Did you see the girld get beat up by her ex-friends?

[Laugh O. Grams]

Now I'm not trying to defend the mother in the interview in any way, but I saw her sort of saying "My daughter knew of the planned attack and tried to warn the girl (as witnessed by a neighbor), my daughter wasn't one of the girls who actually hit the girl, and my daughter wasn't doing the videotaping. She also was the one who handed over the tape". I didn't think that the mom thought that her daughter was totally innocent, just not as "guilty" as some of the other girls. Kind of saying that if she gets prosecuted, her daughter's should be a lesser charge than the others.

Just my opinion.

That's all well and good, and I'm certainly not debating your point. However, the fact that the attack was filmed at her home with her daughter present alone speaks volumes. It's kind of like saying that the guy who drove the get away car in a bank robbery should be less guilty than the one's who actually went into the bank.

 

[Jennasis]

Hmm..but the daughter WAS the one who lured the girl to the house. I wonder how genuine her attempts to stop the girl from entering the home were. Was it simply "if you go in there, your're gonna get your butt whooped"??

 

[cabanafrau]

Darn that Constitution for providing the right to be represented in court by a "scumbag" lawyer.

The defendants' inability to recognize the gravity of what they did is precisely why they should not be tried as adults, but as juveniles. But hey, what do I know, I just train and teach the future "scumbags" of America.

It certainly is a wonderful thing they will be represented by a lawyer & have their rights upheld under the Constitution. I think the annoyance w/ the lawyers comes in when any, every, all attempts and beyond is made to elude any and all punishment for the crimes committed. I think the videotape evidence will suffice as at least a preponderance of guilt, likely rising to the level of beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case I think the attorney's responsibility should be to work towards his client's receiving the appropriate sentence.

Michigan has a system of individualized sentencing & I hope that's what happens here. Yes, that includes these girls being punished, but I certainly hope there is far more of an element of rehabilitation here. That is, after all, what will benefit society the most, that the perpetrators change their ways and do not continue to be a threat or a burden to society.

What I did not understand from the Today show this morning was whether or not the victim has suffered permanent hearing & vision damage. I certainly hope not. If she has, I definitely think that is a severe sentence for her & must be taken into account when punishing the perpetrators.

Oh, and I'm willing to bet that the daughter's attorney does not in any way welcome mom appearing on television discussing the case & anything her daughter did or did not do. Her own comments seem to indicate she had botched things w/ the local media already, now she's planted both feet firmly in her mouth for the national media, too.

 

[princesspumpkin]

That's all well and good, and I'm certainly not debating your point. However, the fact that the attack was filmed at her own house alone speaks volumes. It's kind of like saying that the guy who drove the get away car in a bank robbery should be less guilty than the one's who actually went into the bank.

I understand what you're saying. I'm kind of confused about the whole "luring" the girl to the house - wasn't she actually staying there with this girl for the time being? I thought that they may have been coming home together. But sure, she could have warned her before they got to the door.

 

[agnes!]

Now I'm not trying to defend the mother in the interview in any way, but I saw her sort of saying "My daughter knew of the planned attack and tried to warn the girl (as witnessed by a neighbor), my daughter wasn't one of the girls who actually hit the girl, and my daughter wasn't doing the videotaping. She also was the one who handed over the tape". I didn't think that the mom thought that her daughter was totally innocent, just not as "guilty" as some of the other girls. Kind of saying that if she gets prosecuted, her daughter's should be a lesser charge than the others.

Just my opinion.

This girl might possibly have some mitigating circumstances - she did hand over the tape/digital file (hoo-boy, those other girls wil be gunning for *her* now) and she apparently tried to warn the victim...
but a couple of things come to mind...
*After the beating started, did she somehow intervene to lessen the severity of the attack? (Run to a neighbor's house, call the cops from her cellphone, etc.)
*Did someone call "911"? Who was it?

agnes!

 

[cinmell]

Didn't the mother also say that the victim should also be held somewhat accountable for her beating? (obviously not the mothers exact words) She said something about the girl who got beaten writing something on myspace about the other girls.

