Should my neighbor prosecute brutal teenage prank?

[many a good man]

I just spoke to my neighbor, Maria. Her son, 17 year old son Juan (who is a little bit mentally underdeveloped) is working for the Smoothie King up the street. He wears a sandwich board and walks the median on one of the busiest intersections in town during rush hour. He's a hard worker and takes pride in his job.

A few days ago a kid jumps out of the car and pushes him down. He is laying out in the street, unable to get up, just as the light turns green and a stream of cars approach. Luckily, a driver in another car gets out and helps him to safety just in the nick of time. Other drivers got the license plate of the car with the pusher and call it in to the cops.

Turns out there were seven teenagers in the car (state law only permits one other minor in the car when a minor is driving). One of the seven got out of the car and video taped the whole thing and posted it on YouTube.

All the kids in the car were busted and my neighbor wants to press charges against the pusher. It turns out he is the son of the owner of the Smoothie King in the next town over and may be related to the owner of this Smoothie King. His father is begging my neighbor not to press charges because it will ruin his son's chances of getting into college. Juan wants to drop the whole thing because he likes the job and just wants to forget about it. Maria is wavering, but is still leaning toward prosecution.

I gave her my two cents. What's yours?

[rug]

1. It's the state that's prosecuting, not Juan.

They're imputing to him power he does not have. Juan is simply the witness to a crime (as well as its victim). They should let it run its course. Unless Mr. Smoothie King wants to face charges of witness tampering.

[many a good man]

4. Apparently its her choice whether to press charges

That's how she conveyed it. Seems like an open and shut case. Maybe because he's a minor the police are willing to give the rich kid a deal.

[seabeyond]

2. i want to prosecute. the weight of respecting jauns decision is important, though.

that is a tough one. i think at Jauns age and underdeveloped, respecting him is important.

cause i would really really lean to prosecute.

on edit: i like rugs answer. works for me.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

3. The kid that pushed has to make it good.

Either via the State or he does something to benefit Juan or the community....

[many a good man]

9. That's my feeling as well

The Smoothie Prince needs to learn a lesson now or he may continue to victimize society the rest of his life.

Maria is a Salvadoran refugee and probably no match for Mr. Smoothie King. I told her I'd be happy to spend five minutes with him.

[rrneck]

5. It's a teachable moment for everyone involved. nt

[REP]

12. Yup. Teaches that justice is what you can buy if no one is prosecuted

I really hate "teachable moment." It sounds like it means something, yet it means nothing.

Not bagging on you, prior poster. It's hard to be immune to word flu when it seems like everyone is spouting it.

[many a good man]

15. Teachable moment LOST is the epidemic

Time and time again. Society is doomed if we continue to let sociopaths get away scot-free and run things.

[rrneck]

20. The phrase does get a lot of exercise.

Those idiots in the car need to be locked up, and the kid that got pushed down needs to know that the law will protect him. Nobody will learn if they don't prosecute.

[MrScorpio]

6. Hose that bully

File charges on his ass.

It's very convenient indeed that he posted incriminating evidence on the net.

A stupid fucker like that doesn't deserve to take up a slot in college from someone who's not as fucking stupid and a bully.

[hedgehog]

18. Maybe if he doesn't get into college, it will spare some

future "quiet roommate" from playful sodomy with a lint roller.

[MrScorpio]

19. Damn skippy. nt

[hedgehog]

21. Just in case my previous reply didn't make any sense:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9294731

:hi:

[applegrove]

54. I agree.

[Seedersandleechers]

65. [phone]

:thumbsup:

[alphafemale]

7. I would want to prosecute the driver and the kid who taped as well

It was a planned assault, they think it's funny and they'll keep doing this.

[csziggy]

8. Push for prosecution but suggest a suspended sentence and community service

With a Hispanic aid organization or some other group that might teach him that ALL people deserve respect.

Hubby suggests that the college bound kid do Juan's job for a month with Juan still getting paid. Let him see what Juan has to do for his money.

[many a good man]

10. Your hubbie should be a judge!

I like his thinking.

[csziggy]

11. He was sitting here reading the message and my reply

And when I was finished typing told me his thought.

