Infamous You Tube Beating Could Garner 8 Life Sentences
It was decided Thursday, by the Florida State Attorney’s office, that the 8 suspects in the Victoria Lindsay beating (captured on video March 30th and made popular by media outlet You Tube) will be tried as adults. This decision could have major implications for the 6 girls and 2 boys - excuse me, 6 women and 2 men, being tried. The group now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Outraged viewers watched as the 16 year old victim, Lindsay, was beaten unconscious by ‘friends’ after being lured into a trap on March 30th. The story has sparked a firestorm of news coverage by every major media outlet in the United States. Viewers were left wondering how the group of teenagers, ages 14-18, who bore witness to the beating, could just stand idly by and let things get so out of hand.
It appears that this lack of intervention will now cost the group dearly. The question now facing prosecutors and jurors is not so much whether this group is guilty, but what is the appropriate measure of punishment that this group should face? This is a tough question which has engendered two very clear points of view.
There has been massive outcry from many individuals who found themselves horrified by the brutality if the video that has been circulating around the internet for several days now. These individuals point to the need for an example to be made in this case to ensure that this type of crime is not repeated. They also make the point that the girl in the video has not only been physically and emotionally damaged but has been socially scarred permanently, since this video has made her famous for less than ideal reasons.
On the other side of the issue is a second group that, while outraged by the footage, is reluctant to see 8 individuals sentenced to a life term for something that they did as teenagers. These individuals are looking for stern punishment that will establish a precedent without requiring these teens to pay for this crime for the rest of their lives.
This is going to be a difficult decision that will have to be made by a jury that represents both of these points of view.
I don’t see a clear cut or easy answer to this question. I have seen several documentaries and loads of statistics on teens in jail, and one thing is clear to me already. The chances are very slim that this group will successfully rebuild their lives after a prolonged prison sentence (which they began serving as teens). That being said, there is still a chance that they could accomplish that.
I can’t remember a time in recent history when I was more outraged by an event that I did not personally experience. But this group of teens, in my opinion, should not receive a life sentence. The victim was not killed, and it would seem overly harsh never to allow these individuals to repent and make to amends.
As always this is an open forum. I am extremely interested to see what others consider to be a just outcome to this dilemma. For more information check out the story on CNN.com
April 11, 2008 at 7:18 am
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April 11, 2008 at 7:19 am
I think a life sentence is too extreme, as deplorable as it may be a maximum of ten years would be sufficient to get the point across.
April 11, 2008 at 8:48 am
I think these “adults” do deserve to be in prison, if only to make them realize the seriousness of the crime they have committed. Right now, they think this is “funny” and are more concerned with “Oh man, are we gonna miss spring break because of this”. I would say (at least in the ones 16 and older) that 10 in prison would be enough. The 14 year old should be held in Juvenile custody until 21. Hopefully in that 10 years they will realize what they did was WRONG. We can also hope that while in custody they will also receive intensive therapy to help prevent them from doing this again. If they serve 10 years, they will be 26 to 28 when they get out. They will still have time to go to college and have a career, provided they can get their heads out of their rear ends.
April 11, 2008 at 9:12 am
Yes I hope they do make an example of these girls especially after the total lack of remorse. Bet they will be “crying” for the judge how sorry they are (yeah sure..) just like the girls who stole the girl scouts money –why do we not care about each other here in America anymore…what has happened?
April 11, 2008 at 9:24 am
Simple-1 year for each year old they are with a possibility of parole after 50% of the time served. They all knew better, this is gross and disgusting. They intended to harm her and post it, technically after she passed out and they continued to beat her it should be attempted murder. Their lack of remorse shows not only their attitude towards their actions but towards the consequences as well. However, the ring leaders and the ones throwing punches should get additional time for each blow they served. If they threw 20 punches tack 20 more years on.
April 11, 2008 at 9:54 am
What these girls and boys did was unconscionable and disgusting. They should be punished to the maximum extent that the law allows, which will include lengthy prison sentences. I plan to personally contact the district attorney in that area with my thoughts and this matter and I guarantee there will be no leniency. These people will learn what “tough” is all about when they experience life in the general population. I hope it was worth it because their lives are effectively over.
