Posted on 07/06/2011 2:09:59 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - When 18-year-old Tyell Morton put a blow-up sex doll in a bathroom stall on the last day of school, he didn't expect school officials to call a bomb squad or that he'd be facing up to eight years in prison and a possible felony record.
The senior prank gone awry has raised questions of race, prosecutorial zeal and the post-Columbine mindset in a small Indiana town and around the country, The Indianapolis Star reported in its Tuesday editions.
Legal experts question the appropriateness of the charges against Morton, and law professor Jonathan Turley at George Washington University posed a wider question about Morton's case on his legal blog.
"The question is what type of society we are creating when our children have to fear that a prank (could) lead them to jail for almost a decade. What type of citizens are we creating who fear the arbitrary use of criminal charges by their government?"
(Excerpt) Read more at wsmv.com ...
“The senior prank gone awry has raised questions of ... prosecutorial zeal”
The prosecutor says he does not intend to seek jail time.
Oh, for God’s sake.
It’s some kid pulling a stupid stunt.
Don’t we have more flagrant criminals in the WH to go after?
Methinks that was the basis of a great prank.
Release the kid.
As for the school officials...well, they’re public school officials.
As such, they are incompetent ninnies capable of working only as ditch diggers.
I f*rt in their general direction and hope they join their president Obama in jail in a year or two.
This is blown out of proportion.
Meanwhile, Casey Anthony murders her kid and walks free.
Er... Where's the crime? Was it "naked"? Did he literally blow it up? Did it have a sign around its neck saying "I am a bomb"?
Is a sex toy now a weapon of mass distraction?
That will be up to the judge. Not the prosecutor. If he doesn't want the kid to spend time in jail then what is the purpose of filing felony charges against him?
“The question is what type of society we are creating when our children have to fear that a prank (could) lead them to jail for almost a decade. What type of citizens are we creating who fear the arbitrary use of criminal charges by their government?”
It’s a damn good question.
Er... Prosecution. Sorry.
It sounds like a funny prank to me. I hope they dismiss the charges.
Your positions are of such independence and importance that while you are being diligent, strict, and vigorous in law enforcement you can also afford to be just. ... the citizen’s safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility. - Justice Robert Jackson
Just give an 18-year old a felony conviction so he can never get a decent job.
The gist of this is that a guy wearing a hoodie was seen on surveillance cameras sneaking into the school with a large package. They had no choice but to do a lock down and call in the bomb squad.
The prosecutor says he doesn’t intend to seek jail time.
This was a stupid and very expensive prank, in this day and age when, unfortunately, we are confronted with bombers and terrorists of all kinds. The kid needs to learn a lesson. And it has nothing to do with his color.
The kid has nothing to fear. Having a package and wearing a hoodie does not make a bomb. If the school called the bomb squad, they are the ones with egg on their faces, so they are charging him with a felony and hiding behind the excuse that we can’t be too careful in this day and age. So, they charge him with a felon because they called a bomb squad. I have only two words of advice for the young man: Jury Trial.
Casey walks on killing her baby and we have these guys prosecuting a high school prank. Someone overreacted calling the bomb squad and all...good grief.
Sounds like the real charge is Making The Authorities Look Like Idiots.
Employers, especially large firms, often ask “Have you ever been charge with a Felony?”
This kid (adult) has damages.
Now your on to something...
Too bad Caylee Anthony wasn’t an inflatable doll, Casey may have gotten 8 years in jail.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.