Philly teen girl arrested for plot to kill classmates

[Fred762]

Holly flippin COW!!

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...281378981.html

[markshere2]

Yep. Nuts* do exist.

Glad we are looking for them more closely.

* technical psychiatric term for a loon.

[GeneCC]

According to investigators, the girl has a history of mental illness. Her parents are cooperating with police. No weapons were found at Radnor High or the teen’s home.

“As soon as it was recognized that these writings were bizarre and dangerous the appropriate steps were taken,” Colarulo said. “That’s what we hope people will do from now on.”

Bunch of crap.

If she had been getting straw purchased firearms (like those clowns in Colorado did) or getting explosives (also like those two) I'd be concerned. When people take concrete steps to do violence is when you worry. I'd bet my paycheck that she could not afford a box of ammunition and could not get one if she could afford it. Batman and Robin had money and little parental supervision. They drove to school in a BMW that their parents bought one of them.

The person who talks of "shooting people from towers" is bothersome. When they work diligently on sniping skills from up high, buy firearms that can be "broken down" and "get their affairs in order" to "start their mission" is when you ought to be talking to police. If she had had firearms, ammunition, was training how to shoot people (it's a specialized skill, to break down those inhibitions on hurting others) and was giving away her things.... I'd be very concerned.

Writing down thoughts in a notebook is interesting, maybe worrisome, but I think it's a lot of noise about one little girl's emotional problems. She's a single disturbed young lady who needs professional help. I hope she gets that help.

This "arrest" is a more sophisticated version of suspending a kid for making a "gun" out of a piece of chicken.

[PhillyVet]

I have two concerns with this story..

1. Disturbed (crazy) girl – definitely needs psychiatric help.

2. Far more concerning is the charge of Making Terroristic Threats.. The story said they “found” her notebook; what she supposedly wrote is definitely concerning, however, nowhere in the story did it indicate that she communicated those threats to anyone.

It seems to me that having these types of thoughts (even writing them down in her private journal), no matter how disturbing they are, would be protected 1st Amendment speech. Assuming if what the news report said is accurate (and she didn’t actually communicate the treat to anyone), the criminal charge will be based completely upon her having the thoughts and not on her actions..

Perhaps the writings, and her mental history, would be grounds for a civil 302 committal; but If this criminal prosecution is allowed to stand as it appears, it would actually be a criminal conviction (albeit juvenile) for having “bad” thoughts..

That's pretty frightening to me...

[QuackXP]

Writing down thoughts in a notebook is interesting, maybe worrisome, but I think it's a lot of noise about one little girl's emotional problems. She's a single disturbed young lady who needs professional help. I hope she gets that help.

1. Disturbed (crazy) girl – definitely needs psychiatric help.

The problem is physiological incidents like this now fall to the criminal justice system because the healthcare system is ill equipped to deal with these type of emergencies.

I agree that a 302 should be issued and criminal charges dropped. This girl needs help not punishment.

[Bang]

My first reaction was "discovered in her notebook" is the equivalent of making terroristic threats(?) and instinctively rejected it as sufficient for criminal charge. On second thought, I stand by my preliminary assessment.

As I wrote in another post, we have progressed from not being allowed to say certain things, to not being allowed to think them.

Preliminary hearing: "Your honor, my client was formulating a work of fiction. She aspires to being a writer when she grows up. Commonwealth has failed to show establish prima facie. I ask that the charge be dismissed".

As for a 302... what circumstances define the need to protect her from herself and her from others, beyond her having put her imagination down on paper? Not asking it based on what is known...asking what are the criteria?