With regard to civil matters, the families of these girls will also learn an important financial lesson as they will be cleaning out their bank accounts and selling their assets to compensate this poor girl. A lot of pain is coming their way and the value of teaching children right and wrong will be the cornerstone of this lesson.
April 11, 2008 at 10:20 am
Life sentence for all of these idiots, no exception please ! This should be also an example to all parents in America ,what their kids might become,if they are simply left alone to street and internet “education”. In my opinion the whole country should discuss this crime as a profound example of our modern culture of violence. We are living in sick society-that’s a commonly accepted fact. Roman Empire collapsed once before, due to the same maladies, that are destroying our own culture : greed, violence, self-centered arrogance, etc. Unless something profoundly changes in our way of living, and thinking, I don’t see a chance for this culture to survive in the future. God Bless America !
April 11, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Let’s see…these teens could get life in prison for the beating, but a drunk illegal alien in Napa, CA (without a driver’s license), who crushed a woman’s legs (requiring them to be amputated below the knees) would get a maximum of six years??? Welcome to the decline (recession?) of the United States’ justice system.
April 11, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I hope each and every one of them get whats comming to them, to be honest I would like each one of them to have the same thing done to them and see if they laugh about it when its over. Life in prision may be a little to harsh but a good 5-7 years may open their eyes, but in the end the justice system will give most of them probation I have no doubt… and when that happens it will only promote more of this.
April 11, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Well, I would have to admit that when i first heard the story of what happened and then saw the shocking tape I teared up and I, not being a particularly emotiional person, was enraged by this event! I don’t have any children of my own but one thing is certain I knew from the bat that htese girls needed to be tried as adults and get the firing squad as their punishment.
That was my initial view but I have since changed my mind. The truth of the matter is, these type of fights happen everyday on a worldwide scale ages ranging from youths to adults but the shock of this incident is that they taped it. Maybe they shouldn’t get a life sentence (or the firing squad) but the minimum of 30 years in prison. I say this because they do need to make an example out of these teens for if they do not teenagers will feel this type of behavior is okay. Many teens who have already experienced jailtime will feel like the short jail stay is worth getting aggression out on a fellow enemy. Released from jail in their 40’s is an appropriate sentence for these teens. I’m not familiar with EVERYTHING they are charged with but if it was up to me - assualt & battery, intent to kill, premeditated assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and ther has to be something for no remorse. For goodness sake, the dumb cheerleader asked the sheriff if she’ll be released in time for cheerleading practice and they all laughed and joked around while in their holding cell!!! These girls showed a lack of remorse and a lack of respect for authority and nonchalant attitudes of any consequence. That alone deserves something! THese girls should get a lengthy sentence so close to life that htey will feel how stupid this assault really was - how the best days of their life behind bars wasn’t worth the words that this girl had to say. Victoria Lindsey’s “punishment” for “trash-talking” was extreme - why can’t their punishment be the same! —-Autumn (pinkgirlygirlpink@yahoo)
April 11, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I agree with the author m life sentence is very harsh punishment. And why should they be tried as adults, they might have not done this if they were Adults. Criteria should be the age and not the degree of crime. The rationale- its the immaturity in the age that may have led them to do this.
While I am not supporting the 8 but at the sametime we shouldn’t let 8 young American lives lurk in jails for their lifetime.
And if you want to set a precedent, pls think of more intelligent ideas than to keep these 8 for life.
And I also assume the “posting the video on youtube” is being weighed more than “beating the victim”, so what should we do to the Media who had been airing this repeatedly???
