Federal charges against teens in Boston were filed at the end of March, with the stories carried in both the New York Times (hat tip to Above the Law) and the Boston Globe (hat tip to the BLT.)
Officials are alleging that a group of teenagers bullied and harassed a fellow student to the point of suicide.
The indictments (remember, these are the prosecution's allegations and don't give the defense time to respond) tell a story: weeks of harassment and abuse culminating in suicide.
The Times puts an...interesting spin on the story.
According to the Times:
And some of the incidents described make me wonder whether "bullying" is really the right label for this, when bullying is also used to refer to calling other people names or hogging the swing on the playground.
Of course, even amongst all the tragedy, the prosecutor feels the need to compound it with a miscarriage of justice.
Victims of bullying deserve a full investigation into the incidents they allege. Accused perpetrators deserve the benefit of the doubt until they have had a chance to put forward a defense. And youth everywhere deserve a single standard of when they will be treated as adults: not a standard that society shifts whenever it suits them.
Officials are alleging that a group of teenagers bullied and harassed a fellow student to the point of suicide.
The indictments (remember, these are the prosecution's allegations and don't give the defense time to respond) tell a story: weeks of harassment and abuse culminating in suicide.
The Times puts an...interesting spin on the story.
The charges were an unusually sharp legal response to the problem of adolescent bullying, which is increasingly conducted in cyberspace as well as in the schoolyard and has drawn growing concern from parents, educators and lawmakers.This seems backwards to me. Bullying (especially cyberbullying) is often taken too seriously, but this instance (at least going by the allegations) they seem to have done it about right. What are they alleging happened?
According to the Times:
In the Prince case, two boys and four girls, ages 16 to 18, face a different mix of felony charges that include statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury, harassment, stalking and disturbing a school assembly.And according to the Globe:
The nature of the charges — ranging from criminal harassment and civil rights violations to stalking and statutory rape — hints at a forceful strategy of taking many legal avenues in the pursuit of convictions, legal specialists said.Wait, back up. What was that? "Statutory rape?" But of course, indicting people is "an unusually sharp legal response" to rape. Of course, it could be that the statutory rape in question was really consensual sex, in which case they shouldn't be charged...but it still wouldn't be "unusual" to do so.
And some of the incidents described make me wonder whether "bullying" is really the right label for this, when bullying is also used to refer to calling other people names or hogging the swing on the playground.
On Jan. 14, the investigation found, students abused her in the school library, the lunchroom and the hallways and threw a canned drink at her as she walked home.Where I come from, "throwing a canned drink" isn't 'harassment' or 'bullying,' it's assault and attempted battery.
Of course, even amongst all the tragedy, the prosecutor feels the need to compound it with a miscarriage of justice.
Charged as adults were: Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley, with statutory rape, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, and disturbance of a school assembly; Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield, statutory rape; Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, and disturbance of a school assembly; Ashley Longe, 16, of South Hadley, violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting.With the exception of Mr. Renaud, charging these alleged perpetrators as adults violates their rights of due process and equal protection. It's sad that when our society is faced by a incident that is decidedly juvenile in nature, we must resort to criminal charges in adult courts. The double standard this creates is appalling, with youth who mess up being treated as mature, and youth who behave being treated as children.
Flannery Mullins, 16, of South Hadley, and Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, of South Hadley, were also charged as adults with violation of civil rights and stalking.
Victims of bullying deserve a full investigation into the incidents they allege. Accused perpetrators deserve the benefit of the doubt until they have had a chance to put forward a defense. And youth everywhere deserve a single standard of when they will be treated as adults: not a standard that society shifts whenever it suits them.
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