I do think the thugs should be prosecuted but not sentenced to lockup time. Trying to make them see how others live would do more to keep them from doing this crap in the future, I hope.

[REP]

13. Why not? They assaulted a cognitively impaired person; could have hurt him badly

They come from privilege - they expect the hand-slap of community service. Maybe they should find out what it's like to have a juvie conviction - just as though they were of Juan's socioeconomic class.

[DebJ]

33. Bravo! THAT is a 'teachable moment'. Then when he gets

out of college, maybe he'll think twice before taking advantage of others 'just because he can'.

[tammywammy]

76. Excellent suggestion n/t

[baldguy]

14. Sounds like assault to me.

If the kid wants to get into college, he should've thought of that before he committed a crime. Actions have consequences.

[Skittles]

16. I suggest the pusher wear a sandwich board saying I'M AN ASSHOLE"

seriously though, this kind of cruelty cannot be brushed under the rug - it is Maria's decision to make. Personally I'd get Juan with the dad and son and talk some humanity into the pusher, and suggest some kind of community service working with mentally handicapped folk.

[DebJ]

31. or "I am a danger to society".

[Hawkeye-X]

89. Didn't a mother get punished by doing the sandwich board display

a few months ago? I remember seeing a blurb here in DU, but can't rememeber what was the offense.

Her daughter was sitting next to her watching her

Hawkeye-X

[flvegan]

17. What sort of punishment is the father of the pusher prepared to dole out

in lieu of prosecution? And what would this father, the friend of the owner of this Smoothie King, be willing to do to pull strings for Juan at his job?

I'd decide after hearing the response to that.

[Dr Morbius]

22. Press charges against the little shit.

Someone coulda died. Can't let that go. I bet the kid's old man knows this, as a successful man. You can always drop the charges later; you can be willing to allow the prosecution some leeway in what kind of penalty they should seek. Most likely, the little shit will cop a plea and go on with his little shitty life and eventually become a bigger shit. But maybe he'll learn a lesson, too.

Don't fear retribution from this guy. Bottom line here is simple: somebody coulda died. Can't just let that go. That has to be corrected, before someone else DOES die.

[hedgehog]

23. I'd like to have the opinion of the first driver; the one who could have had

a life time of nightmares after running over the kid in the road.

[struggle4progress]

24. "Prank" with possibly fatal consequences? I'd push for prosecution

Videotaped and posted on youtube? That says to me: no remorse

I'd bet if the kids get off scotfree, they'll be smirking and ready to roll on another "prank" like this in no time

If Maria is worried about ruining the kid's life, she should talk to the prosecutor about that

[petronius]

25. I would not call that a prank, so yes - charges and a legal outcome are a must, IMO

Other posters have suggested creative sentencing and compensation to the victim, which is great, but I think it needs to have the force of law behind it.

If it ruins his chances of getting into college too bad - we don't need shits like that in the university anyway. It won't, however; that's just the guilt trip the dad is laying on your friend...

On edit, another thought: you or Maria should ask Mr. Smoothie King how he'd be reacting if seven Salvadoran immigrant kids had pushed his boy down in traffic and made a video of it. I'll bet he'd already have sued the DA for not piling on enough charges...

[raccoon]

26. Yes, they should prosecute. Otherwise the little SOB learns that he can get away with doing

whatever he wants. And he'll continue to do things like this.

[Deep13]

27. Throw the book at them.

If this is how that kid acts under parental supervision, how will he act when he is away at college? Sorry, but that guy committed a potentially lethal crime. He has to be taught that there are consequences to ones actions. If we were talking about some dirt-poor defendant living in the projects, this would not even be an issue.

[NuttyFluffers]

28. the kid'll still have a chance for college; only one chance for a valuable lesson from this.

the world will not collaborate and ban this kid from all colleges for all time. he may not get his preferred one, but hell, even w/o this behavior that was possible.

however, this is a real opportunity to understand that casual cruelty has real consequences. is it really worth passing up this opportunity? it's not "just punishment," it's also learning that people are interconnected: to hurt another is to hurt yourself.

how callous it would be to this kid's life to let him wallow in his own crapulence and spare him the chance of awakening from his own self-destructive behavior. one day there will be no one to protect him or provide support so that he may learn... and what then, to let more lives be casually damaged from petty fears of not giving this Smoothie King kid his heart's desire?

