Florida girl, 12, commits suicide after she was bullied online: sheriff

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Florida girl, 12, commits suicide after she was bullied online: sheriff
The Associated Press
Published Thursday, September 12, 2013 3:58PM EDT

LAKELAND, Fla. -- A 12-year-old girl committed suicide after she was bullied online by more than a dozen girls and a sheriff said Thursday that he is investigating whether he can file charges under a new Florida state law that covers cyber-bullying.

Sheriff Grady Judd said that Rebecca Ann Sedwick jumped to her death on Monday at an old cement business. Investigators say the girl was despondent after others had posted hate messages about her online.

Sedwick was "absolutely terrorized on social media," Judd said.

The Lakeland Ledger (http://bit.ly/1enEgI5) reports that detectives found multiple social media applications where Sedwick was constantly bullied with messages, including "Go kill yourself," and "Why are you still alive?"

He said parents of all 15 girls have co-operated with detectives and several cellphones and laptops have been confiscated. Judd said charges could be filed -- including cyber stalking.



Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/florida-girl-12-commits-suicide-after-she-was-bullied-online-sheriff-1.1452122#ixzz2eiDVbVy0

[redstatebluegirl]

1. Until the parents are held responsible

this stuff will never end. They prosecute these "kids" as kids so there are almost no consequences. I told someone this morning, we have done a horrible job of parenting this latest generation. An unbelievable sense of entitlement combined with no consequences when they cross the line.

[Native]

6. So true...

I hope the parents get their asses sued.

[warrant46]

69. That will be difficult to do

Try to sue a municipality because some cop kills someone.

[askeptic]

7. Kids have been bullied forever

...just because computers are now used to do it should not be surprising, nor does it mean this generations parents are total failures.

Children bullying other children was common when I was a kid (now retired), so I'm not sure why this is such a shocker. Kids also have been committing suicide forever. Children are not grownups, and so I'm pretty much against any kind of government-sponsored punishments.

I wonder if when an adult commits suicide they try to see if others were being mean to that person,hurting their feelings so bad they committed suicide, and then act as if others should be charged for the actions of this person. I'm having a difficult time seeing how you could charge an adult, so am having even a more difficult time seeing how children can be charged with "causing" this child to suicide themselves.

[redstatebluegirl]

8. Because I have dealt with this generation

I can assure you, it is different. I am now retired, a year now, but I had kids for 30 years, this generation is different. Yes, bullying is as old as dirt, but the type that is done now is VERY different and much more personal and public due to the internet.

Also, the kids are different in all aspects. There have been seminars and books about this group. Teachers and other educators are leaving the field in droves due to frustration in dealing with these young people and their parents.

I appreciate your post, and yes suicide is not something that is "caused" by anything, BUT a child that is constantly bullied in public (the internet is public) can be pushed over the edge. Plus you don't know what is going on at school all day to compound it. No there should not be a governmental punishment, but if a parent is aware that their child is a bully and dismisses it, or does nothing to address it there needs to be something done.

[IrishAyes]

35. Let me tell you something

Old people can be just as vicious and stupid, particularly if they were raised on hate and aggression. None worse than small town MidWest xenophobes. For financial reasons I retired to one of the most affordable areas of the country; however, what I saved in $ by necessity, has come out of my hide. There are some halfway decent people here, but I was set upon by the other kind like a pack of mad wolves, especially because I happen to be a wholly different political person than they've ever had to deal with up close and personal. I won't go into all the gory details, but believe me it would've caused a lot of people to check out early. And if you think the better types stood up for me in any meaningful way, except for the editor of the local weekly paper (only because he's notorious for printing EVERYBODY'S letters) then you got another think coming, my dear.

Old people are just as bad. And they've had many more years experience sharpening their long knives. Oh, I don't feel like the Lone Ranger at all. This town which proudly boasts it's the real Mayberry and yet prides itself in general on how mean it can be, has a high rate of suicide. People here have been eating each other alive for well over a century and a half.

[Jenoch]

53. Don't name the town, but what

part of the country are you referring to?

You are correct in that age is not always a factor. If somebody is an asshole at 15 it should not be a surprise if they are an asshole at 65.

[IrishAyes]

61. It's a tiny town in the MidWest

County seat w/gov. offices plus a hospital and a few stores, less than 2K population.

