Lawyer: Teen Acted In Self-Defense In School Bus Shooting

NBC5-TV (South Florida) ^ | 11/17/05 | n/a

[kiriath_jearim]

Lawyer: Teen Acted In Self-Defense In School Bus Shooting

Teen Accused In Shooting Charged As Adult

POSTED: 8:04 pm EST November 16, 2005 UPDATED: 8:44 am EST November 17, 2005

MIRAMAR, Fla. -- A teenager accused of opening fire on a school bus Tuesday has been charged as an adult.

Cheatham continues to recover at Memorial Hospital in Hollywood from a gunshot wound in the upper chest.

Burke's lawyer, Bruce Lehr, said his client acted in self-defense.

"To put somebody into a school bus where they can be beaten, where they can be attacked, where they can be constantly harassed, and not have an adult on that school bus other than the driver, who is not there to pay attention to what's going on -- it's like putting a person in a prison cell. She was beaten. She was harassed. And, sadly, at least what is alleged, is that she took an extreme measure to defend herself -- but to defend herself," Lehr said. "She's quiet. She's a good student. She's a good girl."

Burke's mother was in court Wednesday but refused to talk about her daughter's case.

Witnesses and police said Burke shot Cheatham in retaliation for days of being verbally and physically bullied.

Lehr said questions about where Burke got the gun and if her parents took any pre-emptive action when she came home beaten up on Monday will come out in the trial.

[gotribe]

I hope they free her and send a message to the bullies in that school - Bullets for bullies. Amazing how thugs run rampant at the government schools.

[MarkL]

Hmmm... When I was in eighth grade, it was the first year of bussing in the KCMO public school district. My neighbor and I were the only white kids on the school bus. We got beaten up on a regular basis. We'd report what was going on, and we would get a vice principal who would ride the bus for a day or two, then stop, and within a few days, the beatings would begin again. They never did stop until we started fighting back. Eventually they did stop.

Mark

[gaijin]

What does the shooter look like? What do the bullies look like?

[U S Army EOD]

I have always felt you shouldn't take revenge or justice in your own hands, its best to use a gun.

[PAR35]

What does the shooter look like? What do the bullies look like?

And how is that relevant?

[ninergold3]

Unless I missed something - this is only one side of the story as well.

[Paul C. Jesup]

What a sexist agrument and it turns my stomach the media on Foxnews is supporting it.

A girl shoots someone for bullying her for a couple of days and it is justified, but it is never justified for a boy to shoot someone for bullying, even if the bullying is over the course of several years.

I say this girl needs to go to prison for the rest of her life, or the children who shot those who were bullying them should freed. One or the other.

[Rocketwolf68]

I am glad this girl stood up to the thugs. We have a local school system here that is so bad they have to have police escorts for the buses and when they have riots- which happen often, it sends dozens to jail and hospitals. The hospital was so bad they closed it last week. They recently built a school right across from the new law enforcement training center, so the police won't have such a long drive in their swat outfits. The local media brushes it over or doesn't report it at all. We also have FAMU homecoming, which is kind of like being in hell, only with loud stereos and gunfire.

[TomSmedley]

Amazing how thugs run rampant at the government schools.

See my article on kiddy concentration camps posted here . Relevent statement:

The primary advantage of socialist education, we are told, is socialization. The ability to sniff the behinds of those around you, and ascertain your position in the pack, your place in the pecking order. In adult prisons, rapists help to put and keep "fresh meat" in its place. In kiddy penal institutions, bullies serve the same purpose.