[Mendocino]

29. There should be no tolerance for this.

It should be prosecuted and this is what I would do if I were the Judge:

The pusher-$5000 fine, 200 hours community service and $5000 retribution to Juan

The driver-$2000 fine, 150 hours community service

The videographer-same as driver

The others-100 hours of community service

And PPO's against all of the perpetrators

[DebJ]

30. This kid should not get into the 'college of his choice'. He

needs to pay a penalty. He almost resulted in someone losing their life, not just losing a chance at a particular school. There are reasons good colleges would reject someone like him. What kind of 'pranks' would he enjoy after getting a nice management position? Who would he hurt then, and how?

People who hurt others for ENTERTAINMENT are in a much different class then people who lose control in an emotion-filled situation. I don't accept the latter, either, but in those cases, sometimes it is just a one-time issue, and sometimes the individual needs counselling on anger management or maybe needs meds.

What do you do with people who injure others for SPORT and then post it on the internet? Remove them from society so they can not hurt others. They don't have an emotional control issue; they have an issue as to what it means to be human. I know that sounds rough, but I'm calling it like I see it. And I'm well known for going way over the line as a bleeding heart.

Could Juan possibly understand a hypothetical situation in the future, when this creep actually kills someone in his pursuit of sport, and how would Juan feel knowing maybe they could have stopped that if they had pressed charges?

Some people won't stop unless they are forced to do so: people like this who think hurting others is funny.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

38. I think he can get a scholarship to Rutgers

(kidding - a scholarship to Juvenile Hall should be the outcome)

:hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. When I taught on the college level, I ran into a certain type of student who

always begged to be excused from the consequences of his actions because "it would ruin his future."

And my attitude was, "Maybe you deserve a less bright future for having done this."

I'd be willing to bet that if you asked around at the school those assholes attend, you'd find that they have a history of bullying vulnerable students and yucking it up afterward.

[Deep13]

42. +1

[LeftinOH]

34. That wasn't a prank- it was assault, and it could have ended very badly. And,

as for the kid whose father is worried about sonny-boy's chances for getting into college: Being a cruel bully has consequences (sometimes).

[snooper2]

35. don't press charges...wait a few months..

and have a contract out for that kid's ass to be kicked :evilgrin:

[Arkansas Granny]

36. My two cents says press charges.

Until the pusher, and anyone else in the car that was involved in the incident, pays the price for their actions, the chances are that something like this will happen again. These kids apparently thought this was great fun and gave no thought for another's safety and well being.

Actions have consequences and we don't do our kids any favors by trying to protect them from accepting the responsibility of their own actions. If Daddy bails the pusher out of this incident, no lesson will be learned.

I'm glad no one got hurt, but this could have been a real tragedy.

[gvstn]

37. Hmmm

My first response was leave the police out of it. The bureaucracy and drawn out time of procecution just becomes a chore. If Juan is not invested in prosecuting it may not be very satisfying.

All the kids have been scared and the pusher is beginning to see the long-term repercussions of his actions. That the police are leaving up to the mother to make the decision to me means they aren't all that invested in prosecution.

As far as the pusher's "permanent" record if he is a minor his record can be expunged when he turns 18 and has kept out of trouble for a period of time with a simple filing to the the courts. There will be no long term consequences so that shouldn't weigh too heavily.

I love the idea of the pusher doing Juan's job for a month with the pay going to Juan. Perhaps Maria should meet with the pusher and his father to get an impression of the kid. If he seems like an insincere jerk who may learn from going through the process than prosecute. If he seems truly sorry and not so bad a person work something out with the father. I've known kids of people that own businesses that feel superior and are jerks so it is a tough call.

I tend to think people want to be good and am often duped because of it. I'm sure Maria has more experience judging how kids treat her son and whether or not this one is worth prosecuting. My feel is that a 17 year old "pusher" won't learn that much from the process and will probably calm down on his own when he meets a girl that disapproves of such behavior.

Edit: Scratch all of the above.

