girl expelled, charged with felony, at local school

[Slipper]

I agree that many people didn't know that these ingredients would cause a bomb. I certainly didn't. I also fully believe that teen-agers do dumb stuff. They believe they are invincible. I do believe some leniency is in order, but not much.

 

Many previous posters asked their kids about what would happen if these ingredients were mixed together. But, a more appropriate question would be, "If a friend asked you to secretly bring an empty water bottle, aluminum foil and a chemical (toilet bowl cleaner) to school would you do it?" I imagine many of your kids would know that would be wrong. She knew this was wrong, even if she wasn't fully aware of what would happen.

 

If she was curious, she would have done this at home. Instead, she brought everything from home, concealed in her backpack. She didn't go to a teacher and tell them she heard of a cool experiment and brought the ingredients to do it. She concealed them. Kids at school are drilled relentlessly on what can be brought to school and what cannot. I fully believe she knew that it was wrong to bring them to school and do what she did. The school is within reason to expel her. I believe she should be expelled. She broke school rules deliberately and was fortunate that nobody was hurt through her actions.

 

I don't think jail time is appropriate or the fines. I believe community service is in order, but I don't think it should go further. I think her "friend" who told her to do this should receive the same punishment.

 

Schools do over-react, but I think they are not over-reacting in their response in this situation. Another problem we (as a society) face is that we do not put enough responsibility on our soon-to-be adults. Kids feel entitled to many things and therefore do not take rules and enforcement seriously. Her actions have consequences, there's not even a little gray area regarding breaking school rules in this case.

[Word Nerd]

 

As for bringing up rape...inappropriate. That's all I'll say.

 

Agreed. It's a non sequitur.

[poppy]

She did not bring a weapon to school.

 

IF she brought the items...IF...then she brought aluminum foil, toilet bowl cleaner and a plastic bottle. All harmless household items until combined.

 

As for bringing up rape...inappropriate. That's all I'll say.

 

Sorry, then, she didn't bring a weapon to school, she MADE a weapon at school.

 

A bomb is a weapon according to my dictionary.

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/bomb

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/bomb_1

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bomb

 

Bringing up rape is not inappropriate, because it is another example of a felony that is sometimes handled privately by a school, sometimes handled with police involvement. I would argue that police involvement is an appropriate way to handle that crime. And I would argue that police involvement is also an appropriate way to handle weapons at school.

 

We are not talking about a drawing of a weapon, or a harmless thing that looks like a weapon, or a coke-and-mentos rocket. We are talking about a device that can take off a finger, cause chemical burns, cause blindness.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

Bringing up rape is not inappropriate, because it is another example of a felony that is sometimes handled privately by a school, sometimes handled with police involvement. I would argue that police involvement is an appropriate way to handle that crime. And I would argue that police involvement is also an appropriate way to handle weapons at school.

 

 

 

 

If you brought it up in the context of high schools instead of universities you might be able to argue it is relevant. Universities are populated with adults, and often have their own police department. The way they handle any crime will often be different than a high school.

[FaithManor]

If the federal charges stick and she is tried as a "youthful offender", code for minor tried as an adult, mandatory minimums are required and the judge cannot take any mitigating circumstances into account nor any character witness testimony on her behalf can be presented at court. The state has this option, the feds do not. This is why people caught with a gram of weed can do as much time as the drug lord that smuggled a million dollars of cocaine into the country.

 

The mandatory minimum on each charge is 1 -10 yrs. and there is no protection for the minor to serve this in a county, juvenile detention facility. Federal charges, federal facility. Mandatory minimums are normally stacked and not served consecutively so a minimum of 2 yrs in federal lock-up. Tried as an adult, the feds are under no obligation to NOT house her with violent offenders.

 

If the fed charges are dropped, the state guidelines are anything from probation with community service to 3 yrs.

