In tragic news, a 15-year-old Irish immigrant, Phoebe Prince, took her life in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, after months of relentless bullying, gang stalking, cyberstalking, aggravated harassment, assault and rape, committed by merciless classmates at her school.
Prosecutors have now charged 9 students in her death and it is appropriate, as their conduct is reprehensible and depraved and went well beyond school yard name calling.
After a particularly trying day of being terrorized by the 9 students, Phoebe, went home and hung herself above her family's staircase. A horrified relative came home to the grim discovery. Her story did not have to end like this. Someone at school should have intervened.
There needs to be a national anti-bullying statute, as too many kids have killed themselves after being bullied for being perceived as weak, quiet, nerdy or gay. Said law could also address individuals using technology to terrorize or humiliate others, in acts such as sexting and cyberstalking, especially on social networking sites. The judicial Act could cover an umbrella of things and it is needed, as too many children have died, while others have been maimed or burned during acts of bullying.
The next step would be to heavily advertise the new law. Let teens know, just because you are minors, does not mean there will be no culpability when you injure other students in acts of bullying.
However, it should be noted, laws are worthless if those in charge do not enforce them. If there is a failure on the part of the police or FBI (civil rights jurisdiction), to do their jobs in enforcing the law, as the latter has been known to do, innocent young people will continue to die at the hands of perpetrators.