Throwing him out in traffic where drivers had to stop their cars and help him up makes this truly dangerous for many people. (Casual disregard for human life or something) I would think the police would be pressing charges automatically. I would only let it go if Juan really did not want to prosecute and I thought it would make him very uncomfortable for a long period of time.

[NoPasaran]

39. A Prank?

A prank is ringing the doorbell and running away. Pushing someone down into the street is assault. Those little scumbags to see the inside of a courtroom before they end up as mortgage bankers.

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. No, we should never press charges against the scions of our merchant classes and landed gentry.

Especially if the only "crime" committed is against someone who's mentally undeveloped.

There is a certain order to society, and one should never go above one's rung in legal action. It goes against the rhythm and natural order of the universe.

That's my cynical answer.

My other answer is that, yes, there should be prosecution, but unless the pusher has shown a pattern of asshole behavior, I'd push for leniency and community service - I'd hate to see someone fuck up the rest of their life because of a stupid teenage indiscretion, dangerous and unthinking as this one was.

[xchrom]

41. what if juan had cracked his head open?

this isn't a 'no harm no foul' moment.

[Iggo]

43. Exactly.

I read it as they pushed him into traffic.

That ain't no prank.

[Biker13]

44. Posted On You Tube?

Snag that video!

Find out where he applies, then send it to the Dean of Admissions.

I worked on an admission board for a major University, and I've seen this happen.

Biker's Old Lady

[MilesColtrane]

45. It was a crime.

Let the court deal with them.

[barb162]

46. The neighbor should demand the prosecutors go after the pusher

What sense does it make to let the brat go without some punishment for that act? The one kid could have died because of the pusher.

[AngryOldDem]

47. Prosecute him.

That could have ended up with Juan dead. While I understand Juan's feelings, a message has to be sent and the law has to apply.

[BreweryYardRat]

48. That's not a prank. That's attempted murder.

Even the stupidest teenager should realize that shoving someone into oncoming traffic when the victim is encumbered by a heavy, awkward sandwich board is likely to result in serious injury or death.

Tell your neighbor to press for the strongest charges possible. And bitch-slap the father. "Ruin his chances of getting into college?" Tell him: "Hey, buddy, your kid tried to kill an innocent human being who'd never done a goddamn thing to him. The only place he should be getting into...

...is prison."

[barb162]

50. Yes, the pusher is ruining his own chance for college, not the kid he pushed.

It's amazing what some parents say to "protect" their kids. This parent sounds like a sociopath, blaming everyone else but the actions of his own son for a criminal act. Unfortunately,I know too many parents in my neighborhood like this.

[astral]

68. That was my first reaction.

"That's not a prank. That's attempted murder."

It says a lot about the situation that the 'pusher's' father doesn't want his son to face the consequences of an action like that.

[driver8]

49. Prosecute that little mother fucker...

Maybe the rest of the assholes in the car will think twice about being assholes.

[BlueCollar]

51. Press charges

My $.02

[Curmudgeoness]

52. I vote press charges. This is just the kind of kid who will never

learn any other way. He obviously "knows" that he can always get out of anything. Prove him wrong. This was a very dangerous situation that they put Juan in and letting them just get away with it makes me sick.

If he loses the job because of this, that isn't legal either.

[JI7]

53. Press charges or tell the Father to PAY

[ThomasQED]

55. I was in a similar situation once

We were protesting by the side of the road and a pickup swooped over a guy jumped out and he stole several of our signs. We got the license number and tracked it to his dad, who was a dr. in another city.

I called him at work, told the receptionist what it was about (public shame #1) and then told his dad, adding that we were prepared to call the police if necessary.

Within hours, we had an emailed apology and our signs back, and the kid even wrote a national organization working on the same issue (but not related to us) to apologize.

I think your neighbor's situation is worse, as they could have hurt the kid, but I'm a big believer in public shame too. I'd like to see the aggressor wearing a sandwich board that says "I'm sorry I was mean to this guy -->" and stand next to your neighbor's son for a work shift or two. Or doing some kind of volunteer work of your neighbor's son's choice. But it should be a significant effort for the kid. I mean this was plannned and posted on YouTube... they need a real lesson.

Maybe all seven should be forced to post YouTube apologies before any decision not to press charges.

[kimi]

56. Usually I read all replies before posting a response

not this time.