 

Here is an interesting fact, the DA that is prosecuting her recently let a 13 year old boy off with no charges for killing his 10 year old brother. The two boys got their Daisy Rifle BB guns out unsupervised and on first telling of the story were target shooting even though they thought the guns were unloaded (sorry, for a 13 year old this does not hold up well....one can't shoot a target without ammo so there would be very little point to having unloaded guns, further testimony being that his brother was NOT in the vacinity of the target and said unknown bb's went horribly off course and shot his brother practically sideways entering through the ear and lodging in the brain), but later admitted that they were pointing the guns directly at each other and firing towards one another still believing that the guns were unloaded. It was labeled a tragic accident despite the fact that the kid has been in trouble with the law numerous times and as a long wrap sheet with the local PS from he has been permanenetly expelled. The child was already in the alternative ed program for troubled kids prior to the "accident".

 

That doesn't wash. If a 16 year old is culpable for knowing that mixing these household items constitutes creating a bomb, then the 13 year old for darn certain knows that pointing a gun at anybody's head is a darn bad idea.

 

News reports from Polk County indicate that no one in the community wanted to see the 13 year old indicted. However, since the 13 year old's actions were deliberate ones that any teen would know could lead to dire circumstances, did not get prosecuted despite his history, and the honor student who has never been in trouble and whose actions did not lead to any harm has been charged with four counts (two state and two federal) and is likely to do jail time if the federal charges aren't dropped, then they'd like to know if this is all because the 13 year old was white and the 16 year old is black. It's a big, big squawk right now. The race card has been thrown down so this could get very ugly. I don't know enough about the Polk County DA's track record to know if there would be any veracity to the claim.

 

I felt compelled to do a little fact finding. I used an 8 oz. water bottle, that's the size she used, toilet bowl cleanser - The Works (had to go out and buy it since I never use the stuff) - and a very generous amount of aluminum foil since I had no idea how much she used.

 

Not enough head of pressure with an 8 oz. bottle...not enough reactant...very anti-climatic. However, it would be a dangerous device if a half gallon pickle jar and metal lid tightened down with pliars was used. Very dangerous indeed.

 

I have a lot more fun with an ounce of pure sodium and a wading pool of water. :D

 

So rest assured. If you are in the camp that she's guilty of bomb making and terrorism, she has an excellent chance of doing jail time. As for school, she is permanently expelled if any of the charges stick, and she will have to attend a program for juvenile delinquents. If she does time in fed lock up, finishing high school will be the least of her worries.

 

If convincted as an adult, she's unemployable anyway. Thus turns the wheels of the American Education and US Justice system.

 

Faith

[poppy]

 

 

If you brought it up in the context of high schools instead of universities you might be able to argue it is relevant. Universities are populated with adults, and often have their own police department. The way they handle any crime will often be different than a high school.

 

Might be? I am able to argue my point, you are free to disagree.

 

In my area, there have been a number of school scandals where parents, not the school, had to bring in the police. (One famous sex scandal at a private academy comes to mind). It's only in the past decade that schools have started to have written policies mandating informing police of criminal activity -- policies that are locally controversial, and, I think, of particular interest to the parents on the WTM board. This case is part of that trend.

[Stellalarella]

 

 

I felt compelled to do a little fact finding. I used an 8 oz. water bottle, that's the size she used, toilet bowl cleanser - The Works (had to go out and buy it since I never use the stuff) - and a very generous amount of aluminum foil since I had no idea how much she used.

 

Not enough head of pressure with an 8 oz. bottle...not enough reactant...very anti-climatic. However, it would be a dangerous device if a half gallon pickle jar and metal lid tightened down with pliars was used. Very dangerous indeed.

 

I have a lot more fun with an ounce of pure sodium and a wading pool of water. :D

 

 

Faith

 

 

Faith, I myself was wanting to know....

[Stellalarella]

Scientist support for Kiera Wilmot, from "Scientific American." http://blogs.scienti...idarity4wilmot/

 

And here is a petition to sign to have the charges dropped. http://www.change.org/petitions/the-bartow-police-and-state-attorney-jerry-hill-drop-charges-against-kiera-wilmot

[Trish]

Kiera Wilmot's anagram is: AWOL Item Irk I just realized this is a local story in our county. I must've missed the original article a couple weeks ago, there was a followup to it this morning. I definitely remember the story of the two boys shooting at each other with BB guns, that was fairly recent too.