April 11, 2008 at 6:28 pm
This is great, I hope these girls get the following:
1. Go to prison and get abused significantly for life where they can’t cry for mommy
2. Go to hell
3. Continue to live life as the Florida white trash they are
Long live Justice
April 11, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I was a pretty wild kid in the sense of “partying” in high school, but I could NEVER stand by and watch another teen, whether boy or girl, even be hit..or even an animal for that matter. Most of my friends I ran with could not have either. (this was in the 90s) We had a conscience. I’m truly so concerned that such a large number of teens could stand there and participate and watch as this happened. I cannot bring myself to watch this video, so I don’t know if one of these teens ever spoke up to try and stop the attack or not, but from the reports I’m reading, it doesn’t seem so. I think they need a fairly harsh punishment to hopefully humble them and teach them to have a conscience. I think they should be put in jail with other adult women to see how their actions truly affect them. I’m sure they wouldn’t feel so safe in an environment like that. Let them see what the victim felt like…lured, intimated, bullied and beaten. Even if for a couple of years. I bet that woudl be enough time for them to hopefully gain a conscience of some kind. Or please, someone tell them about God. These kids seem to have no fear…no fear of God, whatever God you may believe in. When you believe in God, you understand teh spiritual law that you reap what you sow. Also, why does everyone keep reposting this video if we all care so much?!
April 11, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I have seen a variety of responses regarding this crime, the most upsetting seem to indicate that jail time would be “overkill” in this instance…
It is time that America and the American Justice System stands up for American values. Prison time for all, life sentences for all.
Their alternative? Each could choose to be beaten similarly, left scarred, and set free.
April 11, 2008 at 8:03 pm
It’s clear that these kids deserve jail time. A life sentence is not realistic and will not be sentenced by any judge. However, a few years in jail should:
1. Appropriately punish the perpetrators for what they have already done
2. Enlighten them to victimization and pain
3. Force them to miss spring break and cheerleading practice
4. Allow them to truly repulse bologna sandwiches
In addition, we should expect to see a massive lawsuit from the victim’s family for her loss of vision, hearing, and beauty not to mention mental trauma.
April 11, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I am the mother of a girl who has been cyber-bullied and otherwise mistreated by her peers in high school. We live in a suburban neighborhood and my daughter goes to what is considered one of the finer schools in our city. She is an honor student who has been accepted to college next fall, and intends to go into the medical profession. Both her father & I have raised her not to fight-to walk away from a conflict. She has exercised this, but kids still hound her, and have such little respect for anyone, they have also childishly harrased us by vandalizing our property. They have also harrassed her by telephone and internet forcing me to call the police and report obscene phone calls at 4am one night. We have confronted the parents about these actions, and they are mostly unconcerned. The boy that called our house at 4am even approached my daughter saying that I was wrong for calling the police. They have spread false and demeaning rumors about her at school, to the point that she was afraid to be in class with them. The parents, when approached, felt that she must be deserving of the treatment if it was going on.
I have thought about consequences for the actions of these girls in the video. The teen that was beaten will have long term effects of this incident, all because of a supposed infraction she committed against them. The problem is this: the teens know that nothing will happen to them. They know that they will be let off with minor sentences, if any at all. The juvenile justice system does not have much back-bone in these types of cases. I believe the proper justice would be that they work to help pay for the teen they hurt’s medical bills. All this could be monitored by the system.
April 11, 2008 at 8:18 pm
It is not said that they will get life in prison yet. If they are trialed as adults, the maximum CAN BE life in prison. Considering that U.S. Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean will face the same sentence for the killing of two, it would be blown out of proportion and I think it is very unlikly that they get the maximum sentence.
I agree that it is the right thing to do to trial them as adults, they are old enough to drive a car and get married in most states.
I do hope that this will be a wake up call to all misguided teens out there and their irresponsible parents.
April 11, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I concur that the life sentence punishment is harsh - but the jolt from the fright of potentially receiving up to a life sentence should snap these 8 kids back into reality. If not, they deserve the sentence. But I regress…
Someone needs to set a precedent. If we let the kids off with a short prison term - a slap on the wrist - it’s a blank check for the kids to do more and open the door to the next level of violence and humiliation.
They should be tried as adults - even the 14 year old. It is justice. This does need to follow those 8 kids well after they are 21. We need to send the message to parents that even though your children are under the age of 18, they are the ones to be held liable for their action. That girl in the hospital has to live her whole life with this event - no one deserves that.