That kid needs prosecuting. End of story.

This kind of action only breeds more of this type of violence on other victims in the future. Specially when there are witnesses to the crime who will see that the perpetrator gets away with the brutality.

Put him in jail, for as long as he can be put away for.

[HEyHEY]

57. Teens do stupid shit. He may not have known the kid is mentally challenged

I don't think he should prosecute, but that other kid needs to make this right somehow. I don't think the kid's entire life should be ruined by one dumb act of a 17-year-old.

[MadMaddie]

74. Yes teens do stupid shit but in this case Juan could have

been killed by oncoming traffic. This was no prank, this was an assault.

He should be prosecuted. Until these cases start getting prosecuted all other teens who witness this kind of crime will think that it's okay to assault anyone.

[noamnety]

58. One more vote for prosecution

combined with helping Juan realize that by prosecuting, he could be saving their next potential victim from serious injury (mental or physical).

I don't personally care if the person who committed the assault gets into college or not. If he doesn't get in because he committed a crime, that's on his own shoulders.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dr Morbius]

60. I don't agree with that.

Prosecute with the intent on correcting the bad behavior, not with the intent on making the "bad guy" suffer.

We are all bad people, ultimately. It's a matter of going too far, going past the line. When our sins become dangerous to other people: that is when the law should interfere. And when the law interferes, justice dictates only doing so in order to correct that which is unacceptable; law cannot and should not be expected to make us better people, and should never be used vindictively.

[many a good man]

62. What is the role of our justice system: to correct or to punish?

Is it different when the perpetrator is a juvenile instead of an adult? In a matter of months these perps will no longer be considered juveniles.

I believe vengeance should have no role in a system of justice. The best outcome is the prevention of future crimes and recompense for the victims. It's very difficult to come to a just and proper solution, especially if you don't know the parties involved intimately. That makes it easier to justify harsh punishment.

[Dr Morbius]

67. I cannot speak of what the role of our justice system IS.

Rather of what it should be, and it should be different for youth and hardened adults. Our system of laws recognizes that children haven't been around long enough to appreciate the full harm they do when they commit crimes. So we need to teach them. I would say that penalty under a system of justice needs to be based on the level of harm done, and intended to rehabilitate as well as punish. The penalty should be severe enough to make a rational person choose not to commit the crime, which is to say it must greatly exceed the reward which the crime itself gives the criminal. So, for example, stealing a week's wages ought to result in a year or two in prison. No rational person, assuming a guilty party would be successfully prosecuted, would then want to steal. But penalizing youth under a system of justice should bear a greater focus upon rehabilitation, as it is to be hoped that the younger the criminal, the more likely it is possible to completely rehabilitate him or her and return him or her to a functional part of society.

I don't know if I agree about the "recompense of the victims", however. If we're going to be just and fair, then the criminal himself, not society, should recompense the victim. And let's get real, here: supposing I killed someone you love; surely, no amount of money can ever repay that loss. So sometimes, in fact often, it's impossible for the victim to be fully recompensed. We have to recognize that and not spin our wheels when we're trying to determine a just outcome. Once the damage has been done, a just outcome for the victim isn't usually possible. A just outcome for the criminal, however, is possible.

Our laws currently have a civil option for the victim; the victim can sue the criminal for damages, in addition to the criminal being punished by the state. That's fair. If our society wants to help out victims in an effort to try to improve a bad outcome for the victim, that's fine. Good for us, I say; but let's recall this would be an act of social justice, rather than specific justice.

Vengeance means inflicting harm in response to harm. Justice means everyone getting what they deserve. I couldn't agree with you more; vengeance has no place in a just society.

[HEyHEY]

63. I love how "tough on crime" everyone around here gets when a minority is the victim

Someone can sell drugs, steal a car, whatever and people are always going on about how sending them to prison won't help as it's a societal issue and prison will just make them more serious criminals, and that we need to take a look at ourselves and the injustices that cause crime in the first place.

Yet, some stupid teenager pulls a dumb prank the likes of what thousands of teenagers do every year (and usually feel bad about after and grow to realize their cruelty) and suddenly we're sharpening the knives and shouting "Lock him up and throw away the key!"