If the girl did write negative things on myspace, obviously she shouldn't have, but she definitely did not deserve a beating b/c of it.

 

[cinmell]

(hoo-boy, those other girls wil be gunning for *her* now)

That's what I was thinking.

Did you hear when Matt asked the policeman if it seemed the "girls" were showing remorse and the officer said no. They were wondering if they would be able to go to the beach and if they would be out in time for cheerleading practice. WTH

 

[dani0622]

I saw it this morning and it made me sick.

Several months ago, my 15 year old sister was beaten by five teenage girls from another town while two girls held her best friend down. The two girls holding down her best friend were their classmates who "arranged" for my sister to get "jumped" because they just didn't like her. It was much worse than this video this morning. She was beaten and kicked in the head numerous times at once by the five girls. She ended up being taken to the ER and had to have all sorts of tests done on her skull, brain, neck and spinal cord. She was fortunate to just have some bumps on her head and whiplash requiring her to wear a brace for a little while.

That was in September. The girls who did this, not only bragged about it and admitted it, they posted it on their MySpace page. Since this has happened my sister continues to get harassed daily at school (where the principal told her last week to "suck it up").

Last month, they finally went to court and the girls admitted it and the judge ordered them 20 hours of community service, several months probabtion, and a walk-through of a local prison. Not enough if you ask me. To hold one girl down, while five beat her is more than just trying to hurt someone a little bit.

These girls who did this to my sister are animals just like the girls in that video. I hope the judge gives out a harsher punishment than my sisters attackers. Teens or not, it both situations they knew what they were doing.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I understand what you're saying. I'm kind of confused about the whole "luring" the girl to the house - wasn't she actually staying there with this girl for the time being? I thought that they may have been coming home together. But sure, she could have warned her before they got to the door.

If you look at some of the local footage, where you can actually hear what is being shouted, one voice off camera screams, "Don't hit the shelf! Don't hit the shelf!" as they beat the victim near the door. I can only imagine that that would be the girl who lives there, who's mother spoke out on the news. Local news reports state that the girls head is beat into a wall until she loses consciousness. When she awoke, the video of the beating that we all saw on the Today Show begins...

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Hmmmm...so if it's harder and let's say they *don't* fulfill their juvie requirements, does that mean that convicted juvenile offenders incur more jail time as punishment and that they are somewhat set-up to fail from the beginning?

agnes!

In some ways, juvenile sentences can set the juvenile up to fail. This isn't an optimum outcome either. A juvenile can't be sentenced to a longer term than an adult with a conviction for the same offense. But juveniles can be subjected to much more stringent conditions upon release than an adult can. A violation of those conditions is a separate offense that may be punished separately. Hence, the ultimate penalty can turn into a greater sentence than the juvenile might have otherwise received as an adult.

In better juvenile court systems, the juvenile is subjected to meaningful court review of his or her case with adequate oversight from probation officers etc. This oversight can teach accountability. You'll never find such a program with the adult system.

Of course as one PP posted, this case is in Florida. These defendants will be charged as adults.

***
And as a more general response to the thread:

My main reason for posting to this thread was not because I wanted a debate on the merits of a juvenile justice system versus the adult penal system. I'm just sick of people spewing venom and vile comments towards attorneys for doing their jobs. Are their disreputable and dishonest attorneys with questionable and illegal tactics? Yes. But don't call us scumbags. It's totally uncalled for.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

And as a more general response to the thread:

My main reason for posting to this thread was not because I wanted a debate on the merits of a juvenile justice system versus the adult penal system. I'm just sick of people spewing venom and vile comments towards attorneys for doing their jobs. Are their disreputable and dishonest attorneys with questionable and illegal tactics? Yes. But don't call us scumbags. It's totally uncalled for.

Unfortunately, some people feel that the only honest/reputable attorney is the one that serves their own needs, and the rest are crooks. It's an unfair assessment to say the very least.

 

[Jennasis]

Matt Lauer looked and sounded like he was VERY annoyed with the woman. And the Sheriff?? You could just SEE that he wanted to tell the world what he really thought of those girls.