It's too sad that human nature can be so cruel. I just don't believe that any one age group is worse than another, that's all. My southside neighbor has been such a bully all his life that most people around here are scared of him, and it's worse because he's rich and has high family connections. But the old bugger's ticker's about to give out, and it hasn't made him any sweeter. By and large he has eased off picking on me, because I let him have it right back. MidWesterners don't approve of outspoken females, but they're stuck with me, so they might as well get used to it.

Fortunately, as I said, there are some fairly decent people here. It's even got to where I can attend a church function like a carry-in and people already at the table don't get up and move when I sit down. Believe me, for arch-conservatives towards a liberal Democrat, that's progress! Most of the ones who used to scream at me have quieted down a lot, now that they know they're 'stuck' with President Obama's 2nd term. (I try to discourage political discussions because when I'm there, somebody's sure to start screaming, even in church. But they all seem to read the letters I write to the paper, so they KNOW where I stand. Right on their toes!)

Oddly enough I don't expect quite so much open vitriol in '16 if Hillary runs because a lot of them actually like her. After all, she's white....

[Jenoch]

62. I grew up in a snall, rural Minnesota

town but never observed the type of behavior (not the bully, they're everywhere) you have experienced from the locals. I have heard stories about midwesterners moving to the south and being seen as outcasts however.

[IrishAyes]

63. Ha! That would serve them right - a little taste of their own medicine.

As I said, I've slowly made slight social inroads here, but it's such an uphill slug that it's hardly worthwhile. It's been an education, though. Makes me extremely appreciative of every small kindness. Maybe I can understand a little better when other people cave to social pressure, too, having enough scars to understand the pain. I never had the least patience with it before. Still don't have much, but I don't detest sufferers quite so much as I did.

And for someone with a slim pocketbook, the advantages I've gained are almost compensation enough. My property tax is a whopping $180 a year, etc. I could afford lots more elbow room than I ever could most places. So for a congenial semi-hermit, it comes at least close to evening out. Just have to remember I'm not going to get everything I want. I have one big painting on my living room wall that depicts a town in Europe so I remember there are other places in the world, and I'd be dead w/o the internet connection with old friends from former places and new connections with DUers, for instance.

So with a decent balance of tough and tender, I still manage a reasonably happy life. Especially when I look around at other people's problems. And when I hug my dogs, all's right with my world for then.

[Jenoch]

64. Ok, now I'm really curious about what state you're in.

By the way, the northerners to whom I was referring were my parents and siblings who moved from Michigan to West Virginia before I was born. My sister was in the 5th grade. My mother was at home with her baby who is my oldest brother. I don't think they needed 'a taste of their own medicine'.

[IrishAyes]

65. Sorry I jumped to a conclusion. Didn't know you meant your folks!

I wouldn't wish it on nice people, which I presume includes you and your family. I was speaking of the other kind. And like I said, I do like some people here. They're not quite all hysterical teabaggers.

[Jenoch]

67. I accept your apology.

Please tell us what state it is that you are residing.

[IrishAyes]

68. Thanks, as I'm sure you must've known I was only referring to the mean crowd.

However, I do fail to understand the persistence of your interest in exactly which state I chose for retirement. It's smack dab in the center of the notorious Bible Belt. Given the financial luxury of choice, I'd have moved immediately to Calais, ME - to me the most beautiful spot on earth, where my Irish ancestors first settled after escaping John Bull following the death of Michael Collins. A brief stop in Wales for new identities eased the immigration problem, and we kept the new family surname for the sake of prudence even after my grandfather and g-grandfather had passed on. My father was born here, but there was the matter of his own American military career to think about. We still managed to send money 'back home' though. Not to do so would've been a great sin. One particular distant uncle sent $500 a month his entire life.

[Link Speed]

56. It's the parents

Ask any teacher, retailer or restaurateur. They'll tell you and whole-heartedly agree with your post.

"You should have a sign.", excuse #1.

One of our stores has a pet hummingbird. When I got on two kids who were trying to strike the bird with 'light sabers', the woman (she was no Mother) harrumphed, "I suppose you are one of those people who have a problem with kids being kids".

It's the parents.

[Ilsa]

9. Yes, but I think the level of viciousness

is more pronounced by the anonymity the Internet offers. And it's all out there, including what previously might been said behind one's back. I think it's worse than the bullying we put up with.

Too many parents aren't supervising their kids' Internet habits.

