to the shooters, having been bullied. Thank GOD I didn't have access to a gun as a child, because sometimes I was tortured so bad, I would have been tempted to take one of the bully's lives. I know that sounds horrible but unless you've experienced this type of bullying, you wouldn't understand. I think the message missed with the Columbine shootings was that bullying can cause victims to lash out.

The kid that used to bully me the most as a child, died this past Easter Sunday. Until the end, he was a hardcore alcoholic, and wife beater. He was a tortured soul. I pray for him.

Man! You and I have so much in common....

I too was a runt and picked on when I was a kid....and that was 20 yrs ago. I sprouted up when i turned 19-20 and am now 6", 190....

Them kids when I was little should count their blessings...I could have beat some of them down like the dogs they are if I was bigger. I really hated some of them bullies....

Bullying is a BIG problem...and when a kid is a bully when he's little, he will be when he's older...and I see this too.

BTW- I was no angel either...I picked on kids too...but I wouldnt consider it bullying....just agressive playing....:cool:

[Buttabean]

I didn't read everyone's posts (sorry) but I'll bring up that this took place in Missouri, where no internet bullying laws or anything were in place. The mother who made up the myspace account technically didn't do anything wrong in the eyes of the law we had then. But the mother of the victim has been all over talk shows and such trying to get such laws in place both at the state and federal levels.

I hope something comes of all this. Cyber bullying is becoming more and more prevalant as the years go on. We've talked about it a lot in my classes at school (I'm a future teacher).