13-year-old charged with felony, endangered a student allergic to peanuts

[Mugu]

By Steve Lannen, kentucky.com

A Morton Middle School eighth-grader faces felony charges after putting crumbled peanut butter cookies in the lunch box of another student with a severe allergy to peanuts. The allergic student, another eighth-grader, did not eat the cookies and did not suffer a reaction.

However, even trace amounts of peanut oil can cause severe reactions and even death. Symptoms can include hives, welts and swelling that can restrict airways. Earlier this month, it was reported that a 13-year-old boy died in Australia at a school camp due to an allergic reaction to peanuts.

Letters went home Friday to parents of Morton students notifying them of the incident, according to a press release.

The incident occurred Thursday out on the school's running track, where students had gone to eat lunch and enjoy the warm weather, Fayette Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said. As the students neared the end of their lunch time, a student was seen putting the crumbled cookies in the allergic student's lunch box, she said.

http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/380893.html">Complete article

[Warpy]

1. I hope the charges are reduced at some point

because 13 year old kids are not adults and don't think like adults. Likely this little thug just thought he'd be entertained for five minutes while his classmate reacted to the peanuts, the cartoon mentality.

I sincerely hope his parents can plea bargain down to therapy and that the court makes sure he gets the therapy. Obviously, the parents aren't on top of raising this kid to be a human being. A therapist needs to step in.

[Tempest]

3. 13 year olds commit premeditated murder

Just recently there was a plot reported on where elementary kids planned to kill their teacher.

You're making an assumption of his intention.

[niyad]

7. there was an article several months ago (forget where, exactly) that said something to

the effect that teenagers' brains aren't quite wired up, and they are a bit short on ethics and consequences. don't know if that is true or not, but I have seen a few who don't quite "get" that actions have consequences.

I know adults who think it is funny to do something like this to allergic people--whether the allergy is peanuts, caffeine, squash, or alcohol.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Yes that is true

Brains are not fully developed until age 25.

[PeaceNikki]

10. I think it's very true that "teenagers' brains aren't quite wired up,

and they are a bit short on ethics and consequences"

Absolutely. My opinion comes from both having "been there" and grown up as well as trying to raise one.

[Warpy]

12. Actually, it doesn't matter

Cartoon thinking says you can do something fatal to another person and that person will just emerge flattened, blackened, and mad.

Again, 13 year old kids are not adults, do not think like adults, do not act like adults, and should not be charged with adult crimes.

One of the things I've grown to hate about living in a right wing country is the way children are being punished as adults. Yes, some of them are psychopaths at that young an age. However, appropriate treatment can give even psychopaths ways to check themselves so that their behavior is moderated.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

4. He'll probably grow up to be a hedge fund manager.

Definitely a future Republican.

[caligirl]

5. I wonder if therapy can be forced, or will they remove the kid from school with a transfer?

[Warpy]

15. You can indeed force parents to get a kid into psychotherapy

as part of a plea bargain so that the kid doesn't have an adult criminal record.

The alternative is keeping him in prison until he's 40 and has had a chance to grow up, something that seems both cruel and wasteful to me.

[caligirl]

20. An evaluation of the kid and parents is certainly needed. Hope it happens.

[OKthatsIT]

22. Come on, you're kidding right? Is this the new Fabian Society

of the 21st Century? Which is about 1 inch away from Hitler's Youth Movement.

Give me a break...diagnose the parents.

[caligirl]

25. The kid did something that often results in death to the other person, The kid is

reared by parents. The behavior must change and the parents need to help do this, its their responsibility. If the kid's behavior is going to be modified, the parents have to be included. And they need to determine if the parents will do their job. The kid has to understand he endangered someones life, the school authorities have an obligation to ensure student safety to all students. So the school needs to work with the parents and others to determine just what's going on in this kids mind ensure it doesn't happen again.

[devilgrrl]

2. My little niece suffers from peanut allergies - how horrifying

:-(

[MindPilot]

6. Is this a new thing?

All throughout my school years I don't recall anyone allergic to peanuts. Actually I don't remember anyone who was allergic to anything and trust me if someone could've been made easily sick--we would have known. I went to school with kids who would put poison ivy in your underwear.

[niyad]

9. I was just wondering if the allergic reactions to peanuts are getting wrorse? I don't remember

hearing of anyone dying from kissing someone who had eaten peanuts, as a woman did not so long ago. makes me wonder what is going on with our food supply.

[China_cat]

14. I think a good part of it is the new 'rules' for feeding

children. (And raising them in general)

Some years ago it was said not to have pets in the home until a child was 5 or older to keep them from being allergic to animals. Then they found that children who were raised with pets from day 1 had fewer allergies to pets than those who were kept from them. Their systems were challenged by the hair and dander and immune systems took over to protect.

Then it was peanut butter and anything else with any kind of nuts in it...shouldn't give them to children under the age of 2. It sure does seem that the peanut/nut allergy problem started with the kids who were first kept away from nuts. Again, their systems weren't challenged by having exposure early.

[devilgrrl]

11. Seems like a new thing doesn't it?

I never knew anyone who had peanut allergies either. If someone did get allergies it was due to pollen, animal hair, etc... the usual suspects. Where's this peanut allergy coming from?

[mrcheerful]

13. A person has to be allergic to poison ivy in order to have a reaction to

exposer of it. I have a brother that has a sever allergic reaction to it, just spoors in the air cause him to blister. I on the other hand can pick it up and have no reaction to poison ivy. Heck when I was 13 I had a kid push me down onto a red ant mound and got bit up badly. the jjerk thought it was funny because when being attacked by red ants one tends to strip off clothing.

[Withywindle]

23. Same here.

To this day I'm not sure if I've ever met anyone who is. It certainly wasn't anything that ever came up when I was in grade school. (And we ate a LOT of peanut butter. Appalachian public school - PB and government cheese were big. You didn't say no to a cheap source of protein, ever.)

[Fleshdancer]

16. I would be livid if my child did this

and I would be horrified if this happened to my kid (assuming she had a peanut allergy of course).

Everyone loses in this situation. :(

[Clear Blue Sky]

17. Many schools don't allow any peanut products for this reason.

Reactions can be serious and fatal. Dumb stunt but felony charges may be a bit over the top.

[Joey Liberal]

18. Another "young republican" strikes again n/t

[pop goes the weasel]

19. over reaction

I'm allergic to wheat, yet adults constantly try to slip wheat into my diet, thinking that if I don't know it's there, it won't affect me. Why do they do it? Lack of respect and stupidity worthy of a 13 year old. Yet I would be considered a crank to call the police on them. At least in this case, it was an actual 13 year old acting like one. Punishing the kid beyond a good tongue lashing is inappropriate. What is needed is some educational effort on the part of the school regarding respecting differences and the practice of good citizenship. People aren't born knowing these things, and punishing the kid for being as ignorant and foolish as one could expect a person to be who has only been able to speak and walk and control his own bladder for 10 years reflects poorly on his society.

[piesRsquare]

24. Isn't it (disgustingly) ironic...

...that a call to the police on an *adult* for doing such a thing would be treated as a crank/prank, yet a call to the police on a *child* is taken seriously, to the extent of charging the kid with a felony?

Bass-ackwards!

[OKthatsIT]

21. What a load of bullshit. That Federal Officer ought to be charged

for abuse or retired for being totally off his rocker.

13 yr olds don't know the seriousness of most of life...let alone, a peanut allergy.