Two girls arrested on bullying charges after suicide

[Seeking Serenity]

Source: USA Today

Florida officials have charged two girls, ages 12 and 14, with felonies for allegedly taunting and bullying another 12-year-old girl until she committed suicide.

(snip)

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Tuesday that he made the arrests Monday after one of the two girls posted on Facebook as recently as Saturday that she had bullied the victim, Rebecca Sedwick of Lakeland, Fla., and didn't care that she had died.

Rebecca, who killed herself Sept. 9 by jumping off a cement factory tower, was "terrorized" by as many as 15 girls who picked on her for months through online message boards and texts, according to authorities in Lakeland, Fla. One message said she should "drink bleach and die.''



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/15/florida-bullying-arrest-lakeland-suicide/2986079/?sf18352652=1

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PCSO Press Release: http://www.polksheriff.org/NewsRoom/News%20Releases/Pages/10-15-2013PCSOChargesTwoMiddleSchoolerswithAggravatedStalking.aspx

This is so sad, for everyone involved. This young girls. Why were they so mean, and how did they get that way? Why no remorse? I just can't wrap my mind around this.

[jeff47]

1. No remorse may be a coping mechanism.

Just ignoring the problem she caused is a way to not have to address the problem she caused.

[Seeking Serenity]

2. Very good point.

Thanks.

[leftyohiolib]

3. or theyre wired like republicans and arent happy unless theyre tearing someone dowwn

a couple of future jan brewers

[fitman]

5. and if you really believe let me show you some swamp land in Florida

some people are just evil..

[Cal33]

21. These are probably future sociopaths and psychopaths in the making.

[jeff47]

25. It's a possibility. But she could just be utterly evil. (nt)

[CarrieLynne]

7. maybe but to post something like that for the family to see is heartless

[Posteritatis]

23. Or they might just be that vile. (nt)

[fitman]

4. Can't stand bullies

lot worse today than when I grew up..hear some horror stories out there..

Bully girl look evil just based upon her picture..the eyes always say it all. Some people are just disposed to be mean.

[TBF]

6. My 10-yr old is reading a book on bullying

and I've started discussing this case with her.

She doesn't have Facebook and doesn't even use her cell phone except to call us (her parents). We are going to keep it that way as long as we can. She is petite in stature and has asked me a couple questions that make me think she is afraid about being bullied as she gets older. I figure talk, talk, talk - it would just kill me to not know if someone were treating her badly.

[Samantha]

27. I think maybe you should tell her to just walk away

I have been thinking about this a lot because my very young granddaughter has just started school. I worry that she will be bullied and not know how to handle it.

In my professional life, I worked around some very successful men who were bullies in the extreme. The last was the worst. He particularly liked bullying subordinates very loudly in front of the whole hallway. I used to respond when I first started working for him. Eventually I learned to just turn my back on him and that was what worked the best. He walked away since there was no satisfaction to be gained. No one on the management end would go near him.

But perhaps there are experts who give advice on how children should handle this problem???

Sam

[TBF]

28. That's a good idea -

sometimes simple solutions work the best. Walk away and tell a teacher if it continues.

[Miranda4peace]

8. It's online, not real life, probably treated as a game.

I'm sure these girls couldn't have possibly imagined the potential consequences.


The question I'm left asking "Who was supervising the girl that killed herself"?
Parents not doing their job? Teachers not doing their job? The whole system failed her.

[TBF]

9. I'll save my sympathy for the actual victim -

who was supervising the bullies?

You might re-think your priorities.

[cosmicone]

10. +1,000

It is about time we feel for the victim rather than trying to rationalize evil.

[Seeking Serenity]

16. I just can't understand how those girls

got to be and/or do that way.

So absolutely foreign to me and my family. I guess I should be absolutely grateful that it is foreign to me. I just wish it was foreign to everyone.

[Miranda4peace]

18. All the girls are victims

They weren't born evil, there is no such thing. The repeated what they saw.

[Miranda4peace]

13. It's a cultural problem, no one person is to blame.

I can't possibly list all the fuck-ups related to this event. Parents, teachers, friends, family etc of both the victim and the bullies.

How you allocate your sympathy is your business. Unfortunately sympathy isn't going to help this girl, the bullies or change our culture. Sympathy just gets us knee-jerk laws that punish supposed perpetrators, it rarely changes anything fundamental about the cycle involved, sometimes it can even worsen the situation.

[TBF]

29. Are we all really responsible when someone lashes out and murders someone?

I can see what you're saying about mitigating circumstances and that should definitely be taken into account with this 14-yr old (and especially in how to treat her) but it does not absolve blame in my view.

[jeff47]

11. Nice victim blaming.

The question I'm left asking "Who was supervising the girl that killed herself"?

How 'bout "Who was supervising the bullies?" instead.

[Miranda4peace]

14. How is that blaming the victim??? Did I say it was her fault.

Nice try though, its easier to argue with me, worry about blame and punishment than accept that we are all responsible.

[Ranchemp.]

15. It wasn't all online,

there were instances of physical face to face bullying and an actual fight between the two 12 yo girls, one which Rebecca refused to fight back.

[Ranchemp.]

12. I was bullied as a kid,

that's why I choose the profession I'm in now, I effen hate bullies and have no sympathy for them.
Bullies will usually back down once confronted, they are usually cowards who pick on someone smaller than them.

This 14 yo girl sounds like a very cold, emotionless fish who needs some serious intervention, if it's not too late already.

The 12 yo sounds like she deeply regrets the bullying and her participation in this whole sorry chapter.

[fitman]

17. I was also bullied unmercifully

have zero empathy for the bully..ZERO

[William769]

19. Locking. Duplicate.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023852874

[William769]

20. Unlocked, error on my part. I apologize for the inconvenience.

[Nye Bevan]

22. If a kid being bullied knows that her tormentors will be arrested on felony charges

if she kills herself, does that make her more or less likely to commit suicide?

Beware of unintended consequences.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

24. Wait....

So you're saying we shouldn't prosecute bullies because that might encourage people being bullied to commit suicide?

Did you leave off the sarcasm emoticon?

[reddread]

26. everyone involved in her persecution

needs to be permanently expelled from public education.
let em go after their GED by mail.
not one foot on a public campus.

[askeptic]

31. Charging 12 and 14 year olds with felonies?

I think that anyone who supports charging kids with adult-level criminality is as wrong as anything else here. I simply do not support this sort of response to a suicide and I hope that the case is dismissed or results in a loss for the prosecution. Are liberals now into charging kids with adult crimes? Guess I'll be looking elsewhere for liberal thought.