 

[connorlevismom]

I saw it this morning and it made me sick.

Several months ago, my 15 year old sister was beaten by five teenage girls from another town while two girls held her best friend down. The two girls holding down her best friend were their classmates who "arranged" for my sister to get "jumped" because they just didn't like her. It was much worse than this video this morning. She was beaten and kicked in the head numerous times at once by the five girls. She ended up being taken to the ER and had to have all sorts of tests done on her skull, brain, neck and spinal cord. She was fortunate to just have some bumps on her head and whiplash requiring her to wear a brace for a little while.

That was in September. The girls who did this, not only bragged about it and admitted it, they posted it on their MySpace page. Since this has happened my sister continues to get harassed daily at school (where the principal told her last week to "suck it up").

Last month, they finally went to court and the girls admitted it and the judge ordered them 20 hours of community service, several months probabtion, and a walk-through of a local prison. Not enough if you ask me. To hold one girl down, while five beat her is more than just trying to hurt someone a little bit.

These girls who did this to my sister are animals just like the girls in that video. I hope the judge gives out a harsher punishment than my sisters attackers. Teens or not, it both situations they knew what they were doing.

OMG - that is HORRIBLE! I am so sorry that your sister is going though this. Is there another school she can attend?

Kristine

 

[dani0622]

OMG - that is HORRIBLE! I am so sorry that your sister is going though this. Is there another school she can attend?

Kristine

I've mentioned that to my mother and my sister and while there are two Catholic HS's and one regional in the area, her thoughts are she's not leaving the school, it's her school, she won't be chased out. While it's admirable of her to stand up for herself, as her older sister, I wish she would go to another HS.

 

[connorlevismom]

I've mentioned that to my mother and my sister and while there are two Catholic HS's and one regional in the area, her thoughts are she's not leaving the school, it's her school, she won't be chased out. While it's admirable of her to stand up for herself, as her older sister, I wish she would go to another HS.

I can see her point. And I can see yours too. I would be feeling the same as you. But it would also be really hard to go to a new school.

Kristine

 

[dani0622]

I can see her point. And I can see yours too. I would be feeling the same as you. But it would also be really hard to go to a new school.

Kristine

She's made so many friends (only a freshman) so she doesn't want to go somewhere else and be the new girl.

The girl from the video this morning is going to probably feel the same way as my sister, having to see these little dirtbags every day who beat her up.

 

[chris1gill]

For the person who asked, they don't know what damage is permanent and what damage is not permanent with this girl. They don't know if she'll regain full hearing or if she'll regain full vision.... currently it's just blurred (let's hope to swelling which has yet to go down), they just don't know yet.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

She's made so many friends (only a freshman) so she doesn't want to go somewhere else and be the new girl.

The girl from the video this morning is going to probably feel the same way as my sister, having to see these little dirtbags every day who beat her up.

I'd rather be the new girl than the "harrassed and beaten" girl. Poor thing..Your sister has more guts than me.

 

[dani0622]

I'd rather be the new girl than the "harrassed and beaten" girl. Poor thing..Your sister has more guts than me.

You and me both. She's a tough little thing. All 96 pounds of her.

I'm just hoping she didn't see this cheerleader ambush story.

 

[mgilmer]

Darn that Constitution for providing the right to be represented in court by a "scumbag" lawyer.

The defendants' inability to recognize the gravity of what they did is precisely why they should not be tried as adults, but as juveniles. But hey, what do I know, I just train and teach the future "scumbags" of America.

OFF TOPIC RANT

Just as Fagin taught his charges, I am sure. The law is the only profession that makes its living off the misery of others (criminal defense attorneys, personal injury attorneys, divorce attorneys, etc.). At least in medicine, doctors are trying to get people to get well or relieve suffering. All lawyers care about is getting their thug clients off even when they know they are guilty. Anything for a buck. And if you think average older juveniles (16-17) are not able to recognize the gravity of what they do, you do not deserve to be teaching. As I said on another thread, there is a reason for all those lawyer jokes and it is not admiration.