[whathehell]

52. In addition, I think most adults are better suited to handling harassement.

Teens and pre-teens are vulnerable and so concerned with "acceptance"

[longship]

10. In my days it was "boys will be boys".

It's amazing what extent people will go to justify that which is unjustifiable. Any of us who have been a victim of bullying have heard it all.

There are no excuses here. Not "boys will be boys" nor "girls will be girls" nor the mindless "kids bully and have committed suicide forever; get over it".

I suggest you self-delete your post. It is remarkably insensitive and blind to what is a big cultural problem.

[Posteritatis]

20. I dunno, I think the post should stick around as an exemplar of the problem generally. (nt)

[chillfactor]

31. good point.....

attitudes like that are part of the reason some kids today are the way they are...a child is dead.....and it seems every day we hear about children committing suicided because of the anonymous threats via the Internet..and that poster condones it..how very sad

[secondvariety]

12. What a turd of a post.

[Cooley Hurd]

14. You realize that bullying in the old days was confined to a small circle of people...

...and was compartmentalized to that small circle.

Today, however, when one is bullied, it happens in front of a MUCH larger audience due to social networking. Of course, one would make the argument that children shouldn't be allowed to "network socially", but the peer pressure to do so is dramatic. I'm 48, and I have co-workers who insist that I "socially network" with them and, when I don't (since I don't do such things), they take great offense to it.

"Social Networking" is a new phenomenon that kids and adults will indulge in whether us old-timers approve or not. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY of PARENTS to MONITOR what their little angels are doing on line. When they don't monitor their children when they engage in anti-social behavior, then THEY, THE PARENTS SHOULD be help responsible, much in the same way parents are who do not secure their firerarms in their households, and then one of their kids shoot another child.

Additionally, I'm not sure if your tone is appropriate to this conversation since you think it's ok to use a term like "suicide themselves". It displays a lack of understanding about depression and suicide.

[AtheistCrusader]

22. BS.

From a high school of 900 kids, you can be sure, the circles bullying me were plenty large.

The only difference today is, now there's evidence. Giving the victims a little more hope. That's all. Adults didn't give a flying fuck when I was a kid, because there was no evidence at all. In the off chance it was witnessed, 'you were instigating it', or 'it takes two to tango' or whatever stupid shit they felt like dismissing it with.

Sunlight is a disinfectant. Shit posted online is forever. Modern technology is, in some ways, going to help with this, now that adults are starting to pay a little attention.

[Cooley Hurd]

23. I really doubt your circles were nationwide...

[AtheistCrusader]

24. Does it matter?

People you're never going to see or talk to in person are a bigger problem than people who kick your ass, steal your shit, and make you generally fear for your life every day?

I think not.

Edit: Either way, it's going to come to an end, or at least be reduced, because again: evidence.

[Cooley Hurd]

25. It does to a child.

[AtheistCrusader]

27. And the perps will be caught.

Till they find some other way to be cruel to people, anyway.

[LanternWaste]

42. If we lack evidence

If we lack evidence, then it becomes just as much "BS" as you so eloquently put it, to state that it happened just as much then as it would be to state that it happened less then...

[AtheistCrusader]

43. Except some of us experienced it.

Humans haven't changed. Just the reach of the technology we use.

[snooper2]

66. at least in the online age bullies get called out

I didn't have an IPhone to record and post videos of the bullies on the school bus 30 years ago-

[Posteritatis]

17. If you're retired and that dismissive then you have no clue what it's like for them these days.

It's very different, in degree and kind, from what you would have put up with, and active dismissal of bullying, like you're doing, is still very popular.

[warrant46]

44. We got a gang together after we got sick of this and when some one bullied us

We'd catch the bully and beat him and his friends up with axe handles

"Large" axe handles

[christx30]

47. Often times,

the bullies have no consequences for their actions. The kid tells the teacher or the principal, and is told to "buck up" or to ignore them, but the torment keeps happening. The only time consequences enter into it is because the bullied kid fights back. And the bullied kid is the one that gets in trouble.
There were times I wanted to kill myself in school, because I had no where to turn for help. I finally pushed one guy down the stairs. I got in trouble, but the bullying lessened (at least from that guy), so I was fine with it.
I'm in favor of kids getting more protections, because they are totally dependent on the help of others. Adults at least get access from the justice system. You can file harassment charges against someone. Kids' concerns are dismissed as "kids being kids"

[musical_soul]

48. Of course you can charge an adults.

I think we need to call bullying what it is, what it would legally be called in the adult world.

