The tool used to commit a crime might amplify harm and justify more severe punishment but it doesn’t change the nature of the crime.<\/p>\n
A judge dropped the “cyberbullying” conviction against the woman who allegedly contributed to the suicide of a 13 year old girl.<\/p>\n
The judge found the particular law she was prosecuted under, “illegally accessing a computer”, was unconstitutionally vague and could be applied to anyone who violated a social network’s terms and conditions. <\/p>\n
The defendant says she never should have been prosecuted. <\/p>\n
Here’s what she was accused of doing: <\/p>\n
\nProsecutors said Drew sought to humiliate Megan by helping create a fictitious teenage boy on the social networking site and by sending flirtatious messages to the girl in his name. The fake boy then dumped Megan in a message, saying the world would be better without her.<\/p>\n
She hanged herself a short time later, in October 2006, in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, Mo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
If an adult, disguises him or herself as a teen and uses that false identity to approach a thirteen year old child for the purpose of manipulating and harming that child, isn’t that a crime? <\/p>\n
If the direct result of those actions is mental anguish for that child — if the indirect result is the death of that child, isn’t that a crime?<\/p>\n
If not, we need to reform our existing laws not distract ourselves coining a new “cybercrime” to describe people who happen to do this using MySpace. <\/p>\n
Defendant Says Dismissal of MySpace Hoax Case Linked to Suicide Was ‘\u00c2\u2018Proper’ – washingtonpost.com http:\/\/bit.ly\/lyAoa<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The tool used to commit a crime might amplify harm and justify more severe punishment but it doesn’t change the nature of the crime. A judge dropped the “cyberbullying” conviction against the woman who allegedly contributed to the suicide of … Continue reading