It's sad, but I'm sorry -- there's already something mentally amiss in a 13 YO who commits suicide because of a MySpace message.

BTW, according to our resident conspiracists on the WDC madame suicide thread a couple of weeks ago, females don't choose hanging as a form of suicide. So I guess this girl was murdered, too.

Goatman,

So you see nothing wrong in an adult engaging in this type of behavior?

726-
I don't think you'll find many people saying there's nothing wrong with the adult's behavior. Whether that extends to criminal/punishable offenses is a different story. I think there ought to be some punishment for such behavior. Exactly how much, not entirely sure.

Since the victim can't speak to her own mindset it may be an interesting case - perhaps highly subjective.

Goatman, doesn't matter if there was or was not something amiss, IIRC the so-called adult knew of the child's mental problems and still acted like this. No matter what, this adult acted irresponsibly and was a leading cause of the death of this minor child. Do you know any 13 year olds? They're not mini adults.

120 United States Iraqi Soldiers are killing themselves EVERY WEEK.

I would guess that they are unable to live with themselves after following orders to commit atrocities against innocent civilians. Some may be unwilling to live with their long term disabilties.

CBS broke this story last November, but it has been otherwise blacked out of the media. Doesn't fit the AIPAC-Neocon Agenda.

How do Israeli Soldiers cope with similar Orders?

Oorah,

We will never know just how much the adults irresponsible behavior contributed to the suicide, but if she knew that this girl had depression/suicide issues and then pulled this irresponsible idiotic prank with the punch line "the world will be better off without you", then in my opinion her actions are criminially negligent.

Adults should act like adults and not pull shit like this. She should be held responsible for contributing to this death.

120 United States Iraqi Soldiers are killing themselves EVERY WEEK.

I would guess that they are unable to live with themselves after following orders to commit atrocities against innocent civilians. Some may be unwilling to live with their long term disabilties.


According to some on the right the level of help that is available to the veterans returning home is more than adequate, so their should be no problems like this.

It is much better to sweep this issue under the rug and comment on whether or not a flag pin should be worn by a presidential candidate.... those are the real issues facing America.

I am having a hard time convincing myself that this is a criminal issue, other than maybe harrassment. Certainly a civil issue..

I also think that parents should keep a close watch on what their kids do on the internet for so many reasons. If I had kids, they would be the dorks that I was - no cell phone, no unsupervised internet at 13. I was still wearing Toughskins at that age after everybody else had long since moved on to Levi's.. Didn't like it then, but I get it now..

Pasted from Metafilter:

As revealed by the indictment, the "unauthorized access" results from various violations of MySpace's terms of service.

I'm no expert on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), but at least one court has found that violation of a company's terms of service constitutes "unauthorized access" for purposes of the Act. See America Online, Inc. v. LCGM, Inc., 46 F. Supp. 2d 444, 450-51 (E.D. Va. 1998).

The CFAA makes it illegal to, among other things, "intentionally access[] a computer without authorization or exceed[] authorized access, and thereby obtain[] . . . information from any protected computer if the conduct involved an interstate or foreign communication." 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(2)(C).

The punishment for violating this subsection of the CFAA is a fine or up to 5 years imprisonment if "the offense was committed in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State." Id. (c)(2)(B)(ii). (Otherwise there needs to be some sort of pecuniary gain or the information gained needs to be worth $5,000 or more.)

So, how did Drew allegedly violate the CFAA? MySpace's terms of service forbid you from lying to MySpace or using your account to harrass other users, obtain personal information from minors, posting photos of people without their consent, etc. Drew broke all of these terms when, among other things, she registered as a teenage boy, got personal information from the 13 year old victim, and posted a picture of a teenage boy without his consent.

Because she violated MySpace's terms of service, her access to MySpace's servers was "unauthorized access." Her unauthorized access involved an "interstate . . . communication" because MySpace's servers are in California and Drew accessed them from a computer in Missouri.

Drew allegedly used her account and the information she received to harass the victim to the point where it constituted the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a well-recognized tort in Missouri (and, to my knowledge, recognized in all states). See, e.g., Central Missouri Elec. Co-op. v. Balke, 119 S.W.3d 627, 636 (Mo. Ct. App. 2003) ("To recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress, the [plaintiff] must show (1) the defendant's conduct was extreme and outrageous; (2) the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly; and (3) the defendant's conduct caused extreme emotional distress resulting in bodily harm."). Thus, her unauthorized access "was committed in furtherance of any . . . tortious act in violation of the . . . laws of the . . . any State."

Now, you could argue that the indictment may be an abuse of prosecutorial discretion, but I don't see how you can argue that this indictment is frivolous. On the contrary, it appears to be the product of good lawyering. Drew better hire herself a good criminal defense attorney.

"120 United States Iraqi Soldiers are killing themselves EVERY WEEK."