It's so fucking silly to book a kid and ruin his life over this one thing. Yet, suddenly the social conscience is gone.

[Rochester]

64. I didn't know, and don't care, that the victim is a minority...

...no one deserves to be treated that way, and the thugs who did it need to be severely punished. I don't agree that most of them feel bad about it once they grow up, either. They had a blast pushing someone weaker than themselves around and making him fear for his life, and if they are sorry for anything, it's that they got caught. I can just imagine them reminiscing and laughing about how much fun they had doing it five or ten years from now.
There is no place in a civilized society for people who pull these so-called pranks, no matter how many of them there are.

[noamnety]

66. "a dumb prank" vs. "assault"

I wonder how many here would feel differently if the person who was shoved into traffic had been hit and injured by a car.

I wonder how many would classify it "a dumb prank" if a group of teens assaulted a homeless guy.

and I wonder how many would dismiss it if the group of teens had been involved in animal abuse - instead of a person.

I don't know why teens are considered fair game for a level of harrassment, abuse, sexual assaults and nonsexual assaults - I don't understand why they are expected to have to just brush it off, when most of us would never consider waving off a group of teens who shoved our mothers into traffic and knocked them down so they could film it for youtube, and most here would be outraged if they'd thrown a puppy into traffic. Are we really that dismissive of the value of teens' lives?

[HEyHEY]

77. Ah, yes, let's get bogged down about me saying "prank" and ignore the rest of it

Typical du

[noamnety]

79. The reason I focused on the word prank

is because it was a language choice that serves to mask that it was an actual physical assault and crime, and trivializes it into the realm of consentual fun.

Remember when Fox news folks were referring to water boarding as fraternity pranks?

When people avoid using direct actual language to describe criminal assaults, they need to be called out on it.

[Name removed]

81. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[astral]

69. "dumb prank?"

I do not think you would call it a dumb prank if you were the one pushed. You would have realized immediately that you could have been killed by this "dumb prank."

Cruel pranks are cruel prank and they are very bad.

Cruel pranks that injure or threaten someone's life are not "pranks." They are vicious crimes.

[HEyHEY]

78. What about the rest of what I said?

Cause using the term "prank" and arguing over that is the least of this conversation. Prank, assault, call it what you will.

[Withywindle]

88. Pushing someone into oncoming traffic is "a dumb prank"?

No.

TPing someone's house is a dumb prank. Putting their name on mailing lists for the Tea Party and NAMBLA is a dumb prank. Putting a realistic toy snake in their gym bag is a dumb prank. Ad nauseum.

I played a lot of dumb pranks as a teenager. I put stink bombs in dumpsters. I rearranged letters on marquee-style signs to spell obscenities. I placed lawn statues in compromising positions. Those are "pranks."

What these kids described in the OP is at the very least assault and battery, if not attempted murder. THEY PUSHED A MENTALLY DISABLED YOUNG MAN INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. They ganged up on someone 7-to-one, for the purpose of physical violence. That's not a prank. It's a crime. There is a difference, and it has everything to do with severity of harm, and nothing to do with the age or ethnicity of the parties involved.

It's so fucking silly to book a kid and ruin his life over this one thing.

That one thing being, violent assault and battery? Doesn't sound silly to me. I mean, if under-18-status makes a perp somehow immune to consequences in your world, well, the victim was also 17. Pull some of your "think of the children" crocodile tears out for him, OK?

[Kaleva]

61. I would say to drop it.

My first thought was she ought to press charges but then I recalled how often I was let go because the adults thought I was a stupid boy doing very stupid things with equally stupid boys. By rights, some of us should have served years in jail for drugs, theft, destruction of public and private property and just plain assholeishness behavior but the most I served was 6 days. Now, those of us who haven't died from drinking, drugs or suicide are middle aged men looking forward to retirement. If the hammer that we deserved had been brought down on us at an early age, possibly none of us would have made it as far as we have.

[astral]

70. Again, you are comparing teen mischief to physical violence against a person.

"drugs, theft, destruction of public and private property and just plain assholeishness behavior" is nothing to do with going out of your way to physically assault someone you don't even know in a busy intersection where part of the 'thrill' of attacking must have been the chance that the victim might be injured or killed by oncoming traffic.

