A lesson to be learned about trial by public and the media: The Cyberbullying mom case

[Az]

There was a recent case where a mother had created a fake identity on Myspace and was interacting with a teen(Megan) that had recently broken off her friendship with her daughter. She had intended to make sure that she wasn't saying anything nasty about her child and made the identity Josh to see what she was saying. But things went horribly wrong when messages started showing up from "Josh" telling Megan that she was a horrible person and that the world would be better off without her. She killed herself soon after seeing this message on Myspace.

The parent that had created the identity of Josh was instantly set upon by the public. She was instantly demonized. People were calling for her to be tried for murder and others were demanding she be kicked out of her house and home and the community. There were even death threats sent her way.

Now it turns out she was not the one that sent the disparaging comments. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/12/no-charges-will.html It turns out it was another couple of teens who had access to the account that were sending the messages under the guise of Josh.

Excerpt:
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Banas said that the messages between "Josh" and Megan were mostly benign until an Oct. 15, 2006, message that was sent from a different girl who had access to the Josh account, one who lived across the street from the Drews.

Banas said on Monday that most of the messages sent to Megan as Josh over six weeks were written by Ashley Grills, then 18, of O’Fallon, a temporary employee of Lori Drew’s business, Drew Advantage. Grills often worked from the Drews’ home.

Banas said it was Grills who typed what is believed to be the final message Megan saw and that it was Grills who was at the computer — in the Drews’ home — typing the messages, as Josh, to Megan during the afternoon before Megan killed herself. Banas said the Drews’ daughter, then 13, was with Grills at the time.

Banas said he was unable to interview Grills, now 19, because she has been under psychiatric care as a result of her involvement in Megan’s death. He said he saw no need to interview her at a later date.
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It is due to situations like this that the urge to try people in the court of public opinion must be resisted. We may think we have enough information to form a conclusion. But people's lives can be destroyed by such short sighted action. Innocent until proven guilty has merit for a reason. It really sucks to have your life destroyed by a public out for blood. Because even when the truth comes out there will be people that are not there to hear the truth and will forever assume guilt.

[Mythsaje]

1. I'm glad that the truth has come out...

And I echo the warning about jumping to conclusions. The court of public opinion is a fickle beast.

[PSPS]

2. But that "Reply" link is so easy to click!

You'll find message boards everywhere are full of pontification.

You make a good point.

[Mojorabbit]

3. THe mother set up the account

and started the communication. I find it hard to believe she did not monitor it. I still put a lot of blame on the mother for doing that.

[Richard Steele]

10. Yup- same here. She's far from innocent in all this. nm

[Pithlet]

12. Exactly.

None of this changes how I feel. I'm still pretty comfortable in my own assessment - one that as a person who has no chance of being on any jury that may or may not convene on this matter, I'm entitled to - that she is absolute scum of the earth. All this tells me is she had help.

[Richard Steele]

14. And less than 24 hours after the suicide, she was advising the kids involved to "keep quiet"...

...about the whole fake "WWW.Person" that SHE had created
and given them access to. (And shared reading-sessions with)

That alone makes her whole "some kids got the posting-password without my knowledge" alibi
look pretty goddamn WEAK; UNBELIEVABLY weak. I sure as hell don't believe it.
Culpable is as culpable DOES, knowhutImean?

Add that to the FACT that -SHE- set up the account in the
first place, and it all looks like some lame-assed CYA BULLSHIT.

I don't think she MEANT for the girl to kill herself- I think she's just
an immature piece of human garbage who created a disgustingly juvenile
"let's play a trick at the ugly girl" scenario that had consequences
beyond her petty, shallow, semi-retarded ability to predict.

[Midlodemocrat]

16. .

:applause:

Agreed. 100%

[spoony]

15. Exactly

She laid the groundwork for this entire tragedy.

[sendero]

4. Sorry...

... but if she hadn't created that fictional account, none of this would have happened. I could care less about her supposedly benign motives, she's in the wrong here too.

This puff piece is only marginally more useful than what the media was already reporting.

[devilgrrl]

5. Hopefully it's also a lesson to not blame the victim... like so many here did.

"Oh, she was a fuck up anyway...." "her parents shouldn't have let her have a MySpace account..." blaa blaa blaa


Fucking ghouls! :nuke:




Now back your regularly scheduled routine of pretending that you're progressive.

[conscious evolution]

7. LOL!

"Now back your regularly scheduled routine of pretending that you're progressive."

[Pithlet]

6. I think she set up her employee to take the fall.

I still think she's responsible. I read the new information. I don't think it exonerates her at all. ETA that it's not as if this info wasn't included before. Every story I read mentioned this employee was involved. I'm sorry, but I just can't agree with you on this one. I think people are perfectly justified in being disgusted and outraged at her actions.

[porphyrian]

8. This is a lesson we may never learn. -n/t

[sniffa]

9. oh, jeez. someone needs to tell her not to open that package

doh!

k&r

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Meh.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Lori Drew set up the fake identity and gave the password to Grills

Please. She is not an innocent victim. It her her idea and if she hadn't started the ball rolling, there wouldn't have been a myspace pretend boyfriend in the first place.