7 to 10 years is an appropriate sentence. It is not likely any of these kids will go to college. They were laughing and joking around during the beating and even after they were caught - this was not an accident, it was planned. The only remorse we will see from them is when they walk out of prison wondering if their actions were really worth 7 to 10 years.
April 11, 2008 at 8:20 pm
This cheerleader posted hateful things about these girls on MYSPACE. From what has been reported she was far from an angel. While I do not condone what these girls did, I sympathize with their plight. Since Columbine, little has been done by administrators at schools, parents and police to get to and punish cyberbullies, like the victim, who make many young teenagers lives a living hell. Life sentences for these children is ridiculous. Also, isn’t it convenient that since the beating all of the victim’s hateful postings have been removed from her MYSPACE page so that we aren’t truly able to see what she said and did to instigate this matter. This should be a wake-up call to cyberbullies out there that people are fed with getting their reputations ruined and they are not going to sit back and put up with it any longer, because for them there really is no recourse. Unfortunately, as bad as it was, she seems to have brought this on herself.
April 11, 2008 at 8:29 pm
These girls have not been proven guilty in a court of law. I think we need to remind ourselves that these girls are entitled to a vigorous defense and a fair trial.
That said, IF they are found guilty, I tend to agree a lengthy sentence is appropriate.
April 11, 2008 at 8:44 pm
A long prison sentence or life is definately adequate for the 8 ADULTS. They made adult choices, they will get adult punishment. What is the reasoning for prison punishment? To provide justice for the victim. This young girl will not be able to see, hear, or live normally for the rest of her life. So why should they?
April 11, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Being the father who lost a son to a similar beating 1995 I know all to well the consequences of such an incident. First the parents of the victim are very lucky and have been given the gift of life again.
When our son was in a coma we decided the 4 teens who beat our son did not mean to kill him so we discussed what would be an apprpiate punishment, All 4 were charged with 1st assault, 1st degree kidnapping, and later 1st degree manslaughter. After much thought we felt 20 years would be a correct sentence. While this was our desire it took a very long (7yrs) to get the final verdict. Sentences ranging from 16 1/2 -25 years in prison.
I can tell you sending children to prison is no victory, but responsibility must be taken by these teens.
I again can’t tell you how lucky the vitim is God Bless. And the parents of this youg girl already have an appropiate sentence in mind and the courts should listen closely
April 11, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I only hope the people posting here for lenient jail sentences are never physically lured to a location, trapped and beaten until loss of conscience in a gang style attack, continually beaten by more attackers when conscience is gained, prevented to leave the location after the attack and then kidnapped and taken against their will to a second location and threatened again to beaten worse than before. All premeditated and planned to be put on the internet to shame the victim and glorify the attackers. I won’t evern get into the emotional abuse and trauma. And just for your information, the kidnapping alone is a felony that holds 20 years to life. . . not counting the assault and battery and all the mitigating factors. These girls will pay dearly and rightfully so! The premeditation, the video evidence and the lack of remorse will lean the sentences toward the maximums, again - rightfully so!
April 11, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Laurie (who posted above), I have news for you - no words or comments or MYSPACE posts or any other type of verbal assault constitutes any physical violence muchless the extensive violence that was displayed here, Mature, self confident, intelligent people are self validating, doesn’t matter what other people have to say to you or about you, Words hurt you if you let them - they are just words, you have to receive them and let them take action! This is the warped sense of reality that the people of today have, especially the youth. This will prove as another point we need to have a stiff sentence in this case to show the world what is right and what is wrong! Unbelievable!
April 11, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Laurie and Paul Schwartz, you are both idiotic, for different reasons:
Laurie: To say, “she seems to have brought this on herself” is a ridiculous statement. Let’s say that Frank and Steve are fighting and Frank calls Steve a jerk. Then Steve pulls out a slingshot and kills him. Would you say that Frank “brought it on himself”? Many unfortunate things happen in society and especially in schools (name calling, teasing etc.), but we are taught to rationalize these things and deal with them in orderly (legal) ways. I guarantee that none of the 8 “victims” (as you see them) reported the MySpace bullying to school officials, parents or law enforcement, and while you may argue that it wouldn’t matter because these entities wouldn’t rectify the impropriety, you cannot deny that reporting it to authorities surely comes before kidnapping and attacking her.