And imagine the COMPLETE lack of a conscious the attacker has to have, to do this in front of God and EVERYBODY with no fear that there will be any consequences for his actions. And then Daddy steps up to shield him and say please don't do anything, just like he must have done for his son countless times before.

[Kaleva]

71. In the end, we are talking about a kid who pushed a another kid to the ground...

to scare him. The kid wasn't hurt and wants to drop the matter. Sure, he could have been seriously injured over even killed but he wasn't. I also think you are letting your emotions cloud your judgment as you are making assumptions in your post.

"...just like he must have done for his son countless times before."

[Posteritatis]

85. No, you're talking about a kid who pushed another kid to the ground in a busy intersection

The fact that he wasn't run over and killed does not automatically make that okay.

[yawnmaster]

72. Wouldn't make that decision without knowing more about the kid(s) involved. eom

[MadMaddie]

73. Yes! Press charges against all of them immedietly

Why?

Bullies like the other town Smoothie owners kid are never held accountable for their actions. He didn't start bullying with pushing your neighbors kid. This is more than likely a trend with him. Spoiled and believing he is above the law.

Will it ruin his opportunies to get into college because of a felony? Maybe, but that is not your neighbors responsibility. The bully's father has probably begged many people to look the other way when his kid attacked others.

Finally, if the bully gets away with this act of violence this time against this child, who is to say that the next time the bully pushes him down in front of a car and he gets injured or killed. As a matter of fact the child could have been killed this time around.

Bully's need to be held accountable for their actions no matter what their age.

[mzteris]

75. Prosecute -

if he's a teen doing this damage now - if it's unchecked, imagine what he might do to someone the next time.

Yes it will be hard on Juan, but I think it has to be done.

[Cass]

80. My two cents - prosecute. It was an assault, not a prank, Not only could it have

seriously injured or killed Juan, but it could have also caused an auto accident. The teens who did it need to face the consequences for their actions.

If it effects his chances of getting into college, so be it.

[Taitertots]

82. That is not a prank

That is criminal, period.

There is nothing funny about trying to kill a disabled child by throwing them into traffic.

[ThomCat]

83. I'd press charges.

If nobody presses charges, then that's condoning what happened.

I don't care about the bully's lost chances of getting into college. He attacked a guy and video taped it because it would be fun, and then was dumb enough to put it on the internet. Time to pay up for his illegal choices.

[Posteritatis]

84. It's traditionally a good thing to prosecute would-be murderers.

His son - and the other kids - deserve to have his chances of getting into college ruined if he's that magnitude of an asshole. Among other things.

[Withywindle]

86. Yes. Absolutely.

If charges aren't pressed, what message will be sent to the perpetrators and the people who know them?

Answers:

"It's OK to be a vicious bully who almost gets someone else killed as long as you have family connections who can bail your ass out of the consequences."

"Someone else's LIFE is less important than your concerns about college and the future."


I realize this message is already rampant in our culture, which is why we're ruled by a kleptocracy and sociopaths get rewarded. But I can't ever in good conscience advise that any family just roll over for this. Does the perp DESERVE to get into a good college? If he does, he'll probably become just another sadistic, indifferent boss. The last thing this world needs is more of those.


edit: based on your description, that was not a "teenage prank." That was at the very least assault and battery, possibly attempted murder depending on how clear it was that traffic was oncoming, possibly a hate crime depending on whether or not disabled people are covered under local laws. At any rate, it was a serious crime and should be treated as such.

[Codeine]

87. Prosecute? I'd bust the little fucker in the jaw with a hammer. nt

[Hawkeye-X]

90. First, there are two issues at hand with this

1) Assault and attempted murder, perhaps attempted vehicular homicide needs to be pressed against these assholes.
2) Enchanced crime - against disabled person. That penalty moves up and will probably go 5-15 or 15-25 years.

Oh, and the kid(s) can definitely be tried as adults under Maryland law - here's the relevant subsection:

http://law.justia.com/maryland/codes/gcj/3-8A-03.html

The Smoothie King's dad is irrelevant at this point. These kids committed a crime, and needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Juan is VERY lucky to be alive. The Good Samaritan did the right thing.