[Rebecca VA]

Sorry if I'm missing something, but did Kiera buy the items in a store and take them to school? Why didn't she do her experiment at her home? If I were going to mix risky chemicals together for fun, I'd go out into our driveway to do it.

 

Even if she lives in an apartment building, couldn't she have gone out into the parking lot and mixed her ingredients together there?

[Supertechmom]

If the federal charges stick and she is tried as a "youthful offender", code for minor tried as an adult, mandatory minimums are required and the judge cannot take any mitigating circumstances into account nor any character witness testimony on her behalf can be presented at court. The state has this option, the feds do not. This is why people caught with a gram of weed can do as much time as the drug lord that smuggled a million dollars of cocaine into the country.

 

The mandatory minimum on each charge is 1 -10 yrs. and there is no protection for the minor to serve this in a county, juvenile detention facility. Federal charges, federal facility. Mandatory minimums are normally stacked and not served consecutively so a minimum of 2 yrs in federal lock-up. Tried as an adult, the feds are under no obligation to NOT house her with violent offenders.

 

If the fed charges are dropped, the state guidelines are anything from probation with community service to 3 yrs.

 

Here is an interesting fact, the DA that is prosecuting her recently let a 13 year old boy off with no charges for killing his 10 year old brother. The two boys got their Daisy Rifle BB guns out unsupervised and on first telling of the story were target shooting even though they thought the guns were unloaded (sorry, for a 13 year old this does not hold up well....one can't shoot a target without ammo so there would be very little point to having unloaded guns, further testimony being that his brother was NOT in the vacinity of the target and said unknown bb's went horribly off course and shot his brother practically sideways entering through the ear and lodging in the brain), but later admitted that they were pointing the guns directly at each other and firing towards one another still believing that the guns were unloaded. It was labeled a tragic accident despite the fact that the kid has been in trouble with the law numerous times and as a long wrap sheet with the local PS from he has been permanenetly expelled. The child was already in the alternative ed program for troubled kids prior to the "accident".

 

That doesn't wash. If a 16 year old is culpable for knowing that mixing these household items constitutes creating a bomb, then the 13 year old for darn certain knows that pointing a gun at anybody's head is a darn bad idea.

 

News reports from Polk County indicate that no one in the community wanted to see the 13 year old indicted. However, since the 13 year old's actions were deliberate ones that any teen would know could lead to dire circumstances, did not get prosecuted despite his history, and the honor student who has never been in trouble and whose actions did not lead to any harm has been charged with four counts (two state and two federal) and is likely to do jail time if the federal charges aren't dropped, then they'd like to know if this is all because the 13 year old was white and the 16 year old is black. It's a big, big squawk right now. The race card has been thrown down so this could get very ugly. I don't know enough about the Polk County DA's track record to know if there would be any veracity to the claim.

 

I felt compelled to do a little fact finding. I used an 8 oz. water bottle, that's the size she used, toilet bowl cleanser - The Works (had to go out and buy it since I never use the stuff) - and a very generous amount of aluminum foil since I had no idea how much she used.

 

Not enough head of pressure with an 8 oz. bottle...not enough reactant...very anti-climatic. However, it would be a dangerous device if a half gallon pickle jar and metal lid tightened down with pliars was used. Very dangerous indeed.

 

I have a lot more fun with an ounce of pure sodium and a wading pool of water. :D

 

So rest assured. If you are in the camp that she's guilty of bomb making and terrorism, she has an excellent chance of doing jail time. As for school, she is permanently expelled if any of the charges stick, and she will have to attend a program for juvenile delinquents. If she does time in fed lock up, finishing high school will be the least of her worries.

 

If convincted as an adult, she's unemployable anyway. Thus turns the wheels of the American Education and US Justice system.

 

Faith

 

 

This is one time that I do hope the race card is played. Yes the girl was wrong, yes she should have known better. Yes, she was stupid and dangerous and everything else. And something bad could have happened and she should have known better......