Paul: Thank you for pointing out that they have not been proven guilty yet. I think maybe 1/500,000 readers did not know this, so they are now enlightened. Also, I would like to hear your case that would allow these 8 deviants to walk free. I haven’t seen a cleaner cut guilty verdict in years. There is VIDEO EVIDENCE of the crime, and none of the kids are denying their involvement. Perhaps you should veer from commenting on legal issues.
April 11, 2008 at 9:19 pm
They should be tried as adults, and given whatever jail time the judge see fits. But they should go to jail. The victim, may have vision and hearing problems for the rest of her life.
April 11, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I hope they all get locked up for quite some time. They shoud understand that their actions have consequences. Our country needs to wake up and stop being so soft on people like this who believe that they are above everyone else and have the right to do what ever they feel just because they are “superior.” Even their attitudes after their arrest was arrogant and without any signs of remorse. Bullying is out of control and these “bullies” need to be dealt with, enough is enough.
April 11, 2008 at 10:17 pm
laurie: you’re an idiot.
because i said that online, strained through your logic, it’s now ok for you to beat the crap out of me. i’ll be waiting.
and why do you assume the victim’s hateful comments were instigative? if the defendants were as crazy as we saw in the video, it stands to reason they had something to do with the victim saying things about them on her myspace. your rationalization of these events is sad.
20 years, each.
April 11, 2008 at 10:23 pm
It’s really sad but here is the real quagmire. If they are set free anytime soon, their lives will probably be in danger because of the media attention and the sheer disgust of the incident - the public’s blood is boiling over this. However when they go to prison, they will be in even more danger because rest assured the general prison population has seen the video as well and are probably no less disgusted. Perhaps solitary confinement for a VERY LONG time is the only option to not only teach them a lesson, but protect their very lives from vigilante revenge. Again, sad. Violence in children these days is frightening!!!
April 11, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I agree with most….this is truly a sad day to see these things happen. What happened to teaching your child how to handle situations like this without violence and abuse. People are verbally attacked every day…some of us choose to handle it in a different manner. I have a daughter that age and I talk to her all the time about blogging, MySpace, etc. But bottom line….I believe that these criminals, and I mean, all of them, should be punished to the fullest extent. Not for using them as an example, but punish them just like you would anyone else that plans it, executes it, and then videotapes it to exploit it. Shame on these people and any of their parents that try to justify it in anyway. One person asked, “What is wrong with America today?”…sadly most of us don’t really know. Money and prison time is not going to help this girl heal…I think, if most of us haven’t already…besides the media play on this…we should be reaching out to her any way possible to let her know that alot of us across the country wish her all the best and that not all people react as these vicious and vindictive pieces of trash did.
April 11, 2008 at 10:32 pm
By the way Laurie…
GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!! There is not one ounce of justification for this and you know it. Angel or not….regardless of what was put on her site…wrong is wrong. Reputation…please. No one deserves to have this happen to them. Your comments are what makes alot of us upset….the victim doesn’t have any rights…the criminal is who we are to feel sorry for? Don’t think so.
April 11, 2008 at 11:00 pm
A life sentence is exactly what these little cowards deserve. They could’ve as easily killed her even if they wouldn’t mean to. They showed no remorse whatsoever. These monsters do not deserve to see the light of day under the umbrella of freedom…ever!
April 11, 2008 at 11:33 pm
“You can not only inflict the pain and humiliation of a beating, but you can repeat that through perpetuity by putting it on the Net,” he said. “That’s what happened to this victim, and now she will be remembered forever as the girl who took this awful beating. That victimizes her far beyond the physical pain.”
- Larry Magid, founder of SafeKids.com
and codirector of ConnectSafely.org
http://www.ghostlikeswayze.wordpress.com
April 12, 2008 at 1:15 am
If they want to treat furniture with more respect than a human, the maximum sentence is required! What bothers me is not that prison would corrupt these girls, but that they already are numb to their consicious. If not harming this girl physically, emotionally was enough, they wanted to humiliate her. By the way, the whole purpose of torture is just the humiliation- so you cannot describe yourself consistently after the event. Apparenlty this was done. And then they wanted to laugh about it. That is just evil.
