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To: Dr. Scarpetta
I struggle with how to view this. There is no question that the kids pulling the prank acted very badly and Clementi’s death is a tragedy. The kids pulling the prank need to be prosecuted under the invasion of privacy laws to the fullest extent of those laws. Whether a prosecutor tries to go further with some additional charge? I don't know.

The question is how obvious is the causation between posting pictures of Clementi having sex on the Internet and his suicide. If someone asked me if its reasonable to assume someone may commit suicide if someone publicly humiliated them in that way, I'd probably say yes.

On the other hand, the kids pulling the prank, while mean-spirited, are still immature. Did they really think they were doing anything other than pulling a prank? Did they think through the consequences? That is a mitigating factor.

47 posted on 09/30/2010 12:07:57 PM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

I don’t know if wrongful death or involuntary manslaughter would stand as a matter of law or with a jury. But these kids did commit a felony. They did not consider any possible consequences other than their thrill and maybe Clementi’s shame. Nevertheless, someone died at least indirectly from their commission of a crime. Therefore, they are not entitled to any mercy or mitigation of the punishment for the crime they did commit.

If 5 years is the maximum penalty for the crime they did commit, I would have no problem if the evidence is as presented with giving them the full punishment under the law. Most drunk drivers do not intend to kill anyone. Nevertheless, people are killed and the drunk drivers go to prison for a very long time.


62 posted on 09/30/2010 12:23:29 PM PDT by Truth is a Weapon (If I weren't afraid of the feds, I would refer to Obama as our "undocumented POTUS")
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