Cyber-Bullying Case Verdict!

[3113]

Remember that case about the 13-year-old girl who hanged herself over a boy she'd met on-line? And it turned out the boy was really the mother of another kid? She was tried for computer fraud in L.A. and the results are in:

LOS ANGELES – A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyberbullying case was convicted Wednesday of only three minor offenses for her role in a mean-spirited Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide. The federal jury could not reach a verdict on the main charge against 49-year-old Lori Drew — conspiracy — and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm. Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have gotten 20 years if convicted of the four original charges.

U.S. District Judge George Wu declared a mistrial on the conspiracy count. There was no immediate word on whether prosecutors would retry her. "I don't have any satisfaction in the jury's decision," said Drew's lawyer, Dean Steward. "I don't think these charges should have ever been brought." Tina Meier, the mother of the dead girl, said Drew deserves the maximum of three years behind bars. "It's not about vengeance; it's about justice," she said.

Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages from him to teenage neighbor Megan Meier. The "boy" then dumped Megan in 2006, saying, "The world would be a better place without you." Megan promptly hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet. Prosecutors said Drew wanted to humiliate Megan for saying mean things about Drew's teenage daughter. They said Drew knew Megan suffered from depression and was emotionally fragile. "Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien, chief federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, told the jury during closing arguments. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl, and for four weeks she enjoyed it."

...Most members of the six-man, six-woman jury left court without speaking to reporters. One juror...indicated jurors were not convinced Drew's actions involved the intent alleged by prosecutors. "Some of the jurors just felt strongly that it wasn't tortious and everybody needed to stay with their feeling. That was really the balancing point," he said. The case hinged on an unprecedented — and, some legal experts say, questionable — application of computer-fraud law. Drew was not directly charged with causing Megan's death. Instead, prosecutors indicted her under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which in the past has been used in hacking and trademark theft cases.

Full story here.

 

[starrkers]

Be interesting to see what sentence is handed down.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

She was convicted of misdeamenor unauthorized access to a website account. No jail time.

I didnt suppose much would happen to her.

 

[SlickTony]

Maybe the law can't punish her, but at least she'll be known far and wide as The One Who Drove That Girl to Her Death Via the Internet.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SLICK TONY

The problem is: Others can make the same claim about you if you upset them enough. It doesnt even have to be true. I recall a clerk who went apeshit when our supervisor said MERRY CHRISTMAS to her. Plenty of people arent wired good.

 

[Boxlicker101]

She was convicted of misdeamenor unauthorized access to a website account. No jail time.

I didnt suppose much would happen to her.

Given all the publicity over the case, I don't think she will walk free. Maybe thirty days each count, CS. That's still pretty light, considering she caused a death, but not ridiculously so.

Had I been on the jury, I probably would have voted for Involuntary manslaughter, or something like that.

 

[3113]

Had I been on the jury, I probably would have voted for Involuntary manslaughter, or something like that.

No way to do so. She wasn't directly charged with the girl's death, just computer fraud.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

BOX

No jail time according to what I read.

 

[Boxlicker101]

BOX

No jail time according to what I read.

Maybe the citizens can impeach or recall the judge that passes such a stupid sentence. If so, I hope they do it. I say, lock the bitch up!

 

[Stella_Omega]

Maybe the citizens can impeach or recall the judge that passes such a stupid sentence. If so, I hope they do it. I say, lock the bitch up!

It wasn't the judge, it was what she could possibly be charged with; the DA looked into every possibility he and his team could think of, and had to give up eventually.

One problem was that Myspace is headquartered in CA, while the crime took place in, um... wherever it was? So there was a bit of controversy about where, exactly, the crime could be prosecuted. Seems pretty self-evident to you and me, of course, since the victim lived right down the block from the perp! I do not know why we have to rethink our most basic tenets just because the weapon has evolved. It's as if a high-powered laser can't be considered a murder weapon because it doesn't fire bullets.

This episode has jump-started a slew of legal studies around the country, so that, at least, is a start-- but I agree, involuntary manslaughter would have been the right thing.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

It wasn't the judge, it was what she could possibly be charged with; the DA looked into every possibility he and his team could think of, and had to give up eventually.

One problem was that Myspace is headquartered in CA, while the crime took place in, um... wherever it was? So there was a bit of controversy about where, exactly, the crime could be prosecuted. Seems pretty self-evident to you and me, of course, since the victim lived right down the block from the perp! I do not know why we have to rethink our most basic tenets just because the weapon has evolved. It's as if a high-powered laser can't be considered a murder weapon because it doesn't fire bullets.

This episode has jump-started a slew of legal studies around the country, so that, at least, is a start-- but I agree, involuntary manslaughter would have been the right thing.

Involuntary or inadvertant? I'll bet that both mom and daughter cackled when they heard that the poor kid had hanged herself. Talk about payoff! They may not have intended death but what better result could such nasty people have asked for?

 

[Just-Legal]

She was convicted of misdeamenor unauthorized access to a website account. No jail time.