Constant verbal bullying: Harassment.

Physical bullying: Assault.

Bullying in the form of lying about somebody online: Libel.


Kids are putting up with abuse, harassment, and assault for thirteen years of their life and we're saying they should suck it up. That's bullcrap. Yes, let's start holding these kids responsible. Adults would actually be charged if they did some of this stuff.

[tawadi]

49. Yes, kids have been bullied forever

But prior to internet bullying was more visible and often dealt directly. Now its more insidious, infectious and easily hidden. Parents often don't know about it until it's too late. As in this case.

[JoeyT]

16. I don't think it's actually gotten worse.

I think the bullying is more public, and the opposition to it is getting stronger, and that's why we're hearing the stories more often. Something is actually being done about it now: I can't recall that being the case ever before the last ten or so years, no matter how terrible the bullies were to their victim.

I'm sure almost anyone on here could bring forth stories that would rival anything that's being done now, no matter what generation they're from.

This generation is no worse than any other, what they do is just easier to see.

[Posteritatis]

19. The big problem is that, unless you become a hermit, it's inescapable

I'm (just) old enough that I could get away from it if I was in my house. If I was five years younger, that wouldn't have been an option unless I cut myself off from all contact other than my parents, which would cause its own set of problems.

A lot of the older generation on DU will just blow that off with "Well, don't go online then," but the world stopped working that way most of a decade ago, and doing so is even harder on an age group that has a real problem being even implicitly isolated in the first place.

The generation as a whole? I certainly don't think they're worse. I had my issues with the generation I'm in, and the one coming up is somewhere between "no better, no worse," and "actually starting to Get It on things I wish mine got at the time." The members of that generation who are all about being vile motherfuckers towards others, though, have much greater scope for aggression and cruelty than my own assailants would have had back in the day. I don't think tossing blanket statements at the generation as a whole, or even technology as a whole, is terribly useful there, but it is a significant change that people need to be aware of while they work on trying to figure out what, after generations of just shrugging it off, we're going to do about it.

[JoeyT]

30. I remember it happening at school where they couldn't get away from it.

I'm not sure how much worse they could possibly be than some of the ones we had were. Stubenville didn't shock me because we had a lot of shit like that. We had rapes and straight up murders that went without prosecution because a judge or DA's or cop's or superintendent's kid committed them or because the kid that did it was necessary to the football team. Law enforcement, teachers, and principals not only made no effort to stop it, they actively encouraged it and protected the bullies. Anyone that made an effort to stop it was pretty much guaranteed to see the full force of all the authority that shithole of a town could bring to bear.

I don't think the ones we had could have gotten away with what they did if social media had been a thing. They'd have probably been the example of why our generation was so much worse than any before it. Instead of the bullies posting pictures of themselves doing stuff on facebook, they made VCR tapes and passed them around....so they weren't any brighter or any more discreet, they were just doing it in a closed environment where their actions wouldn't come to the attention of anyone that was willing to do anything about it.

I'm absolutely thrilled the vile motherfuckers aren't getting away with it like they used to, though. As for what we do about it, expulsions and prosecutions sounds about right to me. They'd be thinned out rather quickly that way.

[Posteritatis]

32. Oh yeah, definitely inescapable *at school*. I mean at home too, these days.

If someone timetravelled back to, say, the forties, and introduced enough toys that ubiquitous telecommunications was a thing by the mid-50s, I feel pretty confident that the same sort of situation would have resulted. The technology makes it more obvious, as we're both pointing out, but there's a level of malice that needs to be there before people really take advantage of that, and that level of cruelty probably isn't going away soon.

What is different, finally, is the growing consensus that that is not okay. The kids (and to be clear I'm referring specifically to the unrepentant bullies) are still often being foul, malign parodies of human beings, but their adult allies are finding it increasingly uncomfortable to continue to be allies, which is a small step at least.

Definitely echo the thrill at seeing them - and the parents - finally start seeing consequences, even if it's tragic that we needed to wait for a string of mediagenic deaths for that to happen. I'm annoyed at how long it took people in my neck of the woods to run out of patience on that, but I'm also proud of them for how thoroughly they've stuck to engaging the problem when they finally did. It can happen, and I both hope and expect to see it happening more.

