Soooo Casey Anthony is “not-guilty”, but this kid is facing 8 years?!? When 18-year-old Tyell Morton put a blow-up sex doll in a bathroom stall on the last day of school, he didn’t expect school officials to call a bomb squad or that he’d be facing up to eight years in prison and a possible felony record. The senior prank gone awry has raised questions of race, prosecutorial zeal and the post-Columbine mindset in a small Indiana town and around the country, The Indianapolis Star reported in its Tuesday editions. Legal experts question the appropriateness of the charges against Morton, and law professor Jonathan Turley at George Washington University posed a wider question about Morton’s case on his legal blog. “The question is what type of society we are creating when our children have to fear that a prank (could) lead them to jail for almost a decade. What type of citizens are we creating who fear the arbitrary use of criminal charges by their government?” There seems to be a overwhelming sense that the charges that Tyell are facing are completely off base. “I know there has been plenty of pranks done at that school,” said Morton’s mother, Cammie Morton. “I went to that school. When I heard what they was charging him for, my heart just dropped.” “Their reaction is understandable, but use the school disciplinary process,” he said. “Don’t try to label the kid a felon for the rest of his life.”- Joel Schumm, Indiana University School of Law professor Then there is the a**hole prosecutor, Philip J. Caviness “I’m pretty comfortable with the charges that we’ve filed,” Give this kid a fine and some community service. Stop with the grandstanding and trumped up charges. Source
Original post:
Race Matters: 18 Year-Old Black Teenager Faces 8 Years In Prison For High School Prank In Indiana