I didnt suppose much would happen to her.

From the article:

Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have gotten 20 years if convicted of the four original charges.

(Sorry for quoting but I had to point that out)

 

[Boxlicker101]

From the article:

Quote:
Originally Posted by JAMESBJOHNSON
She was convicted of misdeamenor unauthorized access to a website account. No jail time.

I didnt suppose much would happen to her.

From the article:

Quote:
Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have gotten 20 years if convicted of the four original charges.

(Sorry for quoting but I had to point that out)

I saw that too, which is why I predicted thirty days each offense, CS. That's petty light, but better than letting her walk free.

As for Man., if I DUI, that is a misdemeanor. If I hit somebody and kill them, that is a felony manslaughter of some kind. This would be much the same thing. A misdemeanor is committed, which leads to the death of an innocent person. Pehaps it wasn't direct enough to go for the Invol. Man.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

JUST-LEGAL

I read THAT too. But I also read that the woman wont get jail time.

I have no idea what her criminal history is, but if it doesnt amount to much its not likely she'll go to jail. There are plenty of people in my town who have 30-50 criminal convictions and have never seen inside a jail.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

BOX & STELLA

Plenty of state attorneys and judges are hot to jail people, but their hands are tied because the department of corrections decides how long someone stays in jail. In many cases the DOC lets the court know how soon the defendant will be released, even before sentence is ordered. The DOC needs the bed for violent offenders.

 

[Boxlicker101]

BOX & STELLA

Plenty of state attorneys and judges are hot to jail people, but their hands are tied because the department of corrections decides how long someone stays in jail. In many cases the DOC lets the court know how soon the defendant will be released, even before sentence is ordered. The DOC needs the bed for violent offenders.

I don't know about TX, but don't misdmeanors usually mean county jail time, not state penitentiary? If so, the DOC would have little or nothing to do with the case.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

BOX

Our county jail is about 50% over its capacity; ditto for jails in surrounding counties. If the woman has no criminal history I wont bet on her going to jail. She misused her MySpace account to harass someone. Half of America misrepresents who they are on MySpace.

 

[starrkers]

But for most of them, their misrepresentation doesn't result in international media coverage and a dead teen.

What you say and what I just said above is why I'm interested to see what the sentence actually is.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

STARRKERS

Her jury didnt buy the felony charges, and without a compelling reason to jail her, its simply not likely to happen. Plus it was a Federal case.....gangsters get sentenced to places that are almost resorts.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Similar Case In Florida

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4205

WHAT EXACTLY IS 'ASSISTING SUICIDE?'

 

[LadyFawn]

It has become appalingly obvious that our technology has exceeeded our humanity.
- Albert Einstein

 

[jeninflorida]

what? no jail time?

She was convicted of misdeamenor unauthorized access to a website account. No jail time.

I didnt suppose much would happen to her.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

JENINFLORIDA

The law was created to punish website hackers NOT people who conceal their identities from the public....like you for example. If the law is upheld on appeal, then virtually every website can define the law as it pleases and prosecute anyone who violates Terms of Service.

Do you understand that most Terms of Service are not very specific about what a violation is; almost anything we post is offensive to someone....or misconstrued.

If a teen is so thin-skinned she cant deal with idgits, her momma shoulda supervised her on-line activities and got her some prozac.

I mean they made Federal Case out of this because there is no Missouri Law against calling a teen 'ugly.' But the law was created to snag interstate hackers.

 

[jeninflorida]

okay, TOS not very specific granted...and I did not pay full attention to the case. thin skin, lol thank god that I don't have that issue cuz who would provide hours of entertainment here?

do I agree with the verdict...no. do i want web sites to define the law...no. Do I see any difference in a bully in school vs someone on the web no.

did the girl's parents file a civil lawsuit yet?

JENINFLORIDA

The law was created to punish website hackers NOT people who conceal their identities from the public....like you for example. If the law is upheld on appeal, then virtually every website can define the law as it pleases and prosecute anyone who violates Terms of Service.

Do you understand that most Terms of Service are not very specific about what a violation is; almost anything we post is offensive to someone....or misconstrued.

If a teen is so thin-skinned she cant deal with idgits, her momma shoulda supervised her on-line activities and got her some prozac.

I mean they made Federal Case out of this because there is no Missouri Law against calling a teen 'ugly.' But the law was created to snag interstate hackers.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

JENINFLORIDA

Generally speaking, civil suits wait until the criminal issues are resolved.

People are concerned about the precedent. Three years incarceration plus a $300,000 fine seems excessive for creating a bogus MYSPACE account. The fear is unscrupulous lawyers will pull everyone in using the same net.

My guess is Federal lawyers had nothing else to use against the woman who harassed the teen. Federal Law doesnt usually deal with small-fry issues like hurt feelings or depression precipitated by internet nonsense. Its not a manslaughter case, its not even culpable negligence, its a Term of Service violation that likely doesnt apply to this situation.

The whole thing in a nutshell is deceit and depression that provoked a suicide.