April 12, 2008 at 1:33 am
Im so special, Im so special look at me, look at me. Isnt this a favorite theme song at nursery schools and what we are supposed to tell our kids to bolster their confidence now. You can’t spank your kids because it’s abuse. The schools can;t discipline or the parents want to sue the schools. Now we want to blame youtube for this??? Please, i’m sick of idiots telling me how to raise my kids and people blaming the internet for their lack of parenting and their lack of morals. It wouldnt matter if youtube does allow this kind of crap to be posted, if these kids had any morals or parents that disciplined them the way they should have been they would have never even though up this plan. Recently Massacusetts just passed a law that has jail time for parents who spank or whip their children as a means of discipline. How abouta big round of applause for those idiots. Spare the rod and spoil the child. These kids are perfect examples of the new modern age of child rearing where the kids of the “I’m so special” generation has been fostered and adopted. I spank my children and if I feel it necessary I use a belt and whip them just like dear old dad used to do. Yes it leaves welts on their legs and instills fear in their hearts when it happens and that fear of what will happen when they get home after they do something they KNOW is wrong will keep them out of situations like this. Teenagers today have no respect for anything or anyone because all we teach them is that they are special. I wonder if their mommy and daddy’s took their “my kid is an honor roll student” bumper sticker off yet. These were cheerleaders??? Yes lets all get our kids involved in sports to keep them off drugs. More BS spewed by the idiots….. LEts all be aprents and do the right thing even when its hard and we don;t want to. Lets all be parents instead of being our kids friends, and instead of teching them theyre special lets teach them you are not special because of who you are but instead lets teach them that what they do is what will make them special and then lets tell the idiot child experts to fuck off and go home and raise their own silver spoon fed, privately educated egostistical brats they call their kids.
April 12, 2008 at 1:42 am
I agree that a life sentence is too extreme, but 20-30 years is not.
I can’t believe that anyone would do this. It’s just disgusting.
April 12, 2008 at 4:02 am
I’ve been outraged and saddened since hearing about this story and seeing the video. There are no words to describe how horrendeous it is. I really think this case should set an example and teach a lesson, not only to the kids involved but to all teens all over America who think it’s OK to act the way these girls did towards Victoria. There’s no doubt these kids need punished to the fullest exent. This generation is going down the toilet because no one wants to be accountable for their actions anymore and parents just seem to turn their children free once they reach the age of thirteen. I also think the parents of these kids need to be accountable as well. This case should also send a message to parents that if they chose to not parent their teens, they need to face a consequence as well. We have an epidemic of bad parents raising bad kids in this country today. We need to stop blaming the internet and start putting the responsibility back onto the parents. No child is entitled to a computer, a cell phone, a video camera or a digital camera. These things should be earned and if they are abused, take them away! Simple. Parents also need to monitor what their kids are doing online. They make many, affordable ’spy’ software that lets you see everything your kid is doing without them knowing you’re doing it. Parenting is hard work and if some can’t handle it, they need to not have kids. Parenting teens isn’t about being their friend. So what if your kid doesn’t like you because you tell them “no”. Who are the parents? Seems like the kids are running the show and not the parents. Something needs to be done about the lazy parenting that is prevalent in our society today. Put the responsibility back onto the parents not society.
April 12, 2008 at 4:23 am
Laurie~ Your mindset is EXACTLY why the American society is going down the toilet!
April 12, 2008 at 4:30 am
Enough is enough. It’s time for thugs and bullies to learn a lesson. I’ve seen too many mean, angry people, including children and teens, take aggressive action against innocent peers too many times. As a society we need to send a strong message that there are consequences to actions. Too often people do not speak up out of fear, or figure that it’s not happening to them personally, so they don’t get involved. These individuals are old enough to know better, it’s not like they are 5 or 6 years old. 16 and 17 IS OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER! They made conscious choices to engage in this disgusting, immoral, abusive behavior. The boys who stood guard are just as guilty, and should be just as severely punished as the girls who actually committed the vile acts of horror. These are not innocent children. These are monsters who should not be set free in society. They should be caged for the rest of their pathetic lives, not only for what they did, but for the security of the rest of us, in knowing what they are capable of. They deserve the fullest extent of the possible punishment. There is something irrevocably damaged about the psyche of someone who is capable of such terror, akin to the likes of Adolph Hitler. These miserable people should be put away for good, and given the same treatment they gave their “friend.” They are pathetic, and I hope they rot in prison.