Hmmm...rough calculation says that so far approx. 32,000 soldiers have committed suicide. That pegs my bullshit meter.

"CBS broke this story last November, but it has been otherwise blacked out of the media."

Probably pegged the media's bullshit meter too. CBS was probably embarrassed and dropped it kinda like the RatherGate thing.

Now, you could argue that the indictment may be an abuse of prosecutorial discretion, but I don't see how you can argue that this indictment is frivolous. On the contrary, it appears to be the product of good lawyering. Drew better hire herself a good criminal defense attorney.

Posted by vickithebrit at 2008-05-16 10:40 AM

agreed Vickie, this woman not only violated the terms of service but by her actions caused grevious harm to a 13 year old child...possibly intentionally. She has a lot to answer for. I am glad to see her getting what she deserves now. People need to take responsibility for their actions in this world. If nothing else she will be wrapped up in the court system for years to come.

Anyone who has a teenager knows that ridiculously small things seem to them to be "the worst thing ever". If they are mentally unstable to begin with, they could be easily pushed to do something regrettable.

Also, the mother (Lori Drew) is not being indicted for the actual suicide, just for the improper use of computers. Essentially for hacking.

"Drew was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information .."

"It's sad, but I'm sorry -- there's already something mentally amiss in a 13 YO "

YEAH!

And that would be the mentality and life experiences of a 13 Year Old!

Its called Puberty!

Twit!

"It's sad, but I'm sorry -- there's already something mentally amiss in a 13 YO "

YEAH!

I mean how fucking Dumb can one person really be!

13 year old girls ARE by NATURE Mentally Amiss!

You have to be one of the most ignorant people I have ever been tortured to experience!

Somebody really needs to stomp out the Dog Shit That resides between your ears!

Very sad that an adult would act like this.

120 United States Iraqi Soldiers are killing themselves EVERY WEEK.

Posted by nutcase at 2008-05-16 09:40 AM |

Army's psychiatry consultant reports 89 confirmed suicides, 32 suspected, in 2007

And these aren't even necessarily soldiers from the Iraqi war.

They don't have to be. It's a fact that combat vets often suffer spikes in PTSD and depression during a war or hostile action - even when they are not involved in the fight.

The real shame is how many have been diagnosed as having "adjustment disorder" which is non-compensable and alters the treatment regime to the detriment of the vet or soldier. No one cares to admit that the psychs who work for the VA and various services are the worst in the business. For the most part they're just bureaucrats putting in their time.

I agree with Redneckville on this one. The fact that there's "something wrong" with anyone who commits suicide because of computer messages doesn't excuse the conduct. I'd like to see maximum sentences imposed on the mother due to the outcome of her conduct. Parents need to be smarter than this - they are supposed to take the high ground when they know their kids are picking on someone, not join in on the fun. Make an example out of this loser.

Fuck, Goatman! You're not only into beastiality, but necrophilia too? You are one sick fuck!

Fuck, Goatman! You're not only into beastiality, but necrophilia too?

You eat you meat while it is still alive? I think society would judge you to be the sickie, not me.

It's a shame this poor girl comitted suicide. She must have had serious mental problems. The woman who was indicted for posting that stuff on the net must be nutty too. My question is: WHAT LAW DID SHE BREAK? WHAT ABOUT FREE SPEECH! WHERE'S THE ACLU?

How can anyone take things posted on the net, seriously, especially things posted on DR by libs.

Fuck, Goatman! You're not only into beastiality

How did beastility work its way into this thread. You are indeed a sicko, m'bore

Newsflash, Goatman - when you have sexual relations with your goats, that is called beastiality. Even if its normal behavior in Texas, the rest of the country sees it that way.

when you have sexual relations with your goats, that is called beastiality

I know the definition of beastiality. What you did not address in your deflection ( which is after all the purpose of a deflection, right? ) was where you got the idea I'm fucking goats -- live or dead?

" where you got the idea I'm fucking goats -- live or dead?

Posted by goatman

Hmmm...

That's right, I only fuck goats when they are permanently suspended in a vegetative state. They can't really be referred to as "live" or "dead" at that point.

-Goatman

They can't really be referred to as "live" or "dead" at that point.

Indeed. Erwin Shrodinger also had a goat.

"120 United States Iraqi Soldiers are killing themselves EVERY WEEK."

Hmmm...rough calculation says that so far approx. 32,000 soldiers have committed suicide. That pegs my bullshit meter...Posted by jestgettinalong"

Gonna have to agree with JestGettinAlong on this one. Perked my leftist bullshit-meter too.

Perhaps reading the story would indicate not EVERY WEEK, but TOTAL FOR ONE YEAR. 120 for 2007! Still, not a pretty statistic.

this woman must have been a republican

this woman must have been a republican

Took long enough . . .