(amny)
A Bronx senator is taking aim at the alarming trend of online suicides caused by bullying – highlighted by the recent death of an upstate teen – and is proposing a bill that could land attackers behind bars for 15 years.

If passed, the measure would push New York into the forefront of anti-cyberbullying laws, although observers said enforcing it would be tricky.

“The bully of yesteryear has gotten to become a cyberbully, where you can hide behind the Internet and Facebook and Twitter and really torment a person,” state Sen. Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) said Monday at a news conference in Manhattan.

Under the bill, a person convicted of bullying someone who ultimately commits suicide could be charged with second-degree manslaughter and go to jail for up to 15 years.

In addition, cyberbullying someone under age 21 would be considered third-degree stalking punishable by up to a year behind bars...
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Nice idea... horrific reality. Watch what u say from now on! Who defines bullying? Who will babysit the babysitters???
1 Comments:
Anonymous ScottC said...
http://www.nysenate.gov/files/pdfs/final%20cyberbullying_report_september_2011.pdf

"AND YET, PROPONENTS OF A MORE REFINED FIRST AMENDMENT ARGUE THAT THIS
FREEDOM SHOULD BE TREATED NOT AS A RIGHT BUT AS A PRIVILEGE – A SPECIAL
ENTITLEMENT GRANTED BY THE STATE ON A CONDITIONAL BASIS THAT CAN BE REVOKED
IF IT IS EVER ABUSED OR MALTREATED."