[Niceguy1]

28. patents can't

See everything the child does online.....not much you can realistically do to the parents.

[BlueJazz]

2. Have the ones that terrorized her spend 6 mouths in a work farm and also attend

...classes on the harm that is caused by cyber-stalking....and some sensitivity training.
...and hold them back a year in school so they won't forget about the thing they've done.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

21. Re-education through Labor?

[BlueJazz]

26. Re-education AND Labor. I'm sure thay can do both.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

33. Welcome to China. They do that here. Would it bex extra-judical too?

[BlueJazz]

38. #1 They won't do anything I would like to see done.

#2 Six months of labor and schooling for playing an important part in a girl's death is about 6-10 times less than what people
who grow pot receive. (you're breaking my heart)

#3 Most likely 1 or 2 of the girls are sociopaths. The powers that be should sort them out.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

39. Not disagreeing, but the idea of labor camps and re-education worries me.

Joe Arpaio uses chain gangs.

[BlueJazz]

41. No. LOL!....I didn't mean they would be digging ditches or hauling asphalt onto heavy trucks.

I was thinking of something much more humane and productive in the sense of changing their outlook on life and the way they treat individuals who happen to be different from them.
I know you can't teach someone kindness...or can you ?

[nomorenomore08]

57. Presumably you can, if they're not a sociopath...

[BlueJazz]

58. I was a Sociopath once but it really didn't seem to bother me.

[nomorenomore08]

59. Hmm? Is that a reference or something I didn't catch?

*scratches head*

[BlueJazz]

60. I'm kidding. I doubt if a sociopath would care about anything.

[jmowreader]

50. Are you kidding?

Take some kid with no moral compass whatsoever - someone so fucking mean they would actually bully someone to death - and teach them just how effective their shit is?

I got a better idea: Bullies are also jocks, by and large. Have the state high school athletics association ban all the teams the bullies played on from interscholastic competition for as long as the bullies are still in school, then require the school principal to announce the day of each game that "the school would be playing Middle Park in volleyball tonight, but (name the bullies that would have gone out for volleyball)'s bullying of our students has caused the state to kick our teams out of competition." And require the bullies' parents to fund, as much as possible with the school system that allowed the bullying to make up the difference, the bullied students' attendance at a private school - this so that the bullies can't take it out on the kid they bullied. "You mother fucker, you made us get kicked out of the league? I'll beat you unconscious every day until you do the right thing and kill yourself." Do that enough times and "we can't expel Fred because we need him on the team" will quickly come to a screeching halt.

[BlueJazz]

54. I think this girl was driven to suicide by girls.

I understand your point. I can't say how I really feel. (I've had 2 posts hidden on the subject of violence regarding assholes)
Your way is a little more gentle than what I was.

[warrant46]

70. Good luck finding the money to pay for that

[BlueJazz]

72. I was going to ask you for the money but something tells me you would answer me with 2 words.

Seriously, you're probably right. I keep forgetting how we never seem to have money for things like that...unless it involves War...
...or Tax cuts for the disgustingly rich.

[warrant46]

73. Yes unfortunately though

And I wasn't being sarcastic, the rich in this country are only interested in prisons.

They are not interested in feeding, clothing or the mental health of the poor.

They want Lower Taxes.

They don't really give a F%^k about rehab or anything going in that direction. Your idea may have merit but like so many---without $$$ -----oh well --

[jimlup]

3. One thing that could help to cure these awful situations is

to start to build both bully education programs and cyber-bully education programs into our public school curriculum. It would have to start really early though!

These are always so upsetting to hear about. They just make me feel bad inside.

[cynzke]

4. Make the Girls financially responsible

and get a job to pay the funeral expenses. Make them attend the funeral and write a letter of profound apology to the parents. During every major holiday, the girls should be required to perform some community service to remind them of the pain and heartache the parents face, especially during holidays. On the anniversary of the poor girl's death, the girls should required to attend a graveside remembrance service.

[Warpy]

5. Oh, and no elctronic gadgets or web access until they're 18.

Violation will send them to juvie.

[mindwalker_i]

11. Actually, that is a very good idea

If we (government, police) can take away computers from people who used them to hack, why not take them away from people who cause suicide? And in this world, it's really going to hurt not to have access to a computer or phone for someone in that age group.

