Thursday, May 5, 2011

Massachusetts Bullying Case, No Jail Time?

Northampton, Massachusetts (CNN) -- "Two classmates of a high school freshman who hanged herself in the stairwell of her family's apartment pleaded guilty to charges of criminal harassment, but neither will serve time, prosecutors said Wednesday."

"Mulveyhill and Narey, both 18, each received one year's probation, with special stipulations that include 100 hours of community service to assist underprivileged or at-risk youth..."

WOW, this is sombering. Humbling. Frightening.

"Sean Mulveyhill and Kayla Narey entered their pleas in connection with what was described as the systematic bullying of Phoebe Prince..On the day she died, Prince was loudly berated in the South Hadley High School library. She was taunted again as school let out, and as she walked home crying, one of the students called Prince names and tossed an empty can at her as they passed in a car, according to the 38-page court filing painting a vivid picture of constant hazing. By 4:55 p.m. that day, Prince had hanged herself in the stairwell of her family's apartment in South Hadley."

"...they had called her cruel names, including "whore" and "Irish slut."

The word phrase that really strikes me in the above story, is "systematic bullying"--what must Phoebe have been enduring day in and day out?

I'm a mom of a high school freshman myself, and I've always taught my daughters to be accepting of others and that high school is just a sliver of the life you have to lead.

How do you feel? Was the punishment fair?

Thanks for weighing in.

Be safe,
Faith

Read the full CNN article here.

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