Mesquite Citizen Journal

Mesquite Citizen Journal

Bullying and suicide: A community problem Posting Date: 07/08/2011 Michael McGreer

This is Part 2 of a 2-part Guest Editorial series on bullying and suicide. Part 1 appeared July 7. The alleged suicide of a young girl in Mesquite recently highlights the importance of taking a strong stand against bullying. The City's Interim Police Chief, Troy Tanner, has refused to release information about the young girl's death at the request of the family. That has led to a range of speculation from homicide to an accident about the cause of death. Nonetheless, there seems to be a consensus developing among the public that the young woman was subjected to bullying prior to her death. Unfortunately, far too many public officials fail to take action until forced to do so by public pressure from concerned and responsible citizens. Consider the suicide of South Hadley, Massachusetts High School student Phoebe Prince on January 14, 2010. This tragic event led to the criminal prosecution of ten teenagers on charges including statutory rape and civil rights violations, as well as to the enactment of stricter anti-bullying legislation by the Massachusetts state legislature. Prince had moved from Ireland to South Hadley, Mass., where she was bullied for several months by at least two groups of students, reportedly because of disputes with other girls over her brief relationship with a senior high school football player and another male student. After a day of harassment and taunting, followed by a final incident in which a student threw a can at her from a passing car as she walked home from school, Prince committed suicide by hanging herself in the stairwell leading to the second floor of the family apartment. Her body was discovered by her 12-year-old sister. After her death, many crude comments about her were posted on her Facebook memorial page, most of which were removed. Eight teenage girls and two teenage boys from South Hadley, Mass., were eventually charged with crimes ranging from criminal harassment and civil rights violations to stalking and statutory rape for bullying Prince. Conspicuously absent were allegations that the bullying children were legally responsible for the victims death. Instead, the legal argument centered around, in addition to the criminal charges, the school's failure to properly supervise its students thus driving the victim to suicide. On March 29, 2010, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel announced that nine teenagers from the high school were indicted as adults on felony charges by a Hampshire County grand jury. Charges ranged from statutory rape for the two male teenagers involved (both adults under Massachusetts law) to violations of civil rights, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly, and stalking. Additional delinquency complaints were also filed against the three female minors indicted by the grand jury. One was charged with assault with a deadly weapon for throwing a can at Prince. A separate delinquency complaint was filed against one of the three female minors for assault and battery against another victim. The Prince harassment was common knowledge to most of the school's student body. The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff and administrators of the high school also were alerted to the harassment of Prince before her death. Prior to the Prince death, her mother spoke with at least two school staff members about the harassment Phoebe had reported to her. Prosecutors considered whether or not the actions or omissions to act by faculty, staff and administrators of the public schools individually, or collectively, amounted to criminal behavior. In their opinion, it did not. Nevertheless, the actions or inaction of some adults at the school are troublesome. The teenagers 17 or older pleaded not guilty through their lawyers in a Superior Court on April 6. Three female minors pleaded not guilty to delinquency charges on April 8 in a Juvenile Court where they were arraigned as youthful offenders on adult felony charges. They waived their right to appear in court and did not appear at their arraignment hearings. In May 2011, the cases were resolved, after agreements to plead guilty to lesser charges. All of the defendants were placed on probation and a few were also sentenced to community service. It's just a matter of time before an ambitious prosecutor decides to make the causal links between bullying, political terrorism, suicide, and murder-suicide. In the meantime, government administrators, business owners, and politicians need to hold bullies responsible for any physical injuries they may cause. It's unclear how, or why, the local teenager died since officials have failed to fully and completely disclose, or possibly even fully investigate, the incident. Nonetheless, bullying is a community problem. Bullying in Mesquite occurs at all levels from school grounds, to the home, and business and political offices. There was a bullying nexus between some current and former politicians and the suicide of a former city councilwomen. Writers and press representatives have been subjected to bullying from individuals in the community associated with some politicians. Even parents have been subjected to bullying from seriously disturbed children and teenagers. Now it appears, not surprisingly, that bullying has come to our local schools. Tanner and the City Attorney, Cheryl Hunt, need reminding that bullying is a serious problem with criminal and civil consequences. The problem requires immediate action for which they and incumbent politicians appear ill-suited to meet. It remains up to the new Mayor and those newly appointed members of the city council to prevent and address bullying in the community from the school grounds, to licensed senior citizen homes, to public offices. It is also up to them to educate the community on the problem and provide resources for families terrorized by bullying in their own homes. Michael M. McGreer writes on public policy. His books: No Harm, No Foul, Bioterrorism in the 21st century, and All Rivers Flow West, are both available on Amazon.