April 12, 2008 at 5:08 am
hello.. the 8 suspect teens should be punished because what could normal minds would do such a hell of a thing.They should be punished eventhough their minors because were testing here the jurisdiction’s credibility on responding on such incident. Although there are bills and laws that minors should not be charged on adult’s offense but we are facing a person’s life here in the hands of 8 insane teenagers. Yes, they are teenagers but psychologically speaking they can think and act well. It should not be an excuse that they are minors. Thus, they deserve to life imprisonment.
April 12, 2008 at 7:00 am
These thugs deserve a good long time in prison to think about what they did. I think that the parents complaining about the excessive bail amount should spend their time teaching these thugs (kids) not to treat human beings like punching bags. I think if it was their kid who was beaten they would be singing a different tune. These people are common trailerpark trash. No wonder they can’t afford the bail. Scumbags at best. Mercedes mother looks and talks like trash. Making excuses for that thug kid of hers. These parents should be really proud of themselves and their thugs.
April 12, 2008 at 7:03 am
Mercedes is an angel. At least that is what her mother thinks. Her daughter dosn’t even live with her. What kind of mother is that. and yet she makes excuses for her daughter. Some people should not be allowed to reproduce and she is one. I feel for the good people who cannot have children and this ho has a child and lets her live with the grandmother.
April 12, 2008 at 7:14 am
The victims said what? Nobody knows. I bet it was something insignificant like: “Jane’s cheer leading performance last week really sucked” or “Jane’s arms are really fat”.
When I first heard the story on the news I did not hear the motive the 8 accused had. I thought of the smallest excuse I could possibly imagine somebody could come up with to give someone a beating. I was shocked when I found out that it was exactly what I thought. All the victim did is “write” something. Does that mean we cannot “say” anything anymore now without fearing death, kidnapping, etc.? How can we keep freedom of speech alive? Crime has got to fit punishment. Say something bad, say something bad back (at the maximum).
But it was NOT about that. It was about the beating and being cool and hip and noticed.
They will hopefully soon get a prison sentence. Throw away the key.
April 12, 2008 at 7:18 am
I can hear the prison inmates say: It took them 20 minutes to beat her unconscious? We can do better. We will do it to them in 2 minutes.
April 12, 2008 at 7:35 am
[...] If you liked this story check out: Infamous You Tube Beating Could Garner 8 Life Sentences [...]
April 12, 2008 at 8:38 pm
This was the most horrible thing I ever saw , I was an emotional wreck myself for days because I was so disturbed. I hope they all get life and I hope this poor girl gets counseling. I hope this does not ruin her life too. She was definitely a victim and did not deserve this abuse no matter what she may have said or done. Justice MUST prevail in this case
April 13, 2008 at 1:28 am
I DITTO Steve above .. I have written so much about this horrible beating and I have read, however I have NOT heard anyone yet say exactly what my thoughts were so Kudos to STEVE, right on cruton !! GET over this ” Im so special ” bullcrap. MY children I love with my heart and soul but IF they ever participated in any type of violence ( other than defending themselves) they will SEE me in their minds and OH SNAP for me when I get home. Mrs Garcia ( Mercedes Nichols birth mother) made it a point to say in the interview : I want to get this straight, I DO have custody of my daughter … WELL hello kitty good for YOU however is it just so much that YOU cannot take care of her or handle her for obvious reasons that is WHY she lives with her GRANDMOTHER. I had my first when I was 18 years old so I want NO pathetic excuses of ” im a single mother”, with COMMON DAMN SENSE, morals and strong values YOU can raise your children the right way.