Myspace User Commits Suicide

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/26/internet.suicide/index.html

I thought this article was interesting because almost everyone from this generation knows what MySpace is or has one. I'm sure you have already heard about this case, but a verdict was finally decided on. Megan Meier had a MySpace account like many other 13 year old girls do, however, she was talking to strangers and thought that they actually liked her. Lori Drew, 49, posed as a young teenage boy and made Megan believe that this boy actually liked her. One day Drew just decided to tell Megan the world would be better off without her and completely crushed her. Megan hung herself in her room after being rejected by her love interest. The jury had a hard time convicting Drew on felony charges alleging conspiracy. Drew was convicted of three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress on Meier. The U.S. District Judge, George Wu, declared a mistrial on a fourth count of conspiracy after a California jury failed to reach a verdict. It is pretty clear that Drew made this account in an attempt to hurt Meier's feelings, otherwise why would a 49 year old woman pose as a 16 year old boy named Josh Evans. Drew and her attorney plan to go back to court to fight her convictions. Drew was trying to see if Megan was saying derogatory things about her daughter who was friends with Megan.

I think the time that Drew will face is nothing compared to the loss the Meier family will have to deal with for the rest of their life. How immature is Lori Drew that she had to say those mean things to a thirteen year old, especially when girls are experiencing a lot of changes around that age. The original charges were a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison if convicted. This misdemeanor charges carry a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $100,000. I think she should sit in prison and think for years about the problems the Meier family will be facing for the rest of their life. It may seem harsh, and maybe Megan was depressed prior to her suicide, but Drew definitely put her over the edge. Is it fair and ethical that Drew may get off only have a maximum of a year and a few thousands dollars in fines. I don't think that will make her feel nearly as guilty as she should.