 

But the truth as I know up growing up in Deep South all my life..........if she was blonde and blue eyed and lived in the right part of town.....it would not have even made the rumor mill much less the police , the state da or national news. At most, a teacher would have found out, told her how stupid she was and maybe if that teacher was having a bad day MAYBE sent her to the office. Where the

prinicple would have had good laugh and told her not to do it again. And might have called her parents to let them know if she was someone else, she might be in a bad bad mess with what she had done. White kids with her record typically do not get into trouble, not because they didn't cause trouble but because they were excused. Even in a state that expels kindy kids for butter knives in the lunch box, a white kid with the right parents and the right side of town get a warning. Black kids get expelled. The discrepancy is huge and appalling.

 

As her parents, I would be well within right to scream that this is all because she is black. (If what they are reporting about her is true and she really is a kid with no record and a great student) And they probably can simply ask around and produce more than a few white kids that were let off for other things that could have had the same consequences.

 

And for the record,I am white and have more than a few family kids in today's schools that still get this kind of treatment, much like treatment I received when I was in school. Trashed the upper floor , left farm animals ( even some farmer's cow that was stolen) in it all weekend and dumped all the computers in the dumpster......clean up and scrub the place and put it all back. Stupid teenagers being dumb and not thinking about the conseuences. The black kids who toliet papered the school their prank week.....expelled and court charges. Should have known better.

 

I'm furious she is being charged. Because when I saw her picture, I knew deep down this was because of the color of her skin and not because of what she did.

 

The law is rarely applied evenly or the same around here. Your color, your daddy/momma, and your address play a huge role in what the powers to be decide to do.

[Joanne]

I work with clients "on paper" all day. The life-changing and limiting effects of a felony are nearly impossible to transcend. Good jobs don't hire felons. regardless of education. I don't believe this young lady's behavior is such that her entire adult life should be compromised.

[TravelingChris]

I did think she should have some consequences but as I said above, not a felony conviction. A lesser conviction with an arrangement that if she doesn't get into any more trouble in the next year or two (whatever the requirements would be), the charges would be dropped.

[FaithManor]

I did think she should have some consequences but as I said above, not a felony conviction. A lesser conviction with an arrangement that if she doesn't get into any more trouble in the next year or two (whatever the requirements would be), the charges would be dropped.

 

This is what I think would be appropriate. Something along the lines of community

service, report to a counselor weekly, and if you keep your nose clean until you

graduate, we'll drop it. Lesson learner, chance to redeem oneself in play.

 

This benefits society a lot more than creating a new prison dweller.

 

But it is getting pretty rare for good sense and logic to prevail.

 

Faith

[elegantlion]

I haven't read the news reports, but if the charge for making a bomb at school is a felony, isn't that what they have to charge her with? Intention may come in at a later point, but ignorance of the law is not an excuse to break it, right? Should she serve jail time, probably not, but I would hope the charge would get negotiated down. I also hope it would serve as a lesson to other kids. Maybe the want to ward off copycats by starting with the higher charges. Total speculation on my part though.

[Bee Happy]

Please understand what a felony conviction does to someone's life. It's not good.

 

I would also like to say that I had NO clue, and neither did any of my children, that mixing these items would create a bomb. Color me stupid I guess...but if I didn't know...and my teens didn't know...why should I assume, she knew? I'm a firm believer in using it as a lesson. Have her talk to other kids about the dangers. Suspend her for a few days. Felony charges? No.

[TXBeth]

 

I would also like to say that I had NO clue, and neither did any of my children, that mixing these items would create a bomb. Color me stupid I guess...but if I didn't know...and my teens didn't know...why should I assume, she knew?

 

Why do people keep saying stuff like this? We know she knew it would explode because she CREATED it! Do you think she just randomly got the idea to put this stuff in a bottle and see what it would do? The fact that this is an extremely popular "prank" right now is a total coincidence and she knew nothing about that?

OF COURSE there may be children and teens and even adults who have never heard of these bombs, but obviously she HAD heard of them, or else why would she have made one?

Logic, people. Do you really think whatever website, friend, YouTube video she got the idea from just said it would make some pretty colors or something nice to drink? The whole point in making it is that it would explode. Is there really any high schooler today who doesn't realize that exploding something on campus is a bad idea that will probably get you arrested?

I can believe that she didn't know it was a felony. I can believe that she didn't intend to hurt anyone. I do not believe she didn't know it was wrong and probably illegal to make a bomb on campus, and I do not believe she didn't know it would explode.

