There's been a Murder

[sassywitch]

Well not really but I have a couple of hypothetical questions for you. Recent events all over my country have had me pondering how our justice systems would deal with different scenarios that in my mind are not completely cut and dried and I wondered how the wise and worldly on my flist would answer, so here goes

Comments

[sandelwood]

Scenario One would depend a lot on proving self defense. Which is subjective, of course, although proof of adults counseling a child to defend himself with violence rather than coming to an adult for help would place a considerable amount of fault on that adult. Involuntary manslaughter in self defense is handled with some lenience in the case of children, but I'm pretty sure the poor kid would be required to have counseling and anger management classes and be monitored by child services for further signs of dangerous behavior

[piratesorka]

You make me very glad I am neither a lawyer nor a judge.

#1. I would rule for clemency for the boy.There will have to be some time paid, he can't get off scot free but nor should he locked up forever. Nonody needs to resort to that sort of violence. I was bullied for most of my elementary and high school years....I never killed or harmed my bully(ies). Nor did I ever wish them ill.

#2. Is the boy in this one underage? Thats going to be the only thing that could remotely save him. He has a brain and he has a penis, He needs to use the large head to think for his small head not vice versa. YOu would truly have to be living under a rock these days not to figure out the wrongness of escalating sexual tension to rape and violence. The girl was wrong, but who was there to see what she did or said? No one.

[piratesorka]

Whoops I did not see that they were all 14.

[divinemadam]

Good and thought provoking questions. For scenario 1, I think that he would be tried for involuntary manslaughter, but as a juvenile, which means that his record would be sealed once he turned 18 years old. He would be guilty but have a minimal sentence due to mitigating circumstances. I would require counseling though because that boy is going to be seriously messed up in the head after all of that. Furthermore, I would encourage the parents to sue the school and I would find the school at fault for not protecting the student when he asked for help. I see bullying often enough, and more often than not, a halfway decent kid will stop what he is doing if someone in authority warns him to stop picking on other kids. A student that is an athlete and with an A average would respond to authority in fear of getting in trouble in most cases. I am truly not a fan of such a litigious society because of all of the frivolous lawsuits out there, but the school should have interceded on the baby geek's behalf

[sodyinoz]

In the first scenario, I would rule the school vicariously liable for:

* not having a bullying policy
* not putting a prevention of bullying policy in practice