[SunSeeker]

13. I like that idea!

[Cooley Hurd]

15. I agree with this...

They have proven to be irresponsible, as have their parents. I'd say pull the plug on the whole dysfunctional family.

[Posteritatis]

18. My province is edging in that direction the last few months

It's one of the things that's come out of the Rehtaeh Parsons fiasco in the spring, at least. Outright confiscation of devices is a last resort - and will generally accompany criminal charges - but other measures like recognizing that it's something worth a restraining order are in place now.

[Niceguy1]

29. that could screw them up

Big time if they feel remorse....in fact that is bullying, too.

[Posteritatis]

34. Maybe they should consider that before driving someone to suicide.

Given what a lot of them tend to do to memorial pages, etc., I don't think the remorseful bullies are an overwhelming chunk of that demographic anyway.

[Niceguy1]

40. who knows

But what the poster above advoctes, while it feels good, is more of revenge than a method of alterating behavior.

[47of74]

37. I like that idea

Having been on the receiving end of it myself to goddamn well near the point of suicide I have no use for bullies. None whatsoever. And I am full of creative ideas on what sorts of punishment bullies should have to endure.

[BeyondGeography]

36. What a waste...her Mom had no idea what she was going through

She just woke up every morning and saw her beautiful young girl off to school. Deeply sad story.

[Judi Lynn]

45. Timeline of events before Fla. girl's suicide

Timeline of events before Fla. girl's suicide
By The Associated Press | September 13, 2013 | Updated: September 13, 2013 5:46pm

Here's a timeline of events leading up to the suicide of Rebecca Ann Sedwick, a 12-year-old Lakeland, Fla., girl who police say jumped to her death after being bullied for months by up to 15 girls. The timeline was provided by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

NOV. 2012

— Bullying begins at Crystal Lake Middle School; Rebecca runs away from home. Sheriff's office and child welfare officials are called.

DEC. 2012

— Rebecca's mother notices cuts on her daughter's right wrist. Rebecca says it was because she was being bullied. She is taken to a hospital and stays for three days. Counseling is set up and she returns to school.

JAN. 24, 2013

— Rebecca's mother calls police after she is bumped in the school hallway. Police are also told a girl wants to fight Rebecca.

School officials talk to both girls and change schedules so they're not in class together. Around this time, Rebecca's mother decides to home-school her daughter for the rest of the year.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Timeline-of-events-before-Fla-girl-s-suicide-4812752.php

[center]

Rebecca Ann Sedwick [/center]
Mother of 12-year-old girl found dead believes cyberbullying drove her to death

By Nina Golgowski / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 12, 2013, 2:23 PM

The mother of a 12-year-old girl found dead early Tuesday believes bullying drove her daughter to take her own life after months of being told to "go die" by school girls who followed her online.

The body of Rebecca Sedwick was found at an abandoned cement factory in Lakeland, Fla. after the seventh grader set out for school Monday morning but never made it there, say police.

"It appears as though she had jumped from a structure that was on the property," Polk County Public Information Officer Donna Wood told the Daily News Thursday.

Though there was "a lot of trauma to the body," according to Wood, authorities are waiting an autopsy's toxicology results before ruling the official cause of death.

If it was suicide, Rebecca's mother says she already knows what drove her.

More:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mother-rebecca-sedwick-bullying-led-girl-death-article-1.1453836#ixzz2epAONuS7

[alphafemale]

55. I wouldn't rule out that the vicious little beasts pushed her off that roof.

Evil is evil and it will not stop on its own.

[burnsei sensei]

71. I wouldn't rule out murder either.

[Catherina]

46. ARGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[jmowreader]

51. Here is the ultimate answer to the problem of cyberbullying

Repeal all the stupid-ass bullying laws presently on the books, and define "Bullying of any kind that results in the death of the bullied person, by any person's hand" as a murder weapon. Rebecca Ann Sedwick wasn't "bullied to death" or "cyberstalked," she was murdered. The people who did this aren't "bullies," they're murderers. Her killers don't need to be charged with "cyberstalking," they need to be charged with second-degree murder.

[alphafemale]

74. .....please. No.

There just needs to be more study on the psychology of bullying. Why some kids are so hypersensative to the normal joshing that goes on. Why cetain Bullies sense that sensativity and escalate. Where normal kids see the sensitivity and back off. But don't normally intervene in a bullying situation.