I think a felony conviction would be ridiculous, but I think expulsion is completely reasonable.

[unfrumpable.]

I just saw on Yahoo! news that the case was dismissed.

[Hockey Mom]

This is one time that I do hope the race card is played. Yes the girl was wrong, yes she should have known better. Yes, she was stupid and dangerous and everything else. And something bad could have happened and she should have known better......

 

But the truth as I know up growing up in Deep South all my life..........if she was blonde and blue eyed and lived in the right part of town.....it would not have even made the rumor mill much less the police , the state da or national news. At most, a teacher would have found out, told her how stupid she was and maybe if that teacher was having a bad day MAYBE sent her to the office. Where the

prinicple would have had good laugh and told her not to do it again. And might have called her parents to let them know if she was someone else, she might be in a bad bad mess with what she had done. White kids with her record typically do not get into trouble, not because they didn't cause trouble but because they were excused. Even in a state that expels kindy kids for butter knives in the lunch box, a white kid with the right parents and the right side of town get a warning. Black kids get expelled. The discrepancy is huge and appalling.

 

 

I don't disagree with the bolded. And to some extent, I agree with the point you are making. However, *I* think that the reason this was blown WAY out of proportion was due to the timing, and had nothing to do with her race. If memory serves, it took place right around the Boston bombings. Emotions were running high, the powers that be overreacted.

 

I'm glad to see the case was dismissed. That was the right outcome.

[Catwoman]

I believe that the girl knew exactly what she was doing, and that she also knew that it was absolutely wrong... but I'm still glad the case was dismissed, as it sounds like she's a good kid who did an idiotic thing, and in this case, the fear and worry about getting into such trouble and wondering what was going to happen to her probably taught her enough of a lesson to keep her from ever doing anything like that again.

[bettyandbob]

Was that the legal case was dismissed? I thought that would be the outcome. But I think the school has every right to enforce the consequences they imposed.

[Slipper]

She was expelled from school, according to the article, and is currently at alternative school. She will go back to her regular high school next year. The criminal charges were dismissed in exchange for some type of community service. I think the final outcome was fair.

 

(That was what I gathered from the article, but I could have mis-read something). .

 

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-05-15/news/os-kiera-wilmot-no-prosecution-20130515_1_online-petition-small-explosion-larry-hardaway

 

 

[Bee Happy]

Why do people keep saying stuff like this? We know she knew it would explode because she CREATED it! Do you think she just randomly got the idea to put this stuff in a bottle and see what it would do? The fact that this is an extremely popular "prank" right now is a total coincidence and she knew nothing about that?

OF COURSE there may be children and teens and even adults who have never heard of these bombs, but obviously she HAD heard of them, or else why would she have made one?

Logic, people. Do you really think whatever website, friend, YouTube video she got the idea from just said it would make some pretty colors or something nice to drink? The whole point in making it is that it would explode. Is there really any high schooler today who doesn't realize that exploding something on campus is a bad idea that will probably get you arrested?

I can believe that she didn't know it was a felony. I can believe that she didn't intend to hurt anyone. I do not believe she didn't know it was wrong and probably illegal to make a bomb on campus, and I do not believe she didn't know it would explode.

I think a felony conviction would be ridiculous, but I think expulsion is completely reasonable.

 

I said it because it was my opinion. Why are people on this forum so combative? It's my opinion, and my reasoning, and it need not make sense to you. If someone dared her, or asked her to do it, it doesn't mean she KNEW what would happen.

[Joker]

I thought I would update. All charges were dropped and one of the "Rocket Boys" purchased her and her twin sister scholarships to space camp. :D

 

http://abcnews.go.co...61#.UZ6Eppy0MgQ

[Catwoman]

I thought I would update. All charges were dropped and one of the "Rocket Boys" purchased her and her twin sister scholarships to space camp. :D

 

http://abcnews.go.co...61#.UZ6Eppy0MgQ

 

 

I think it is utterly ridiculous that her idiotic behavior was rewarded in any way.

 

Certainly, the gentleman was very kind to do it, and I can understand his personal motivation, but I still don't agree with his decision.